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Name Dropping: A list of famous Commencement Week speakers at Princeton

In a previous post we discussed the history behind commencement at The College of New Jersey and Princeton University. Here, we highlight the individuals and include links to video and news articles.

For the years  2011-2016 each name will link to an individual streaming video courtesy of Princeton University MediaCentral. These are mobile friendly.

2016

Randall Kennedy, a member of the Class of 1977, former Princeton trustee, and the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, emphasizes the importance of supporting higher education in his Baccalaureate address. Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2016)
Randall Kennedy – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2016)
Jodi Picoult - Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2016)
Jodi Picoult – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2016)

2015

Jackson speaks from the pulpit high above the chapel floor. Her remarks focused on lessons students learned at the University that will shape the rest of their lives. Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2015)
Lisa Jackson – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2015)
In his Class Day speech, Eisgruber (back at the lectern) joked that the real reason the senior class invited Nolan to speak was to settle the debate about whether Batman went to Princeton or Yale. Eisgruber asked University Archivist Dan Linke (center with briefcase) to help answer the question by presenting Batman's secret alumni records. Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, John Jameson (2015)
In his Class Day speech, Eisgruber (back at the lectern) joked that the real reason the senior class invited Nolan to speak was to settle the debate about whether Batman went to Princeton or Yale. Eisgruber asked Mudd’s very own, University Archivist Dan Linke (center with briefcase) to help answer the question by presenting Batman’s secret alumni records.
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, John Jameson (2015)
During his Class Day address, film director, screenwriter and producer Christopher Nolan challenged seniors to help improve the world by chasing their reality, not just their dreams. Nolan is known for the films "The Dark Knight" Batman trilogy and "Inception" among others. Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2015)
Christopher Nolan – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2015)

2014

Christopher Lu - Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2014)
Christopher Lu – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2014)
Al Gore - Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2014)
Al Gore – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2014)

2013

Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2013)
Ben Bernanke – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2013)
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2013)
David Remnick – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2013)

2012

Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2012)
Michael Lewis – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite (2012)
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Steve McDonald (2012)
Steve Carell – Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Steve McDonald (2012)

2011

2010

  • Baccalaureate – Jeff Bezos
  • Class Day – Charles Gibson
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

2009

  • Baccalaureate – General David Petraeus
  • Class Day – Katie Couric
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

2008

  • Baccalaureate – Paul Farmer
  • Class Day – Stephen Colbert
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

2007

  • Baccalaureate – John Fleming
  • Class Day – Bradley Whitford
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

2006

2005

2004

2003

  • Baccalaureate – Fred Hargadon
  • Class Day – Jerry Seinfeld
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

2002

  • Baccalaureate – Meg Whitman
  • Class Day – James Baker
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

2001

  • Baccalaureate – Garrison Keillor
Bill Cosby - 2001 Class Day Speaker Photo Courtesy: Princeton Weekly Bulletin
Bill Cosby (right) – 2001 Class Day Speaker, shown here with Bruce Wright (left)
Photo Courtesy: Princeton Weekly Bulletin
  • Class Day – Bill Cosby – This marks the first Class Day Speaker from outside of the University. 
  • Commencement – Shirley M. Tilghman

Previous to 2001 many infamous persons took the podium during the Baccalaureate Ceremonies. The following highlight a few of those. During this time the president of the University presides over commencement and typically gives the commencement address as well as speaks at Class Day.

2000 Baccalaureate  – Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, formerly Lisa Halaby ’73

1999

  • Baccalaureate Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund
  • Class Day/Commencement Harold T. Shapiro
  • The Latin Salutatory speaker Thomas Wickham Schmidt broke tradition by including a marriage proposal to Anastacia Rohrman at the end of his speech. WHT_RohrSchmidtThe event was also covered by NBC’s Today Show where Rothman and Schmidt were interviewed.
  • According to the June 6th, 2007 edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, “The two were married in August 2000, after Wick’s first year at Yale Law School.”

WHT_RohrSchmidt2

1998  Baccalaureate: Senator Tom Harkin and wife Ruth Harkin, senior VP at United Technologies Corporation. Parents of Amy Harkin. Both husband and wife spoke to honor 25 years of coeducation at Princeton. This is the first time that there has been two baccalaureate speakers.
1997 – Baccalaureate: Senator William Frist ’74

1996 – Princeton University’s  250th Anniversary

1995 Baccalaureate: Jane Alexander, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts

1994 Baccalaureate: Wynton Marsalis

1993 Baccalaureate: Garry B. Trudeau, Cartoonist. You may view the commencement in its entirety in an upcoming blog post.

1992 Baccalaureate: Rt. Reverend Dr. Frederick H. Borsch ’57
1991 Baccalaureate: William Crowe Jr. *65, retired chair of the Joints Chiefs of Staff
1990 Baccalaureate: Johnetta Cole, President of Spelman College
1989 Baccalaureate: Honorable Andrew Young
1988 Baccalaureate: Representative Patricia Schroeder
1987 Baccalaureate: George E. Rupp ’64
1986 Baccalaureate: Governor Thomas H. Kean ’57
1985 Commencement: William Bowen. Baccalaureate: Ira D. Silverman (Fun Fact: Theodore Seuss Geisel aka ‘Dr. Seuss’ was given an honorary degree this year.)

1984 Baccalaureate: Honorable Paul Sarbanes ’54 P’84, (Maurice Sendak received an honorary degree this year, author of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’)
1983 Baccalaureate: The Rev. Dr. Homer U. Ashby Jr. ‘68
1982 Baccalaureate: The Honorable Charles B. Renfrew, ’52. (Stephen Hawking received an honorary degree)
1981 Baccalaureate: Dr. Sissela Bok,
1980 Baccalaureate: Michael M. Stewart, M.D. ’57, Commencement: William Bowen Minutes from the Senior Class Committee from January 13th, 1980 mention a sub-committee had been formed to find ways to expand Class Day.
1979 Baccalaureate: Redmond C. S. Finney ’51,
1978 Baccalaureate: Gerson D. Cohen
1977 Baccalaureate: Theodore M. Hesburgh
1976 Baccalaureate: James I. McCord
1975 Baccalaureate: Professor Gregory Vlastos, Ph.D., B.D., D. D., LL.D., (Princeton University Philosophy Department)
1974 Baccalaureate: The Reverend Thomas P. Stewart, ’51.
1973 Baccalaureate: The Reverend Dr. John B. Coburn ’36, Charter Trustee

Until 1972, the baccalaureate speaker was the current President of the University. Beginning in 1973, outside speakers were invited.

1969: Representative from the Class Day Committee asks President Goheen to approve the re-institution of planting ivy with class year stone markers around Nassau Hall rather than the previous (expensive) tradition of breaking $200 worth of clay pipes. The representative also suggested that the message of planting rather than destroying is better for Class Day. Commencement: Unlisted. Baccalaureate: President Goheen.

1968: Many of this year’s events were modified due to the Assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy on June 4th. The Alumni parade was smaller and within campus, the baseball game and Triangle Club performances were cancelled. Commencement/Baccalaureate and Class Day President Goheen.

1949 Baccalaureate: Harold Dodds

1945

  • February 22nd 1945 – Winter term exercises held again in Nassau Hall. This also marks the first graduation in two years where honorary degrees have been given. The address was given by the Head of the Faculty Robert K. Root and the benediction was given by the Dean of the University Council.
  • June 23rd 1945 – Spring term exercises held on front campus. Address is given by Dean Christian Gauss. Benediction is given by Dr. Arthur L. Kinsolving.
  • October 22nd 1945 – The smallest number of graduates have commencement held in President Harold Dodds office. 20 students are candidates for degrees. Only 11 are present for the conferring of the degrees.

1944

  • January 5th 1944 – 26 members of Class of 1944 graduated in brief ceremony in Nassau Hall
  • February 22, 1944 – 35 degrees given. Dr. Charles G. Osgood gives the commencement speech. Students in armed forces were instructed to wear uniforms while others wear the traditional cap and gown.
  • April 4th 1944 – 36 degrees given in Nassau Hall.
  • June 24th 1944 – Special Convocation for the Navy V-12 Unit was held on front campus. James V. Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, receives an honorary degree. President Dodds also gave an address to the graduating members.
  • The 24th also included regular commencement exercises with the address given by Dr. Henry P. Van Dusen ’19. President Dodds gave concluding remarks.
  • September 19th and October 19th held additional Special Convocations for the Navy V-12 Unit
  • October 25th a small regular ceremony took place in Nassau Hall.

1943

  • On January 29th and 30th Princeton observed its first winter commencement in almost 200 years. This was due to the 315 members of the 1943 class that sped up their courses so they could report to active duty.
  • Commencement was combined with the baccalaureate address took place in the university chapel. Charles Scribner Jr. gave the Latin Salutatory and President Dodds gave the commencement speaker.
  • Joseph C. Grew, former Ambassador to Japan spoke at the Princeton commencement luncheon
  • The spring commencement was held on May 28th and 29th and would be the last formal commencement for the duration of the war. The class day customary exercises were condensed into one ceremony. President Dodds gave his address at commencement as usual.
  • On September 29th the University held its 3rd commencement ceremony of the year for undergraduates a the end of the current quarter. The ceremony was held in the Faculty Room of Nassau Hall
  • The 4th and final commencement occurred on October 28th for 26 members of the Class of 1944.

1942 The University’s 195th ceremonies took place against a background of total war. A new event was introduced into the commencement season because of this. A Service of Dedication “a dedication of all that we have and all that we are, with no counting of the cost.”

1929 – View scenes from the Class of 1929’s commencement activities in this complimentary blog post.

February 21st, 1920 86 Members of the Class of 1918 & 1919 graduates returning from War Service. Informal exercises were held in the Faculty Room of Nassau Hall. “This was the first time in in the recollection of alumni that graduation exercises were ever conducted at any other time than the spring of the year” The Daily Princetonian Feb 23, 1920.

From 1792 to about 1918 the Valedictory, Salutatory and other speeches were given by students and members of the college. While details are few, the programs still include photos, schedules and class roll. These can be viewed here at the archives at Mudd Library and are located in the Commencement Records collection.

Christa Cleeton

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7 responses to “Name Dropping: A list of famous Commencement Week speakers at Princeton”

  1. Greetings: My brother, Robert MacFarlane, Toronto, Canada, graduated at
    Princeton University, Political Economy, in June 1977. Barbara Jordan was the keynote speaker. Would you happen to know where I could find a photo of Barbara Jordan at
    that ceremony, outdoors, or her speech? I am assembling a display board
    which highlights my brother’s achievements and history and I wanted to
    include some aspects when he attended Princeton. I would give credit
    to source material, as I usually do. Thank you in advance for any help
    you can provide. Kindest regards, Richard MacFarlane

    Reply

  2. Greetings: My brother, Robert MacFarlane from Toronto, Canada, graduated
    at Princeton in Political Economy (A.B.) and his thesis advisor was Fouad
    Ajami. I recall Barbara Jordan giving the keynote address in June 1977,
    as we were seated outdoors on a warm summer day. Would you happen
    to have any of her remarks or a photo of Barbara Jordan on that day?
    I am putting a display board together which includes my brother’s
    educational moments. I thank you in advance for any information you
    can provide. I will credit the sources, as I usually do. Kindest regards,
    Richard MacFarlane

    Reply

    • Thanks for your question. Commencement in 1771 was a very small affair, and we have few sources regarding the program for the day. Usually, graduating students were the speakers at Commmencement during that era.

      In 1771, many graduating students spoke. The valedictory oration was given by Gunning Bedford, Jr. and was entitled “Benevolence.” The salutatory address (“De Societate Hominum”) was given by Hugh Henry Brackenridge. John Black spoke in support of the proposition, “Moral Qualities are confessedly more excellent than natural; yet the latter are much more envied in the Professor, by the generality of Mankind; a sure Sign of the corrupt Bias of human Nature.” Edmund Cheesman took the negative in the debate over that proposition. Donald Campbell (Class of 1771) gave an oration on “The Advantages of an active Life.” Charles McKnight spoke twice, once against the proposition, “Mendacium est semper illicitum” and once in response to the question, “Does ancient poetry excel the modern?” James Taylor also spoke twice, both against that proposition “Mendacium est semper illicitum” and also in the debate over the superiority of moral qualities over natural ones. Jacob Williamson defended the proposition McKnight and Taylor spoke against and later participated in the debate over ancient versus modern poetry. Joseph Ross gave an oration on “The Power of Eloquence.”

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