Commencement: An Inside Look

Boston University awarded 5,903 academic degrees on May 14, 2006. The speaker at the All-University Commencement exercises was Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive officer of CBS Corporation, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. The speaker at the Baccalaureate service was Nancy Goodman Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, named in honor of her sister, who died of the disease. Brinker was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

The College of Arts and Sciences granted bachelor’s degrees to 1,549 undergraduate students, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences presented 169 master’s degrees and 78 doctoral degrees.

The College of Fine Arts graduated 265 students, with 142 receiving bachelor’s degrees and 98 receiving master’s degrees. Joel Sheveloff, a CFA professor of musicology, gave the college’s convocation address. Sheveloff, who joined BU in 1964, has developed and taught more than 50 different courses, ranging from medieval keyboard music to opera to the music of the Soviet Union. He won the University’s Metcalf Cup and Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2004.

The College of Communication awarded 546 bachelor’s degrees and 29 master’s degrees.  The speaker at the college’s convocation was Ray Kotcher, CEO of Ketchum, a public relations company.

The School of Education gave 116 bachelor’s degrees, 146 master’s degrees, 6 doctoral degrees, and 2 certificates of advanced graduate study. The convocation speaker was SED Dean Douglas Sears.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering jointly awarded nine master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees.

The College of Engineering had 292 graduates, of whom 238 received bachelor’s degrees, 43 received master’s degrees, and 11 received doctoral degrees. Dean Kamen, the president of DEKA Research and Development Corporation, spoke at the convocation ceremony. Kamen holds more than 400 patents, including for the Segway Human Transporter and numerous medical devices. In 2000, President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Technology, and he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. Kamen was given an honorary Doctor of Science by the University.

The School of Management graduated 804 students, with 485 receiving bachelor’s degrees, 317 receiving master’s degrees, and 2 receiving doctoral degrees. Richard Cohen, who founded the real-estate development corporation Capital Properties in Boston, was the guest speaker for the Graduate School of Management convocation ceremony.

The School of Hospitality Administration awarded 70 bachelor’s degrees. The convocation speaker was James Stamas, SHA dean and president of the management consulting firm Stamas Partners.

Sargent College awarded 155 bachelor’s degrees, 59 master’s degrees, and 8 doctoral degrees. Claudia Osborn, M.D., an associate clinical professor of internal medicine at Michigan State University, who is widely known for her work with people with traumatic brain injury, was the convocation speaker.

Metropolitan College presented 82 bachelor’s degrees and 352 master’s degrees. The convocation speaker was Robert F. Stott, president of the New England Region for Verizon Wireless and a 40-year veteran of the telecommunications industry,

The University Professors Program awarded 32 bachelor’s degrees, 4 master’s degrees, and 3 doctoral degrees. The speaker was James Collins, a University Professor, a College of Engineering professor of biomedical engineering, and codirector of ENG’s Center for BioDynamics. Collins won the 2000 Metcalf Cup and Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

The School of Law gave out 147 master’s degrees and 264 J.D. degrees. Speaking at the convocation was David Gergen, a public service professor of public leadership and director of the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University and a former advisor to four presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

School of Dental Medicine graduates were given 4 master’s degrees, 157 D.M.D.s, one doctoral degree, and 3 certificates of advanced graduate study. The convocation speaker was Robert Faiella, president of the Massachusetts Dental Society.

The School of Medicine awarded 62 master’s degrees, 154 M.D.s, and 18 doctoral degrees. The speaker at the convocation ceremony was Dick A. J. Brown, a MED clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and an obstetrician/gynecologist and director of student education at Boston Medical Center. Brown earned a Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1996.

The School of Social Work awarded 128 master’s degrees. Its convocation speaker was Laura Prescott, president and founder of Sister Witness International, an organization of formerly institutionalized women and girls, based in Sarasota, Fla.

The School of Theology gave out 49 master’s degrees and 4 doctoral degrees. The speaker at the convocation was Franklin Littell, an emeritus professor at Temple University and a clergy member of the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The School of Public Health awarded 124 master’s degrees and 6 doctoral degrees. Helene Gayle, president and chief executive officer of CARE USA, was the convocation speaker.