Category: Commencement
Commencement Postponed
Prioritizing safety amid the pandemic, Boston University is postponing its 147th Commencement scheduled for May 2020, to either late August or early fall, President Robert A. Brown announced. For the 7,200 soon-to-be graduates, it is emotionally wrenching news and the deferral of a milestone moment in their young lives.
National Academy of Sciences President Tells Grads Truth Still Matters
Commencement speaker Marcia McNutt (Hon.’19) was the first woman elected president of the National Academy of Sciences and the first female editor in chief of the Science journals. She has led responses to global catastrophes such as earthquakes in Japan and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. McNutt is a vocal critic of “junk science”: “Whether the issue is healthcare, economics, education, or immigration, your University education arms you with the skills to determine who and what to trust.”
US Rep. John Lewis to 2018 Grads: Be Bold and Courageous
Congressman John Lewis (Hon.’18) (D.-Ga.), BU’s 2018 Commencement speaker, urges BU graduates to “get out there and vote like you’ve never voted before.” Lewis, a legendary civil rights leader and one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, draws a standing ovation, saying “Be optimistic, don’t get lost in a sea of despair, but be bold, be courageous, and all will work out.”
Network Exec to Class of 2017: Write Your Own Life Story
Commencement keynote speaker Bonnie Hammer offers BU grads a storyteller’s advice for post-college life. “When you leave today, you’ll begin to write the most powerful, most meaningful, and most entertaining story of your life,” says Hammer (CGS’69, COM’71, SED’75, Hon.’17), chair of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group. “It’s the story of you.” Over her career, Hammer has overseen USA Network, Syfy, E! Entertainment, Oxygen, and Universal Cable Productions.
Former CBS Executive Tells Graduates How to Survive Career Anxiety
Former CBS Entertainment Chair and BU Trustee Nina Tassler (CFA’79, Hon.’16) addresses the Class of 2016, along with thousands of friends and family at this year’s Commencement ceremony. Tassler, the longest-serving woman leader in broadcast history, focuses her talk on her lifelong career anxiety, and credits BU with teaching her the skills to reinvent herself and survive in a tough business. Whether “taking a Holocaust class taught by Elie Wiesel (Hon.’74) or listening to lectures by Edward Albee (Hon.’10) or even attending a rally protesting tuition hikes . . . my goals were shifting, and the person I always felt I was, was evolving, too.”
Meredith Vieira Urges Students to Embrace Nonconformity
Journalist and TV host Meredith Viera tells a Commencement crowd of 25,000 that being open to new possibilities isn’t always easy but warns: “Don’t ever be a conformist for convenience’s sake.”
Mass. Governor Urges Grads to Be Present for Others
At the University's 141st Commencement at Nickerson Field, Deval Patrick advises graduates that life’s journey is often more important than getting the answers and that real human connection requires intimacy. “Sometimes, the open-ended question is not about getting to the answer, but rather about the journey, and Google has little to do with that,” the governor said. “Real human connection, the nuance of empathy and understanding, is often more gradual and elongated than Twitter. It requires intimacy. And I worry that the demands of constant communication and infinite information through social media are crowding out intimacy.” The governor concluded his Commencement address by asking a promise of his listeners: “Sometime today, put your tablet or smartphone aside, look your Mom and Dad in the eye, and tell them that you love them. Hold your roommate’s hand and tell them you appreciate them for helping get you through to today.…Thank one of your teachers in person. Be present—and see what a difference it makes in your lives and the world.” His remarks earned a standing ovation from the graduates and guests.
TFA’s Kopp Rallies Grads
Wendy Kopp developed the idea for a national teacher corps as her senior thesis. Just a year later, her vision became Teach For America, an organization that trains recent college graduates to teach in some of the nation’s most needy public schools.There’s no how-to guide for how to change the world,” Kopp said at BU’s 140th Commencement. “We are making progress today not because of a big idea, but because of a big commitment. Because we plunged in and embraced the journey of constant learning and improvement.”
Google Chairman Addresses Grads
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, delivers the 139th Commencement address. “You can write the code for all of us,” Schmidt says. “You’re connected to each other in ways those who came before you could never have dreamed of.” While he has spent most of his life in the technology sector, Schmidt also urges students to have “real” conversations with friends and family. “Life,” he says, “is not lived in the glow of a monitor. Life is not a series of status updates. Life is not about your friend count. It’s about the friends you count on.”
Katie Couric Keynote
From morning TV host to pioneering evening news anchor and charity fundraiser, Katie Couric has traveled the length of American celebrity, a breadth of experience she drew on as the speaker at BU’s 138th Commencement.
“While getting out of your comfort zone can be, well, uncomfortable…today is just the first of many graduations in your life.” — Katie Couric
