Category: Commencement
Class of 1970 Commencement
Nearly 300 members of the Class of 1970 returned to campus from near and far to reunite with classmates and stand shoulder-to-shoulder in full regalia with the 2010 graduating class. Forty years before, during a time of national turmoil, many universities, including Boston University, cancelled final exams and commencement ceremonies due to safety concerns. In 2010, BU was honored to host a weekend of commencement celebrations, including a Service of Remembrance. Swaying back and forth during their private convocation ceremony, the Class spontaneously sang “All we are saying, is give peace a chance,” by John Lennon.
“It surprised even me, but I came to tears at the thought of having a commencement for our class…” — Class of 1970 Alum
Eric Holder Keynote
Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States, delivers the University’s 137th Commencement address. The nation's top cop saluted the progress the country has made in areas such as race relations as he received an honorary Doctor of Laws, invoking both his status as the nation's first African-American attorney general and the fact that the country and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have black chief executives.
“Today’s challenges spur tomorrow’s hope.” — Eric Holder
Michael Capuano Keynote
Congressman Michael Capuano addresses the Class of 2009, gathered at Nickerson Field for the University’s 136th Commencement. Capuano, who represents the Commonwealth’s Eighth District (which includes Boston University) in Washington, DC, expresses confidence in the graduates’ abilities, but warns them to resist the temptation to focus only on personal success and material comfort.
Lawrence Lucchino Keynote
Commencement speaker Lawrence Lucchino, President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, delivers an address titled, "Life is not about warming yourself by the fire, life is about building the fire."
“Perhaps most memorably, the Boston University Class of 2008 as freshmen and as seniors helped propel the Red Sox to two World Series Championships in your four years here in town. Unprecedented!” — Lawrence Lucchino
Steven Chu Keynote
Speaking to over 5,700 Boston University graduates and 20,000 guests at Nickerson Field at the 134th Commencement, alternative energy scientist and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu underscores that solving the energy problem is the most important challenge ahead. Chu cites that sustainable energy development as crucial to the world's future and counts on technology to mitigate effects of climate change.
“And now you will be able to invest this knowledge and experience not only in attaining your personal goals but in helping your community realize the ultimate promise of democracy: That the combined knowledge and experience of all the people can shape a more just and more secure society." — Steven Chu
Leslie Moonves Keynote
Commencement speaker Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation, tells the crowd that although he lives his life by programming, the graduates should do as he says, not as he does.
“Don’t plan. Look on life not as a fully programmed schedule but as a search. Always keep your options, and your heart, open.”—Leslie Moonves
Hamid Karzai Keynote
Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, delivers the Commencement Keynote Address.
“Dear graduates, I say again, that your values must continue to guide you, as you embark on your new journey and assume greater responsibility. Our world will remain stratified and divided by exclusively narrowly defined interests unless you seek to build bridges of understanding and cooperation." — Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
J. Craig Venter Keynote
J. Craig Venter, a visionary scientist and entrepreneur who was a principal leader in the effort to decode the human genome, delivers the Commencement address at Boston University’s 131st Commencement exercises at Nickerson Field. More than 20,000 guests watch 5,776 students receive their degrees in the largest graduation ceremony in New England.
“New areas of science and subsequent advances are fraught with ethical and social issues with which we must all grapple. Healthy debate is good for society, however it can only happen in a science-literate world." — J. Craig Venter
George F. Will Keynote
George F. Will delivers the Keynote Address at Commencement.
“Today the principle that individuals should be judged on their individual merits, not on their membership in this or that group, is still under attack. The attack is against a core principle of an open society—the principle of careers open to talents. Today there are pernicious new arguments for treating certain groups of Americans as incapable of doing what Sam Lacy knew Jackie Robinson could do: compete."—George F. Will
Jon Westling Keynote
BU President Jon Westling tells the Class of 2002 to build on the nation's democratic institutions in his Commencement speech.
"If you want to continue to live in a free and tolerant society, you will have to do a lot more than praise the idea of diversity."—Jon Westling
