Morning Exercises | Harvard Commencement 2013

[Music] I can tell I kept going welcome to the 360 second Harvard commencement here we are high above the tercentenary theatre watching the filling of this great theater with the graduates of this of this of this unit I'm Diana Eck I've been here before and also with my colleague Dan Schrag dan it's good to be with you here again Diana it's great to be here this morning and welcome to all of you you have a close up seat if you're watching this on Comcast or from one of the webcasts that are available through Harvard University or on the public access television and so grab a cup of coffee pull up a chair and join us for the next two or two-and-a-half hours while this great academic festival unfolds you know Diana sitting up here above the stage we have a great view of all of the pageantry watching people in just the flow of colors of the different Road is so spectacular but but it's really inspiring you know not just for the colors and the pageantry in the and the ceremony but also just just as we watch these graduates come in just the sense of potential the sense of future that they all have is very exciting and we're seeing them now in their processions from various schools we have watched the School of Law come in the Kennedy School of Government the Graduate School to ascend here and we watch the phd procession come in and sit right in front in their great red robes and eventually we will see the undergraduates the AV students that's right and they're all coming in in their black robes and there's there's nobody more enthusiastic in this ceremony than the other graduates and we'll see them here they are forming a processional path in front of the John Harvard statue in University Hall and the faculty procession which we'll see in a moment we'll go through the open ranks of the Harvard College seniors and you know Diana that's one of the great joys actually of participating in this ceremony as a faculty member is walking through the undergraduates and having them greet you and you collect so celebrate them and congratulate them that that feeling of walking through the ranks of the undergraduates as you process into the tercentenary years isn't any area theater just a wonderful wonderful opportunity and it's wonderful for them to see their professors walk on by but professors now not in their what in their school clothes so to speak but in their academic regalia so this is a day when all of this comes together the students who are eager to see you and the professors who will have a glimpse of their own students for the last time or maybe not for the last the other is that we actually [Music] [Music] very furry they're beginning start the concession this is all under way right now but what's wonderful is the beginning that's what's wonderful is you have focus we see these students heading off into the world ready to do great things and at the same time 25th and 50 coming back with all of the interesting thing sometimes it's hard for the undergraduates to imagine that they themselves will be back 25 years and yes even beginning five years from now they will come back that's right in great numbers you know and it's wonderful some of them actually even stay a long time my it's my wife Diane Brock Myers 25th reunion at Harvard this this year so we're celebrating this weekend in her class Diane Paulus our colleague who is the artistic director at the AR T the American Repertory Theater just nominated with 10 Tony Awards for their production of Pippin on Broadway Diane is back for her 25th reunion and of course she teaches here at Harvard as well and many other people of course in the 50th reunion class there many friends of yours Diana we went and met some of the 50th reunion a dr. Andrew Weil who has become something of a phenomenon in holistic health in the United States and Ellen Goodman was a longtime columnist for The New York Times and gore Chand Das who was from India one of the early undergraduates from India and a writer and and novelist and playwright now Shirin yesterday of course class day Soledad O'Brien who's in the 25th reunion class gave a talk to the undergraduates and here you see some of the some of the faculty members coming in their various regalia schools all over the world really that's right and their colors represent their institutions where they receive their their doctorate degrees there was a wonderful remark at the 350th 300s I guess tercentenary of Harvard describing the faculty like a flock of iridescent birds and here's drew faust at the head of the president's procession look how look how radiant she looks you know I want to just call attention to some words that she said yesterday as part of her Buffalo aaaahhhhhh defense you know when she speaks to the undergraduates I think many people missed that and and it was really a spectacular speech she used imagery that I think is so compelling she talked about running towards life than what she which he was really talking about was something that happened just a little bit over a month ago the horrible bombings during the Boston and she described a handful of individuals who instead of running away from the explosions and array away from the danger ran toward it they were imported to help people it was their instinct to running towards the danger and embrace it and see what they could do to help the situation and she used that imagery so it's such a compelling way to talk about what these students were going to find out in the world she urged them to run towards life run towards opportunity run towards adventure experimentation run towards danger run towards opportunities to try and change the world this is what it would be with doctors and others running toward toward the bottoms basically run toward the challenges exactly run towards the challenges and try to embrace them that's was a wonderful imagery for this commencement about all of the things that these graduates are going to go and mentioning baccalaureate and looking out over the graduating classes the other thing is wonderful about it is it really is a multi-religious surface there are readings from the Analects of Confucius and from the Quran there you see Lucy nan cohan who's the same on the corporation one of the first women members of the corporation and now the head of the honorary degrees committee also that's right former president her husband Bob Kahane was first chair of our our government department many years ago yes and there are the phd's gathering and waving in their seats that's right you see members of the corporation coming onto the stage very soon will see this your administration coming as well there are a few special undergraduates graduating today who are who are children of faculty in the university Allen Garber our new Provost who of course got his undergraduate and PhD get from here at Harvard would spent many years at Stanford and then just returned to Harvard as its new Provost his son Daniel is graduating summa laude with degrees concentration in visual and environmental studies and congratulations to Daniel Garber so here we see all the faculty coming in there's faculty in the Divinity School and various other faculty and see the undergraduates applauding them as they come through the president's procession includes their will see our honorary degree recipient Oprah you can see her down in the corner with her escort that's right yep gates the other the other honorary degree recipients are coming through people will recognize some of them one that might be very recognizable to to residents of this city of course is the Honorable Tom Menino the mayor of Boston he'll be receiving an honorary degree today both of us were at the honorary degrees dinner last night where they were all announced and applauded it was a it was a wonderful occasion and of course the names of the honor grants are in today's Harvard Gazette that has passed out as people have entered into the tercentenary theatre today that's right either really a secret that's right we'll hear a lot more about them when president Faust actually announces their names to the audience the president's procession includes the corporation which now has expanded from what was formerly seven to now thirteen members so the Harvard Corporation is becoming bigger and broader as nanka Haynes said last night big enough to even have subcommittees and then the members of the Reverend and honorable Board of Overseers all of these in their top hats and other hats today the Board of Overseers being elected by Harvard Alumni dignitaries will include a lot of people it could include the Phi Beta Kappa orator I'm not sure if she is here today but that was Linda greenhouse a long time and really much applauded there's Martha Minow the the school of law that you see I just saw Rick McCulloch he's our new vice provost for research coming on the stage there's Mike Smith Dean Barnes Faculty of Arts and Sciences coming onto the stage Bob Giuliano the general counsel at the University really a wonderful collection of all of the administration and all of us and on the right-hand corner we see Evelyn Hammonds the Dean of Harvard College very distinguished Dean for the past five years it was recently announced her retirement from that and a return to teaching and research where she is a very distinguished historian of science [Music] rabbi Jonas Steinberg from poverty Lau and in front of him is Stephanie Paul cell from Harvard Divinity School who will actually be offering one of the prayers there you see Oprah Winfrey reading some of the community as she files it wonderful here perhaps the most universally recognizable to the audience gathered here today each of the honor ends each of the recipients of the honorary degrees is with a faculty escort someone close to them in their field of study you see there a picture on the left just had the camera just past certain part but that's cooked that was part it does become part of the script oh so Partha is a distinguished economist at Cambridge University in England on a great environmental economist in the world and also very interested in extreme poverty and how to deal with it he'll also be receiving today there's the statue of John Harvard that part of the art is thinning out as people fill in under this side of the art there's a lot of photo ops and a taking place here with there's give the honor honor over with Maria [Music] if you just see the excitement on the faces of all the other graduates and all of the graduating and doctoral students there there is that famous toe of John Harvard that really over recent decades has become an object of touch and good luck or something like that and now we see the faculty coming in you can see the faculty strolling through the ranks of the undergraduates it's really an exhilarating feeling looking at all those smiling faces as you walk as as an initiative right of course these undergraduates are appropriately performing the the aisle for their professors and they will be receiving their initiation you might say into the company of educated women and men today their degrees by the way are are awarded by a speech act of the president and after the meeting is called to order there really is not very much of a spontaneous impromptu or extemporaneous word spoken the awarding of the degrees in the various graduate schools but also to the undergraduates is done by the word of the president herself by the authority vested in me I declare that you are and then they will receive their diplomas in their various schools or their undergraduate houses this afternoon the Diploma is kind of extra really I used to have to buy a diploma here but the Diploma is sort of the certification of what has already been awarded they become graduates at the moment the president says so here you see the Medical School each of these graduate schools has its own Insignia that seems to be a stethoscope that they're wearing that's exactly right we saw the law school of process again earlier today with gavels again appropriate but this is a great day of procession and actually any ritual involves these rites of transition that it's nothing more expressive of a rite of transition than a procession and from all the houses and all the schools they were processions led by bagpipes and bands to the tercentenary theatre this morning and there will be processions back afterwards there's Anna center Lord Robert may very famous theoretical biologist from Oxford University he's speaking actually on the right with Elaine Pagels another of the recipients of an honorary degree very distinguished scholar of the early years of Christianity especially the Gnostics and her book the Gnostic Gospels won the National Book Award in the 80s I think 1980 now if you're wondering what all those people are doing with these tall top hats you see on the screen these are part of the marshals of the commencement these are alumni who participate year after year and these wonderful costumes helping to organize and seat everyone and just take part in all of the pageantry and it takes an enormous amount of organization to get 32,000 people into the tercentenary theatre in an orderly fashion for this to begin it should begin in about half an hour at 9:45 and the chief of the organizing committee is Grace Shaffer operates out of wodsworth house for an entire year to put this in order for the following year you know I think the faculty are often unaware of just how much work goes into it not just by grace and grace of course as a superhero but but in addition all of the staff and all of the people who work together to make this happen this is a really extraordinary event here we see more of the faculty coming yes people often ask well who's speaking at Harvard commencement and those of you who are watching the first time this morning will perhaps be surprised to learn that nobody gives a major speech this morning there are three speeches that will be given by students and they have been competing over the last two months to be awarded the honor of speaking to this great assembled crowd today there will be a Latin orator then there will comes from the undergraduate body there will be a an English disposition or speech by an undergraduate and then a graduate oration those three each of them rather brief no more than five minutes constitute the the core of speech giving this morning it's really this afternoon at the Alumni Association meeting that president Faust will give a speech and that's always important to listen to that also will be broadcast and webcast but also this the opportunity for Oprah Winfrey to speak and everyone is rather wondering what she will say on this occasion there we see more undergraduates a minute ago he saw the Harvard Kennedy School with their plated Globes or a minder of how international and university this is amazing reach world leaders come here to take courses Harvard has trained so many world leaders a different now Dan your robe is blue but it's not Yale it's not so I was actually an undergraduate at Yale this was my 25th reunion just a week ago but actually the robe is for the University of California at Berkeley and it's almost the same color same color actually because the University of California back in the late 19th century was founded by a bunch of graduates again and so the colors of Berkeley are Yale blue and gold so it looks a little bit like Yale but it's different instead of a wood white it's blue and gold that's really one of the great things you see all of the different colors colors representing the institutions and then of course the colors of the hoods in the bag represent the degree the type of degree that in a different let me see a few Yael is here on the faculty and others who may be from Berkeley and other places if it is an orange road that tends to be from Princeton a light blue is from Columbia I think that's right and then there's all sorts of other wonderful examples our Dean of Arts and Sciences Mike Smith of course that's a Stanford degree so guys the Cardinal the red and is that what I was talking to Chris Stubbs professor in physics this morning who has a purple robe from the University of Washington yeah wonderful other wonderful colors you know this is actually a fairly recent standardization of what all these colors mean really it's only a late 19th century standardization but the roads in the regalia in general in Oxford great early universities in Europe and the academic regalia there you see Chris Stubbs in his purple Eloqua Washington beautiful don't Kirby the former dean of Arts and Sciences there that promise there's a multi multi colored hat that looks almost like a layer cake I'd love to see that again yeah some of the hats are really quite spectacular not just the flat square one but really very interesting at some universities we see people filing in well glimpse at JJ's mom our logistics Department it's his 50th reunion congratulations to Jay he's of course his daughter Maura teaches on the faculty here in history of professor of history and his wife Sheila jasanoff teaches at the Kennedy School and in the program on the concentration of environmental science and public policy intellectual leader in the role of science technology and society there we see Mayor Tom Menino from Boston here to get an honorary degree look at him in his wonderful to see him I almost didn't recognize him in his robe dad I think he's uh he's really a man of the people he you know the amazing statistic where where the Boston Globe did a survey and 57% of the people of Boston claimed to have met him personally over the last it's really amazing I think not a politician is a mayor of a city the size of Boston who took personally met but they but they they say he's energy is just boundless he goes out to events and luncheons all the day all the time every day and just breeds people and talks to them really has a feel for what's going on I have a wonderful footage of Tom Menino that I took myself when he came to dedicate or participate in the dedication of the great Boston mosque down at Roxbury crossing a great big Rick Islamic center that looks as if it were born in Boston which it was here we see all the undergraduates were getting to file in so the faculty are here and now the undergraduates are filing in and we're beginning to get closer to the actual ceremony in a few minutes we may actually get a chance to talk to a couple of our undergraduates a couple of our students so the oldest graduate of any sort is actually an undergraduate who is receiving his a B today at the age of 94 his name is Tom hall and he was in Lowell house at the time of World War two and he did not complete his degree in fact in World War two and in the Korean War he was conscientious objector and spent time in the federal prison then he joined Harvard Medical School and got a medical degree and became a doctor and only a few years ago three years ago decided to return and finish that unfinished his a Harvard a B so he will be here he's in wheelchair although he is he's very ambulatory but just not for the intense it's going to be a very hot day so it's understandable that he can see a wheelchair you know it's wonderful that he's finishing this degree that's here we see more undergraduates piling in there we see a view of the faculty where they're seated on the side of the stage you can see them in all of their different colored roads of course when we look out at the sea of students we see mostly the pink color that is I guess in academic gowns supposed to substitute for crimson the commencement actually becomes a moment at which there are many other honors bestowed in addition to the honorary degrees yesterday for example the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences gave its Centennial medal to four very distinguished G SAS graduates - Louise Richardson who was here on the faculty and then went to become the president of st. Andrews University in Scotland I got to see Louise yesterday and her daughter her second her oldest daughter graduated last year from Harvard and her her youngest daughter is actually graduating this year she's she's graduating to the member of the class of 2013 congratulations to her and one of the others who thought the GSA s metal was emeritus professor Everett Mendelssohn from our faculty here in the history of science and Arnold Rahm Prasad who I believe is maybe an earthly he is in literature and sherry Turkle who is sort of sometimes called the anthropologist of cyberspace and so those four were GSA s graduates returns there is made Mayor Menino how wonderful to see him here today he looks good in those robes maybe another another career ahead of him we also are supposed to have the mayor of Cambridge here and I hope she appears as well and of course in a little while once everybody's filed in this whole proceeding cannot begin until the sheriff of Middlesex County calls the meeting to order and that's a fun part of the ceremony can I begin and cannot end until the new sheriff of Middlesex County gets up and and taps his staff and calls the meeting to order and that the conclusion concludes the meeting the interesting thing about what is this meeting well in this case its commencement but there's a very interesting sort of tradition in Harvard that at the conclusion of the 300th anniversary in 1636 the meeting was adjourned to reconvene on the 18th of September in 2036 so the meeting itself is something that is a kind of moveable feast of people you know the actual first commencement of Harvard wasn't until 1642 there were actually nine graduates this is a lot more we see there Mike Smith in the middle of the camera Jeremy Bloxom who's the Dean of science Allen Garber our Provost Jackie O Neil McNeil ritual officer of the university as the marshal the marshal of the university that's right and they're some of the members of the corporation Robert Bosch our senior members speaking with drew Faust there's some very interesting things about me or occurs for today the first thing you will hear is the Latin oration by Pinilla Ithaca who is from Ethiopia she will deliver a speech in Latin the translation of which will be on your screen in case you're not good at spoken lat mine's just a little rusty rusty took six years of Latin but it's a little rusty she went to a spoken language of Latin summer course in Rome and she had never studied Latin before she came to Harvard so this is an extraordinary I'm sure the first Ethiopian ever to give the last narration and the diversity of this plasma is just wonderful amazing in our students at Lowell house we have students from from China their parents are here from from Madagascar the first ever graduate from Madagascar from Pakistan that's the thing that's quite amazing is that every graduates in this class whatever their concentration whatever their background they have some very special talents and as you get to know them as individuals you see that everyone is really special has something to give back to the world let's see here again scanning the stage a little bit more various leaders in the university there's that one Hammond again getting a hug congratulations and for recent announcement she's stepping down his team of the college to return to the scholarship we see some of the other Dean's Julio Frank the Dean of the School of Public Health sitting there in the second row Julio talking down barber the provost Julio Frank was of course the Health Minister of Mexico for many years the spectacular leader and inspiring Dean at the School of Public Health the front row you see the Dean of the business school on the right Martha Minow in the center and Jeff flyer the Medical School on the left and in the blue is the new dean of Harvard Divinity School from Northern Ireland several who simply only this year have assumed new roles in their dealership and it's the last year for Kathleen McCartney who is the Dean of the School of Education and is going to become the president of my alma mater Smith College it's wonderful it's great for her we also of course have a new dean of the extension school doesn't happen very often the last Dean been there since the 1970s extraordinary long time of service so here the undergraduates filing in or getting close to the time I think we're getting close to the time but as I look out even over the area where the graduate schools are to be seated there's still a lot of empty chairs so this procession is a bit slow to get started I think but I'm imagining at about 9:45 and we're about to welcome here one of our undergraduate students who's going to talk to us a little bit about her experience here you know Diana looking out here we are in under the shade of a tent and everyone else is it's getting some it's getting hot here but I look out at the steps of Widener Library where people are looking pretty toasty now and I imagine in a couple of hours it will get even worse it's been such a remarkably cold spring how ironic that on the day of commencement it's going to hit 90 degrees for the first time we have with us this morning one of the graduating seniors Noor Ibrahim who is from Winthrop house and a literature concentrator Neuer welcome it's great to have you here you for having me well it's wonderful tell us a little bit about what this morning has been like for you it's been really crazy we've been stuck in a line for a really long time incredibly hard but it's been very exciting to be with all the seniors and sort of just standing in line and waiting to get inside we got to sort of shake hands with Oprah on her way in which is great why Bren did my friend did yeah and it's just been wonderful it's been really really hectic we haven't had much time to sort of soak anything in but it's been wonderful tell us about your background and your parents and yeah I'm from Lahore Pakistan my parents came just a couple of days ago they came all this way my brother's actually a freshman and here at Harvard so they've been standing there taking some pictures and getting really excited about this whole ceremony my dad was an alum here so he's very excited as well and I have some family visiting from New York as well so angry and maybe some of your family in Pakistan can watch this on webcast yeah they are actually I've sent them the link and they're I think they're watching it right now and unfortunately I haven't had time to like check my phone or see if they're like sending this well greetings to them and congratulations thank you very much thank you so Nora tell us a little bit about your participation in Baccalaureate yesterday yes um so my friend and I we got to read the Quran my friend was reading in an Arabic and I read the English translation and it was a beautiful ceremony we had an absolutely wonderful time president pause speech was beautiful and very very inspiring we were very excited to participate because we got to select some passages from the Quran that word we felt were very relevant to the Harvard experience into the experience of really every student who comes in we started to us a lot of fast is about diversity about education and being educated and one really important verse was about reading and it was the first revealed verse in the Quran for to the Prophet Muhammad we thought it was particularly beautiful and relevant so we decided to start with that and then we talked about nations tell us more about that tell us a little bit more about yeah so the first the very first first it was called a reed in the name of your Lord thy Lord who created man created man out of a clot of congealed blood that was revealed by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad who said he could not read so the angel ordered him to read and it basically talks about I think if you know as we're here at Harvard to be educated it really talks about just the value of education and of learning and knowledge in any circumstance in any religion in any culture so that was a really really relevant passage that we took the very last one tell about that of the one about you've been created in two tribes and nations yeah the last one goes like about how God has created tribes and nations and men and women so that they can know each other and not that they should despise each other so I think that one was really relevant to for closing a passage because it talks about diversity it talks about the beauty of creation of all kinds of nations and I think obviously you had harvard since we see all nations represented it really struck a chord with the students who were watching who were listening and watching as well and especially the parents outside were very pleased by our choices of the fastest really inspiring congratulations thank you so much that's just a little bit about your future what will you be doing I'm hoping to go into journalism I'm looking at different options right now and maybe in Washington DC eventually I do want to go back to Pakistan and work there but for now I want to take advantage of the opportunities that the United States was given given me and hopefully I'll be with al-jazeera for six months and afterwards let's see where wherever it may take me well congratulations so much it's wonderful to see you on this occasion congratulations to you here and we look forward to having your brother Mir in Lowell house next year thank you so much you ready to enjoy the rest of the day and stay cool it's gonna be very hot you too congratulations I think I just saw some of the Lowell house people process in so fine let your all the viewers realize you are one of the co masters of Lowell house yes and this is a wonderful opportunity at Harvard for faculty for the students to get to know faculty in a really intimate way were you really are responsible for a little more than a hundred students per class is that right about yeah and and graduate students as well because we have 25 resident tutors in each house who are from all these graduate schools and this is really a great service you do for our community I think I think the faculty don't often express the appreciation for those of you who are willing to to really spend a lot of your personal lives interacting with the undergraduates regularly you have what three four events a night we don't know done not a great but we do have a lot of events and and you really eat with them regularly and live with them in a substantial way yeah I mean I I still think it's the best job in larper though I mean in the sense that it involves interacting with students with graduate students and with and also with faculty of because we have members of the senior common room many of whom came out at 7:00 this morning Deb breakfast with us and the process with students to this place so it's a kind of mini version of Harvard with faculty grad students and undergraduates well I really take the special needs to be there for the graduate students but especially for the undergraduates it takes this big University and chops it down it does bite-sized pieces that are much more accessible really it helps create the Harvard experience but it becomes a a place of living and interacting that is that really becomes a home not only for event but for us now these are probably from graduate school of education at School of Education these are students going off to in education some of them doctorates some of the masters many many students go off and teach for several years and then come back and get a masters in education people are using the programs to keep themselves cool in the hot Sun I think we're gonna see a lot of mortarboards come off and become fans this morning as well during the commencement there's a band and a commencement choir that is formed and they're on the steps of University Hall across the way and they provide the music and the singing that will be part of the program as we move through the official program and there are many very traditional elements of this that have become almost as much a part of Harvard commencement as fair Harvard one of them is the singing at some point in the order of the day of Psalm 78 give ear o children to thy law that generations yet unborn may teach it to their heirs now that there we see a member of the corporation talking to 2000's Larry background Larry was an economist at MIT for many years and then he became president of Tufts University and is now sitting at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard inspiring then Larry back out talking to you about you see Rick McCulloch from Carnegie Mellon he's our new vice provost research just below Larry he's the one with the Red Hood it's now hidden but his face was just below the Reebok house there he is P thereõs okay he's from Carnegie Mellon University distinguished chemist and engineer and he's he's here as vice provost for research really doing amazing things only having just arrived at Harvard a really wonderful new member of our community there was no talking to Oprah Oprah and Tom with skip gates in the background they're all seated and ready to go we're still seeing confused to design the School of Design coming in I hope we'll get an interview with one of the graduates in the School of Design who may have been stuck in line as Noor Ibrahim was he may get here in a little bit we'll see if we have time to interview him as well very often many of these graduates are seated almost before the president's procession begins so it's interesting to see them all filing in they come in from the yard that is between Seaver hall and and Quincy Street there are some phd's getting away bin to us so following this commencement this morning in each of these schools there will be what were traditionally called spreads luncheons at which family will reunite with the graduates and in some form either during or after before the luncheon the degrees will be awarded but those will take place in some two hundred tents that are set up all over the university not only are there fifty thousand chairs rented for today but there are two hundred tents set up as part of the temporary urbanism you might say of this great but that's what's wonderful about this whole ceremony you have everybody gathered here today here in Harvard Yard and then of course they move back and in smaller groups get personally cited for their accomplishments until you as master of Lowell house will will call out each of the of the seniors and I have to practice their names I will say because you know they come from all over the world I see a picture there Steve Hyman is back to us former Provost of the University Jackie O'Neill she's the one who has to she say Marshall everybody is seated come on over you see Liz Cohen sitting next Evelyn Hammond Liz Cohen former chair of the history department now the Dean of Radcliffe College doing wonderful service over there but of Dracula it's to prevent we sui sui' speak this word Harvard University as if we know what it means but really this is the only occasion in which one can actually visualize what Harvard University means on the whole I mean everybody from all of the schools gathered here because ordinarily the schools are flung across across Boston and across the river into Austin that's right we get a glimpse of it you know so so in what I do I'm I'm an environmental scientist and I have the privilege of directing the Harvard University Center for the environment which really brings together all of the schools and I like to say that you know Harvard is my playground it's an incredible intellectual community that you know it's maybe only today as you say that we appreciate just the burette of scholarship of Education going on around and it has spectacular it's really wonderful to celebrate being this way well and what you do actually is so important for the future of the University I mean the Harvard thinks green event that took place in the fall and the sustainability initiatives that are part of the University across the board these are going to be very important as as the years and decades roll along I think most important is the research and teaching that's done and the regular interactions across to me when when scientists talked to people from the Kennedy School talked to people at the Business School interact with their colleagues from the law school about some of the major challenges of the future we seek Harvard Kennedy School graduates with their globes of their inflatable globes see Fred Abernathy they're talking to Mike that's an important clue Fred Abernathy is the chief caller who organizes the president's procession and is responsible as delegated by Jackie O'Neal and others for getting everybody from the old yard into this yard on this occasion his boys bellowing out across Harvard Yard as people are preparing the both gets people to order but also tantalizes people with injuries and facts and figures about Harvard history because a wonderful job it is a wonderful job he was preceded in this by one of the Great's of Harvard classical education Mason Hammond who did it for many years and it's a it's a very important role we don't know much about I think we're about to begin we're about to get called to order let's see if the people on the stage start starts to take those seats all the seats are filled down the bell will ring to signal that this is to begin people are taking their seats [Music] [Applause] [Music] mr. sheriff pray give us order [Applause] as the High Sheriff of Middlesex County I declare that the meeting will be please rise as officer Stephen McNulty of the Boston Police Department leads the singing of the national anthem please remain standing until the chaplain of the day finishes the opening prayer oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight or the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the Rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave a war the land or the free [Applause] [Music] brain [Applause] before the chaplain offers the prayer let us all please join in a moment of silence and of gratitude we honor the victims of the terrible events six weeks ago and we stand in sympathy with their family and their friends and we join to in remembering the victims of last week's devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma and we offer our grateful appreciation to all those who showed us the very best of human nature amidst these tragedies let us pray source and sustainer and Cherisher of all God all compassionate merciful all-wise we give thanks for these candidates and the devotion that brought them to this day their devotion to the cell beneath the microscopes lens to the grammar of a new language to the poem whose mysteries deepen upon each reading to the mathematical problem that after long struggle flowers into a solution we pray that their lives and ours will always be marked by the passionate attention to what is other than ourselves the devotion that keeps us up late and wakes us up early we ask your blessing upon the families and friends whose support has made this day possible and we ask you to bless those whose names we do not know but on whose behalf these candidates have labored the student whose world will be opened by the new teacher who graduates today the struggling parishioner who will be accompanied by the new minister the community that will be joined by the new organizer the patient who will benefit from the work of the researcher we pray O God that the hours invested in libraries and labs will bear fruit among our neighbors near and far inspire these graduates o God to hold fast to what is good to render no one evil for evil to seek your justice and to show your mercy we pray for courage for them when the way is hard and for humility when fortune favors them may the joy of this day give them confidence and strengthen their desire to serve in all of your beautiful names we pray amen [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Lattin salutatory pay.we Gilliam quatuor odd Norum the four-year all-nighter candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts vinay a Solomon yurga [Applause] targeted targeted prices first decani ice demanding professor recipient s hospitals phone arathi familiar are my at condé skip literacy me son wait a honest ask me honoring a pool of totty was a glory hog manifesto specs plateaus Leticia superglue auntie's at would Sparrow alter America creator effectors me out am not that Allah created economist said the egg a static weight is skinny cat in Loretto Scholastic of her bikini add elegant isthmus Nostrum out salmon optimum octo valleys where own control Cyprus highly her a few is editor for Tatiana continents arrow compromise a patent Clarissa mum University Tomkins animus steelies apparatus scholastic Oh in Sorrento computer toriel Atwater honorable sneaky saris presto own residence modem engines Perrotti its 2d would not take you to Prague ready on take on catotti Kherson we try in Australian linearly in Kappa moose and I consider him a bonito to tom perski from Hebei want a leap how can care to appear on tables with her own is not aware and said only slightly for speaker bombers prosper cables known the Ottoman geographer académica said Aussie Aussie Admiral random well at when Turin biblioteca chromosome worse in Annique to add imagine a momentum anomalies blondie reckon TC mom curtains hora media and not disapproving wanted a post post was Ramos coatings go with yolk lemon mousse lenteja written Optus a quick mocks in secundum our moon we taper when T we tossed in a country Ida posthumous at North constituents in dermis by RTC mean magnificant dome in Capote Anson scintilla famously soccer okay Lisa Curtis of noble are equal Pete with most American bombers and Vitas Noguchi OSes at Fort Leaton insomnia Nasri sergeant easiness in peace Kenan will Kissimmee cafe screamy vamoose taman would work on World War II battle drill is a heuristic risk we know knocked at his console on taboos around no new lanolin sauna around normal appellate Rose new Galia seduce prescribe a bombs purple Carla's Edna Wallace at Louie Alice / Flores electrically a beauty honest improvisers preocupaciones de patatas the crapola samhitas / Gladys numerable a semicolon noe Portis at paper in American cloud and Lori awesome the war room Mexico room cicadas limas a little mentally famous conceals Vinny Buscaino newcomer primo liniment Oh ridiculous aberrant Evo's post knocked em asanam tandem prima looks like acid no tiata poppy antepasados at psycho tolling Houston be able Sydney delecti SEMA Marlowe Annie Otto röhm huar Deana [Applause] ex haka leguillou 3x emos daily rant a sexual fantasy way Arielle doctor pro-grade ents re indicate resurrecting a lily confuse a cloud dentist erratic typographical neglect a Corrigan tests said illness it a perpetual at vinum ad venomous poop realized FSI impotence orbital zone is a comment with oculus contract is from DMV RTC moment speak emos Carissimi make on disk evilly Benidorm ET r been a wallet [Applause] senior English address listening to time candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts Felix Davison [Applause] this feels a little bit different from speaking in section but I'll do my best one day during spring break I went for a walk in Mount Auburn cemetery wandering aimlessly between trees and graves I stumbled upon a tombstone half buried in snow with an inscription that intrigued me Charles a Ditmas junior 1910 2001 keeper of the clocks of Harvard College cool I wanted to find out more it turns out that Charles was appointed by Harvard in the 1940s the clean and maintained the university's many antique clocks which were scattered around campus in museums halls and residences Charles was known on campus for his eccentric behavior and the black toolbag he always carried with him he once gave the University Police a grandfather clock that belonged to another department claiming that the gift earned him the right to park anywhere on campus I'm sure the parents appreciate that Charles really loved clocks all clocks have their personalities he wrote their chronic ailments their individuality some speaks so fast that one can scarcely hear them let alone understand what they say others are so ponderously slow almost unwilling to give their information still others are most unsure of themselves they hesitate and seem to apologize when they speak one is well to accept their words running his fingers along a clocks what casing Charles with whisper how are you feeling today it would be easy to dismiss Charles as having an overactive imagination but if you really think about it hearing voices and clocks is not that extraordinary a pond seen upon seeing a beautiful work of art we say it speaks to us inspiring stories touch us and hardship shakes us our feelings happen to us we do not will them in the same way that we do not walk into love we fall in love pulled by a force so powerful and so completely beyond our control what strikes me about Charles's relationship with clocks is that he never worried about what seems so obvious to the rest of us clocks tell time they symbolize the unceasing passage of time every second forward is a unique moment lost to eternity Charles was unfazed by the passage of time because he was enraptured by the inner engineering of the clock and the elegance of its casing that is why he hated battery clocks and electric clocks they had no soul no feeling they were more precise truer to time but he could not talk to them you see Charles simply like the feeling of a clocks tick it's texture and the story had told if you probe him further and asked him why he liked these he might shrug and say I just do one could not rationalize it it was simply intuitive a feeling now what does this have to do with commencement well commencement today refers to a beginning but in fact the word commencement comes from the Latin come together and in ETA to initiate we are being initiated together thrown forward into new worlds it's easy to see this day as one would look at a clock clocks tell time commencement tells time the passage from one age to the next what is harder is to see a clock and our commencement as outside of time it is hard because we seek to understand time time time we seek to control it but the passage of time like much in life lies beyond us it lies beyond our reach we do not control where we are born we do not control when we are born and death is not a choice fear anxiety and hope are only natural responses to the other vastness and uncertainty of the universe these feelings flow it inside all of us and they should guide us on this day of commencement we can listen to them amidst the trees the red bricks the infinite sky above us we can listen to their breath and they can lead us to unexpected places and if we listen carefully enough even the plainest things can become the source of infinite joy and Wonder a clap of thunder the beating of your heart even an old clock [Applause] graduate English address in praise of clip-on ties candidate for the degree of Master of Public Administration John Muir [Music] [Applause] good morning my name is John Murad and this is a clip-on tie it's not the height of fashion perhaps but when you're a cop as I am there is a definite value in breakaway neck wear especially if someone's trying to choke you on Monday when I returned to the New York City Police Department after this academic sojourn I'll probably be assigned to a precinct in the Bronx or Manhattan north and I'll put this on and go forth to try to make my corner of the city a safer fairer place now I'd venture that few of us in the theater this morning are embarking on or returning to careers where clip-on ties much less prospects of getting choked are the norm after all we're Harvard graduates we're joining a distinguished fellowship of eight US presidents Nobel Prize winners fields medal winners pilots or winners Oscar winners it's a lot of winners it's a community of accomplishment unlike any other and I'm proud to belong to it actually I had joined it first 18 years ago when I sat out there as a member of the college class of 1995 Kirkland house and pondered my place in this distinguished fellowship back then greatness was the only option and if you had told me then that I'd end up a cop in the Bronx I'd have slowly backed away Harvard graduates don't take jobs like that they become AI bankers and startup entrepreneurs there are expectations the first of Harvard's eight US presidents writing to the second his son drove this home you come to life with advantages which will disgrace you if your success is mediocre and if you do not rise to the head not only of your profession but of your country it will be owing to your own laziness Slaven leanness and obstinacy I know right something tells me that John Adams would have been unenthused if John Quincy had come home with a clip-on tie but somewhere inside that sentiment is not alien to any of us the distinguished fellowship with its scientists and statesmen sets a high bar but let us remember this it is incomplete without those among us whose paths will not be written in history books nor on Wikipedia pages for many of you perhaps most of you the lives you've envisioned aren't necessarily the ones you'll lead and that's not a bad thing my hope today in this time before the diplomas and the family photos and the deserve addres VLEs is to remind us all to assure us all that there is as much stature in our being social workers and teachers soldiers and preachers nurses and yes even cops as in being presidents and Poets Laureate a lot of you know this already but I did not when first I sat out there and now well I'm probably not the only municipal cop in the country with two harvard degrees but i'm surely in a tiny cohort and that's not a boast it's a lament if there is something special about this place and the lessons that we have learned here and i believe there is then america the world needs people like you in these roles because john adams was dead wrong success doesn't mean rising to the top it means changing the world and here's the secret and here's the secret everyone changes the world everything ripples it's how we do it that counts so how do we do it do you choose a job that serves others as many of you already have done do you sign up to be a big sister do you check out citizen schools do you volunteer for hospice yes the answer is yes these things are the tab for your coming here when others could not these things matter they may even be better than making piles of money although as a civil servant I wouldn't really know but I do know this the crimson H you've earned today it marks you like a can't have hester prynne sometimes you'll shy from it as when you disingenuously say that you went to school in boston and other times you'll drop the h-bomb with aplomb regardless the Crimson letter and the expectations that come with it are yours and so is the way you choose to change the world for the time being I'll be doing it one radio run at a time while wearing a clip-on tie you can wear whatever neck wear you like or none at all but let us go forth and serve as we can what an inspiring and you can tell his Kennedy School cohort was since they are reminding all of us there's so many ways to give back for movies it's not just all the prizes and accomplishments but all the things we do every day looked about a standing ovation from all of the beans in the planet it's very rare to see a standing O for one of the commencement addresses that's right I think it really touched a chord [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] this little light of mine I think for the first time a Harvard commencement so here comes the Provost Alan Garvey addresses by the selected candidates for ordinary degrees being ended the deans of the several departments will now present to the President and fellows and to the Board of Overseers in the favoring presence of the friends here assembled the candidates on whom the various academic distinctions are with Jews ceremony to be conferred the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president members of the Board of Overseers in the name of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and by its authority I have the honor to report on four groups of candidates who will be presented to you today first the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will present candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and then the degrees of Master of Arts and of science next the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will present candidates for the degrees of Master of Science and of engineering third the Dean of continuing education and University Extension will present candidates for the degrees of Associate in Arts Bachelor of Liberal Arts and master of Liberal Arts in extension studies finally near the close of these exercises the seniors in Harvard College who are candidates you guys were a little slow who are candidates for the first degree in arts or in science will stand proudly before you the candidates in each of these groups have my vote of the faculty fulfill the requirements for the degrees for which they are severally recommended I salute all of these men and women trusting that they will forever wisely enjoy the freedoms that their education has given to them while bearing the responsibilities that they're learning demands of them each of these groups will now be introduced to you by the deans responsible for the programs in which they have been enrolled candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy will rise first to be honored the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Shelley Mangum I must confess this is more nerve-racking for me than presenting my own Caesars defense because if I mispronounce anything or your cease of defense will be wasted none of you will get your degree so wish me good luck and I hope I would do so well in the end I can get a hug from opera as well Marlon present Fellows of cava college mr. president members of Board of Overseers as Dean of the Graduate scope Arts and Sciences I have the honor to present to you these scholars all whom have devoted themselves to the rigorous pursuit of Advanced Study have a 10 high distinction and have made original contribution to knowledge in their several fields of scholarship by virtue of authority delegated to me and recognizing your high academic achievements I confer on you women and men of learning the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and I welcome you to the ancient and universal company of scholars and entrust to you the free inquiry of future generations congratulations and 50 PhDs together and they'll receive their diplomas in South Bend Sanders Theater candidates from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science will rise the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences don't owari I have practiced once so you're gonna get their degree Fellows of Harvard College mr. president members of board overseers as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences I have the honor to present you these candidates all of whom have complete a command will step of advances study in their respective disciplines by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Master of Arts or Master of Science and certify that you have surmounted with distinction the first stage of graduate study congratulations [Applause] candidates from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for the degrees of Master of Science and master of engineering will rise the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean cherry Murray I like to [Laughter] remember through the Board of Overseers as Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences I have the honor to present to you these women and men who have completed the first step of Advanced Study in Engineering and Applied Sciences by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Master of Science or master of engineering and certify that you have surmounted with distinction the first stage of graduate study congratulations [Applause] candidates for the degrees of Associate in Arts Bachelor of Liberal Arts and master of Liberal Arts in extension studies will rise with appreciation for his nearly two score years of service as Dean I recognized the Dean of continuing education and University Extension Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as the lame duck Dean of continuing education and University Extension I have the honor to present to you these students candidates for the degrees of Associate in Arts Bachelor of Liberal Arts and master of Liberal Arts in extension studies of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Associate in Arts Bachelor of Liberal Arts or master of Liberal Arts in extension Studies and admit you to the Fellowship of educated men and women congratulations degrees awarded this year and extension studies this is remarkable many of these students have been here for decades [Music] this anthem Psalm 78 from Saint Martin's is almost as much a part of Harvard commencement as fair Harvard [Music] the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers in the name of the Faculty of Medicine and by its authority I have the honor today to report the two groups of students in the fields of medicine and dental medicine have fulfilled the requirements of the Faculty for the degrees for which they are recommended they will be introduced to you by the deans responsible for the programs in which they are enrolled and I'm not going to end this tradition with new candidates for the degrees of Doctor of Dental Medicine doctor of Medical Sciences and master of Medical Sciences will rise the Dean of the School of Dental Medicine this is Bruce Donna Bruce Donna Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president members of the Board of Overseers as Dean of the School of Dental Medicine I have the honor to present to you these women and men each of whom has devoted four years to the study of dental medicine or at least three years to postdoctoral studies aimed at improving health and the quality of life by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine doctor of Medical Sciences or master of Sciences and declare that you are qualified for practice and research in a demanding branch of medicine congratulations [Applause] [Music] candidates for the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and master of medical science will rise wonderful barber the padeen for medical education Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as dean for medical education I have the honor to present to you these men and women each of whom has worked hard and well to prepare for a life of learning and service in medicine by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Medicine or master of medical science and declare that as physicians you are ready to engage in an honorable and merciful calling congratulations [Applause] [Music] I would like to change the tradition and shake the hand of our mayor [Applause] candidates for the degrees of master of theological studies Master of Divinity master of theology and doctor of theology will rise the Dean of the Faculty of Divinity this is David Hempton his first year I declare by the divine power invested in me a hug free timeout for Oprah Winfrey this really cost me madam president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as Dean of the Faculty of Divinity I have the great honor to present to you these women and men each of whom has devoted to three or more years to theological or religious studies in preparation for careers as leaders in scholarship and vocations of service by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Master of theological studies Master of Divinity master of theology or doctor of theology and declare that you are well-prepared to foster the health and vitality of communities of faith to further scholarship in religious studies and to help in shaping the shared values of the broader society congratulations [Applause] candidates for the degrees of Doctor of Law Master of Laws Master laws and doctor of juridical science will rise the Law School students very loud they're waving Devils the changes of the Faculty of Law Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and the Board of Overseers this is too tall as Dean of the Faculty of Law I have the honor to present to you these women and men each of whom has completed a degree in legal studies toward the ends of advancing justice and promoting the rule of law by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Doctor of Law Master of Laws or doctor of juridical science and declare that you are ready to aid in shaping the wise restraints that make us free congratulations so lawyers leashed the world candidates for the degrees of Master in Business Administration awards and doctor of Business Administration will rise the Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration also as you can tell much-loved mentor nuria Fellows of Harvard College mr. president members of the Board of Overseers as Dean of the Faculty of business administration it is my honor and privilege to prevent to present to you so this is what happens when you get nervous it is my honor to present to you these women and men who have mastered the study of Business Administration and prepared themselves to be leaders who will make a difference in the world by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree of Master in Business Administration or doctor of Business Administration and testify that you are ready to lead people and organizations in enterprises that will make a difference in the world congratulations just the insignia of the business school 900 candidates for the several degrees in architecture Landscape Architecture urban planning and design will rise this is the Graduate School of Design Mohsen Mostafavi the Dean of the Faculty of design Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as Dean of the Faculty of design I have the honor to present you these men and women each of whom has qualified for a master's degree in architecture Landscape Architecture urban design urban planning or design studies or for the degree of Doctor of Design by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on each of you the degree for which you have qualified and declare your competence to lead in shaping the spaces in which we live congratulations [Applause] candidates for the degrees of Master of Education doctor of Education and Doctor of Education leadership will rise huge number 744 all waving notebooks with gratitude with gratitude for her leadership at Harvard and congratulations on her appointment as the next president of Smith College I recognize the Dean of the Faculty of Education president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers that's Dean of the Faculty of Education I have the honor to present to you these women and men who will be leaders in education practice policy and research by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on each of you the master's or doctor's degree in education or the doctor's degree in education leadership and declare that you are well-prepared to lead in teaching and learning for individuals and society congratulations [Applause] candidates for the several degrees in public health will rise the Dean of the Faculty of Public Health Julio frenk our Health Minister of Mexico Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as Dean of the Faculty of Public Health I have the honor to present to you these women and men each of whom has qualified for a master's degree or a doctor's degree to provide leadership advanced knowledge and improve the public's health by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degrees in public health for which your studies have qualified you and declare that you are well-prepared to generate and utilize knowledge to improve health throughout the world congratulations [Applause] candidates for the degrees of Master in public administration master of public Master in public administration in International Development and master and master in public policy will rise these are all the graduates of the Harvard Kennedy School 564 the Dean of the Faculty of Government David L will be Singlish spell Madam President and Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as dean of the School of Government and as a previous guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show [Applause] it is my very great honor to present to you these women and men each of whom has qualified for exceptional leadership in public service by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the degree for which your studies have qualified you and testify that you are well prepared to offer leadership in the quest for enlightened public policy an effective public service throughout the world congratulations [Applause] Public Administration it really is a wonderfully international institution in Homer and here come the undergraduates Ralph Vaughan Williams Oh clap your hands again a traditional anthem [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts or of science will rise there they are undergraduates sixteen preceded by house but in the front of the group with red piping under under balance the silicon bodies and the marshals their chosen representatives together with candidates for those degrees summa laude will draw near summa laude represents the very highest which warm appreciation only 78 with warm appreciation for her devoted leadership and service as Dean I recognized the Dean of Harvard College distinguished historian it sounds Madame president Fellows of Harvard College mr. president and members of the Board of Overseers as dean of Harvard College I have the honor to present to you these women and men each of whom has fulfilled the Faculty's requirements for the first degree in arts or in science each candidate stands ready to advance knowledge to promote understanding and to serve society by virtue of authority delegated to me I confer on you the first degree in arts or in science and I admit you to the Fellowship of educated women and men step one congratulate person this also includes the my Electrical hissing but to meet them into the next five years Harvard graduate son daniel carver but these pronouncements that they stand ready to advance knowledge promote understanding and serve society are very traditional as well as the president's statement of admitting them tearing both the fellowship of educated there they are all taking pictures of Evelynn Hammond and Oprah they seem to be drawing near to thank you very much subsided there have been a burst of impromptu and unscripted remarks today and actions very interesting informality that has come across everyone on this beautiful sunny day a lot of very happy people yes it's cool the happy observance of commencement that's its official title keeps a jar on his desk inside the jar is a worm the worms name is Henrietta she is a guinea worm her habitat is formaldehyde Henrietta embodies the mission to which our guest has devoted himself for decades eradicating the terrible parasitic disease known as guinea worm which has plagued people in Africa and Asia for centuries the number of people tormented by guinea worm disease has dropped precipitously since our guests began waging his battle in 1986 then there were some three and a half million cases worldwide now reportedly there are fewer than 600 the end is in sight the dreaded fiery serpent of the Old Testament has not been his only target he has played a central part in the international campaigns to rid the world of river blindness and to control measles and early in his career he was a key figure in the hugely ambitious and successful global fight to eradicate smallpox one of the great achievements of modern public health he is a graduate and former faculty member of our own School of Public Health he was deputy director and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in recent years he has led the worldwide health programs of the Carter Center President Carter has called him and I quote an individual with passion and heart committed to alleviating the suffering of millions who go unnoticed by the media there have been few heroes in my life President Carter has said he is one of them we honor a hero of global health Donald Hopkins vanquishing fiery serpents with missionary zeal banishing plagues from countless houses he nimbly wields the rod of asclepius with a scientist skill and a humanitarian scare Donald Roswell Hopkins doctor of science [Applause] as a child our next guests liked to walk in the woods with her grandfather she watched the birds she learned about the wildflowers she earned pocket change foraging for crawfish and selling them as bait her childhood love of nature blossomed into a professional passion for science today she is one of the world's foremost investigators at the crossroads of chemistry and biology her work has shown how the building blocks of RNA are transformed into the building blocks of DNA a process essential to DNA replication and repair she has shed essential white on the enzymes known as ribonucleotide reductase ha's and the molecules known as free radicals radicals I might add wholly unrelated to her student days in the late 60s in Berkeley her investigations have earned her the National Medal of Science for demonstrating the power of chemistry to solve biological problems they have led to new therapies for pancreatic and other cancers and they have advanced efforts to make environmentally-friendly plastics throughout she has been driven by a sheer fascination with the mysteries of nature enzymes do a lot of pretty cool things she has said and I love discovering exactly how they do it it's a pleasure to welcome our pretty cool neighbor from down Mass Ave who has scaled the heights of science while toiling at a humble Technical Institute perhaps best known for its proximity to Toscanini's ice cream we honor from MIT Joanne stubby [Music] boundlessly curious relentlessly rigorous enrapt by the helical strands that encode our existence a sage of science who elucidates enzymes crucial to the chemistry of life Joe and stubby doctor of science [Applause] our next guest shows us why economics is a deeply social science his work Springs from a drive to understand and I quote how people's lives come to be what they are and how economics can help improve the prospects of people who are hugely constrained in what they can be and do asked to prove to produce a brief general introduction to economics he framed it as a story about two young girls one Becky comes from a comfortable family in the Midwestern United States the other dust-up from an impoverished family living in a mud hut in Ethiopia he explains economics not just through his eyes but through theirs he does so with analytic rigor but also with an empathetic determination to consider how economics can help address deprivation and hunger how it can expand life's opportunities for people born without silver spoons maybe without spoons at all he has made important contributions across a remarkable range of subfields economic theory knowledge and innovation game theory political economy poverty and nutrition and environmental economics to named to some he has written compellingly about human population growth and the risks it poses to exhausting the world's resources he has confronted the question of how to value a nation's wealth urging that we take proper account of natural resources in measuring an economy's worth in this sense he has envisioned economics not only as a social science but as a natural science one obliged to embrace nature as a core concern we honor from the University of Cambridge Sir partha discuss and inexhaustibly resourceful economist dauntless in confronting the largest of questions he trains his keen eye on the plight of the poorest and insists we value nature when we gauge the wealth of nations Partha Sarathi dust Gupta Doctor of Laws [Applause] Shakespeare recognized music as the food of love our next guest recognized music as the food of opportunity he is the renowned creator of El Sistema an ingenious program he conceived in his native Venezuela nearly 40 years ago it has given disadvantaged children by now hundreds of thousands of children the chance to make music and through music it has given them the chance for a better of life el sistema invites young children especially in economically disadvantaged communities to join an orchestra the children often rehearse five days a week three or four hours a day for Venezuela el sistema has become not just an ambitious form of extracurricular enrichment it has become a full-fledged nationwide social program a pathway for children to come together to work hard to learn to collaborate to aspire to participate in something that gives them a sense of pride and belonging and that inspires the communities they live in if not for El Sistema said a typical participant who took up the French horn I'd either be dead or still living on the streets communities around the world have taken to pursuing versions of El Sistema in England and India in Australia and Korea across Latin America and here in the United States we sometimes remark on the power of the arts to transform lives few few people in the world personify that ideal as vividly as our honored guests the most holy of human rights he likes to say is the right to art we applaud maestro Jose Antonio Abreu magnanimous maestro of an uplifting movement orchestrating harmonies that far transcend the stage in the sublime power of music he finds opportunities major key Jose Antonio Abreu doctor of music [Applause] struck by the range of disciplines our next guest has crossed physics chemistry biology mathematics engineering an interviewer asked him so what kind of a knowledge estar you I'd say he replied I am a scientist with a short attention span no one can doubt the span of his influence on modern science he grew up in Australia fascinated by puzzles he studied at the University of Sydney then was a lecturer in an applied math here at Harvard before serving at Sydney then Princeton for the past 25 years his home has been England where he has served as a professor at Oxford as president of the Royal Society and as chief scientific adviser to the British government and head of its Office of Science and Technology his research has in one colleagues words revolutionized the mathematical approach to ecology and infectious diseases awarding him the Crawford Prize sometimes called biologies Nobel the Royal Swedish Academy cited him as the person who had exerted the greatest influence on theoretical and empirical ecological research over the previous quarter century he earned the international balls on price for his seminal contributions to the mathematical analysis of biodiversity he earned the prestigious blue planet prize for devising models vital to both ecological preservation and Disease Control knighted by the Queen named a life here in the House of Lords he is not only an eminent scientist but a leading statesmen of science a champion of the scientific enterprise and it's animating values of free inquiry and fidelity to reason we honor Lord May of Oxford Robert May a prodigious polymath and peerless peer whose mind conceives models that sustain life and whose voice resounds in support of enlightened inquiry Robert McCready may doctor of science she has interpreted the ancient and long-lost documents known as the NAG Hammadi scriptures she has revisited the Garden of Eden for enduring lessons about sex and politics she has probed the origin of Satan and the practice of demonizing one's opponents she has reinterpreted Gospels reassessed the book of Revelation and explored the nature of heresy and belief she has even adjusted about Judas with Stephen Colbert throughout it all our next guest has emerged as one of the Academy's foremost scholars of religion especially the history of early Christianity her books and articles have infused long-standing religious debates with fresh light and arresting insight with our addition a lon and sometimes audacity she has both reshaped academic discourse about religion and brought provocative questions about religious tradition to a wide public audience she holds her PhD from our own Graduate School of Arts and Sciences [Music] she is Past Chair of the religion department at Barnard she earned rockefeller Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships all within three years she has won the National Book Award as well as her home institutions distinguished teaching prize she is now the Harrington sphere pain foundation professor of religion at what is arguably America's finest university within a 20 mile radius of exit 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike we welcome back to Harvard and we honor Elaine Pagels bold expositor of the gnostic gospels reading ancient scriptures anew a scholar transcending traditions constraints to bring forth books of Revelation Elaine hi-c Pagels Doctor of Laws [Applause] our next guest has been known to spur his colleagues to action by quoting a line from Waiting for Godot let us do something while we have the chance they are words that capture how he has seized opportunities in his own life and sought out chances to improve the lives of others a lifelong North Carolinian he was the first in his family giving the chance to go to college he attended unc charlotte and earned enough credits to graduate after three years he applied to Harvard Business School the envelope that came back in the mail alas was thin undaunted he spent his senior year studying poetry music and art he reapplied to HBS today he is one of the school's most distinguished and devoted graduates given the chance to run his family's construction business he expanded in it into a vital force in Charlotte's development given the chance to chair the board of the Bank of North Carolina he transformed its fortunes given the chance to serve on the charlotte-mecklenburg Board of Education he helped guide the historic integration of the county's public schools given the chance to lead the North Carolina State Board of Education he used his formable powers of persuasion to advocate for better teacher pay [Applause] as president of the University of North Carolina system for 11 years he made affordability a paramount priority assuring that thousands of young people would enjoy the chance he was given years before an extraordinary philanthropist he has supported education human services arts and culture with a special eye to creating opportunity for students at both UNC and HBS the Campus Center at Harvard Business School the heart of Student Life bears his family name past president of Harvard sport of Overseers Past Chair of the HBS visiting committee and one of Harvard's most dedicated alumni he is known for his humility integrity self effacing humor and his wonderful way of connecting with everyone he meets we honor and we think dick Spangler [Applause] exponent of Education executive extraordinaire a transformative benefactor both gracious and wise who always does something for others while he has the chance Clemmy dixon Spangler jr. Doctor of Laws [Applause] [Music] our next guest has been the boss of Boston for nearly as long as the lives of the seniors who graduate today he is the longest-serving mayor in the history of one of our nation's oldest and greatest cities [Music] and he is known near and far that's one of the most effective dedicated and deservedly popular public servants to have held office in recent times he leads with a passion for the people he serves for 20 years and a decade before that as city councilor he has invested the whole of his being in the well-being of Boston's neighborhoods he has worked to promote the city's prosperity to strengthen its schools to improve safety to assure access to health care to enhance the quality of life he treats his constituents like family he attends countless events attends to countless concerns spends countless hours on issues large and small all to serve the city he loves not least of all he deeply appreciates the value of this region's many colleges and universities and has been a true friend of higher education and research he has led through times of achievement and celebration and also through times of grief six weeks ago terror and tragedy struck Boston and at the interfaith service that followed he spoke with simple heartfelt eloquence about the city that is his pride and sown I'm telling you he said nothing can defeat the heart of the city nothing nothing will take us down because we take care of one another even with the smell of smoke in the air and blood on the streets tears in our eyes we triumph over that hateful act on Monday afternoon it's a glorious thing the love and the strength that covers our city it will push us forward it will push thousands and thousands and thousands of people across the finish line next year because this is Boston a city with the courage compassion and strength that knows no bounds we salute a public servant whose own courage compassion and strength know no bounds the mayor of Boston the Honorable Thomas M Menino everybody listen [Music] the consummate mayor of the people for the people an urban mechanic turned urban legend whose love of his city and passion for its betterment have made and kept Boston strong Thomas M Menino doctor among many many other things our final guest is a movie producer and if someone had come to her as a producer to pitch a script based on her own life story she might understandably have dismissed it as improbable beyond belief she spent her early childhood on a small pig farm in rural Mississippi reared by her grandmother her preteen and early teenage years in Milwaukee brought poverty abuse and personal tragedy but she did far more than persevere by her late teens she had been crowned Miss Black Tennessee and earned a scholarship to Tennessee State by 22 she was co-hosting a television talk show in Baltimore she recalls that its premiere featured her interview with the car Bell ice cream man in 1984 she moved to Chicago and began hosting the daytime show that soon took her name it went into national syndication and in time became the most watched and most Emmy Award program of its kind in American television history today she is one of the most admired and influential people in the world her celebrated talk show ran for 25 years and reached the best international audience she has launched a magazine a radio channel and a cable network she has produced movies TV programs and a Broadway show she has led a worldwide book club and championed the importance and the pleasure of reading she has established herself as one of the savviest and most successful entrepreneurs of our times she is also a renowned philanthropist whose public and private charities have benefited women children and families around the world she has been an especially devoted supporter of education generously funding scholarships and schools in founding a Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa no one has done more to encourage Americans to read says one admirer and no one has better exemplified the responsible use of commercial success and philanthropic resources when she started out in Chicago her audience was so thin that people had to be pulled in off the street and bribed with coffee and donuts in order to fill the seats looking out from the stage I think we can fairly conclude that this is yet another obstacle she has managed to overcome more than 40 years since she was crowned Miss Fire Prevention of Nashville Tennessee in the land of the Grand Ole Opry we proudly honor Oprah Winfrey [Applause] opening books opening doors opening minds to life's possibilities a bountiful altruist and woman of Valor whose audiences Oh her a spirited standing O Oprah Winfrey doctor [Applause] in the name of this society of scholars I declare that these persons are entitled to the rights and privileges pertaining to their several degrees and that their names are to be forever borne on its role of honorary members degree candidates and their guests and all alumni are warmly invited to attend the afternoon session of commencement day exercises under the direction of the Harvard Alumni Association the Alumni parade will begin at 1:45 p.m. and the exercises will begin at 2:30 p.m. the commencement speakers will be Oprah Winfrey and the president of Harvard University the commencement choir director will lead us in the singing of the commencement him following the hymn the Pusey Minister will pronounce the benediction the commencement exercises then being ended the sheriff of Middlesex County will declare the meeting adjourned the audience is requested to remain seated until the President and fellows and their guests have withdrawn from the platform [Music] go in peace speak truth be thankful for every day be quick to compliment liberally do not be afraid to love outloud be slow to speak a word of judgment and if you do do it discreetly be led by your faith never by your fears be kind live simply live of service give yourself to a cause bigger than yourself wear a clip-on tie for if you do these things you will do justice love mercy and walk humbly before your God amen [Applause] as the High Sheriff of Middlesex County I declare that the meeting will be adjourned [Applause] not only here in the Memorial Church in Harvard Yard the tercentenary theatre but across Cambridge including the 17 great Russian bells of Lowell house the bells of the business school of churches and public buildings all over campus we see now the deans and the fellows members the corporation members of the Board of Overseers file off the stage the 360 second observance of Harvard commencement and with so many reminders today from our sneakers speakers from the new york city cop told everyone to go forth and to serve because the crimson age wants you want you to be of service wherever you do it in whatever form you do it it's really wonderful [Music] in business in government music in the arts we saw today and of course looking out at all of these faces and wonderful undergraduates and graduates heading off the world with all sorts of potential exciting possibilities in their future now we think of president Faust words running towards the challenges that we all of life's great challenges and embracing them this our Latin orator said well some people are confidently striding maybe running toward the challenges others are kind of tiptoeing and not sure what the next steps will be but whatever they'll be they will be marked by this occasion and by the great transition in their lives that this brings about that's right and we see the parents standing in the background supporting all of these graduates for so long this is the most economically diverse class of Harvard College graduates there has ever been in part because of the financial aid programs that have been put in place it also is the most international of college graduating classes it's a very inspiring sight seeing all of these students such enthusiasm such passion and to see the latino/latina vestments that they put on the Native American students the african-american students they had job of the Muslim students some of the Muslim women you know for us on the faculty it's a reminder that although we're very proud of our own professional accomplishments I can think quite far the greatest impact we will have on the world is actually through educating these young minds setting them free on the world to really make the world a better place and they go for us here we see them in the words of that old Harvard fair Harvard him from the age that has passed to the age that is waiting before and the age is waiting for these students stretching out before them Lana is a wonderful commencement once again thank you for doing it with me and thank you dad look forward to more commencement it's a wonderful morning and I hope all of you at home have enjoyed watching and participating as you have in this Harvard commencement thank you and have a wonderful commencement spread and return for the afternoon thank you [Music]

Channel: Harvard University

Views: 29,655

Rating: 4.4461536 out of 5

Keywords: harvard, harvard university, commencement, graduation

Id: E9teCkpapjk

Length: 156min 17sec (9377 seconds)

Published: Thu May 30 2013