New England Board of Higher Education » Commencement

Pomp and Circumstance: Maine Senator, Leader of Genome Project Among Upcoming Commencement Speakers

John O. Harney — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:01:19 +0000

U.S. Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine) and Bernard Osher Foundation President Mary G.F. Bitterman will speak at the University of Southern Maine commencement on Saturday, May 11 in the Costello Sports Complex on the Gorham campus. Collins will address undergraduate students at 9 a.m. Bitterman will address graduate students at 2 p.m.

Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT and a leader of the Human Genome Project, will keynote Worcester Polytechnic Institute's 145th commencement exercises on Saturday, May 11, at 11 a.m. on the Quad.

Boston City Councillor Tito Jackson will deliver the address at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology's 105th commencement on Saturday May 18, at 10 a.m. at the college.

Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge who built a career standing up for women’s rights and civil liberties, will keynote Wheaton College’s 178th commencement on Saturday, May 18, at 10 a.m. in the Dimple.

Christopher M. Dadlez, president and CEO of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, will keynote the University of Hartford's graduate commencement on Saturday, May 18, at 10 a.m. on the lawn outside Gengras Student Union. Bernard Cornwell, a British author of historical novels, will keynote the undergraduate ceremony on Sunday, May 19, at 10 a.m. also on the lawn outside Gengras Student Union.

Sheri S. McCoy, CEO of Avon Products, will keynote Stonehill College's 62nd commencement on Sunday, May 19, at 10 a.m. on the college's Quadrangle lawn.

Willem Lange, author of the weekly column, “A Yankee Notebook,” commentator for both Vermont and New Hampshire Public Television and founder of the Geriatric Adventure Society, will keynote Lyndon State College's commencement on Sunday, May 19, at 11 a.m. on the Lyndon State College Soccer Field under the tent.

Wendy Kopp, founder and chair of Teach for America, will deliver Boston University’s 140th commencement address on Sunday, May 19, at 1 p.m. on Nickerson Field.

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NE Colleges Announce Spring Commencement Speakers Even Before Winter Arrives (smtms in 140 chars max)

John O. Harney — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:40:53 +0000

It's not even officially winter, and New England colleges are starting to announce their spring commencement speakers.

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will deliver Northeastern University’s 110th commencement address on May 4, 2012. Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun made the announcement via Twitter!

Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s international affairs program “GPS," editor-at-large of Time magazine, Washington Post columnist and author, will be the principal speaker at the afternoon exercises of Harvard’s 361st commencement, on Thursday, May 24, 2012.

Salman A. Khan, founder of the Khan Academy online educational organization, will deliver the keynote address at MIT’s 146th Commencement on Friday, Jun. 8, 2012

Big Oil CEO and Carbon Opponent to Each Address WPI Grads After Speaker Dustup; Gov. Malloy to Deliver Keynotes in Connecticut

John O. Harney — Fri, 06 May 2011 18:19:04 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute's invitation to ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to deliver this year’s commencement address on May 14, sparked protests from WPI’s Students for a Just and Stable Future. The students noted that the world’s largest oil company and a major funder of climate deniers has given more than $1.3 million to the school. After WPI President Dennis Berkey's threat to stop protesting students from receiving diplomas drew negative media attention, Berkey withdrew the threat and agreed to allow an alternate commencement speech by Richard Heinberg, senior fellow of the Post Carbon Institute, directly following Tillerson’s address, which begins at 11 a.m.

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Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will address graduates at Norwalk Community College on Thursday, May 19, at 4:30 p.m., in the East Campus parking lot.

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Malloy will also deliver the commencement address at Eastern Connecticut State University’s 121^st graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 22, at 10 a.m. at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

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William Bratton, a security expert who has led the nation’s largest police departments, and his wife, television personality and trial attorney Rikki Klieman, will address Suffolk Law School graduates on Sunday, May 22, at 9:30 a.m., at the Boston Convention Center. CBS news reporter Jeff Glor will speak to Suffolk undergraduates at 2 p.m., at the Boston Convention Center. Peter H. Smyth, chair and CEO of Greater Media Inc., will speak at Suffolk's Sawyer Business School graduate student commencement on Saturday May 21, at 9:30 a.m., at the Westin Copley Hotel.

Spring Peepers: NE Campuses Begin Naming Speakers for Commencement

John O. Harney — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:04:16 +0000

It's happening again: New England colleges and universities are assembling the academics, business gurus, heads of state and, of course, celebs, who make the region's spring college commencements the world's best regional lecture series. Some stars of this year's commencement season so far (in order of appearance) ...

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Marc A. Nivet, the chief diversity officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges who is known for his work to eliminate racial disparities in health care, will keynote MGH Institute's 31st commencement ceremony on Friday, May 13.

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New York Times best-selling author Luanne Rice will speak at Saint Joseph College’s 76th commencement exercises on Sunday, May 15, at 10 a.m. under the tent on the south lawn of the college’s West Hartford campus.

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U.S. Rep. Michael H. Michaud (D-Maine) will address the 2011 University of New England commencement exercises on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland.

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Former tennis champion and women’s sports pioneer Billie Jean King will address the University of Vermont 2011 commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 22.

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Actress Jane Alexander, former chair of the National Endowment of the Arts, will be College of the Atlantic’s commencement speaker for its 39th graduation exercises on Saturday, June 4.

UNH Taps Life is Good Founder for Commencement

NEBHE Admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:32:29 +0000

Bert Jacobs, co-founder of the company “Life is Good,” will be the commencement speaker for the University of New Hampshire graduating class of 2010, on May 22. For more, click here.