I am the dubiously selected organizer and point-of-contact for the commencement speaker at Georgetown University's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences ceremony, which takes place tomorrey at 2:30 p.m.
This really means that I have had to ask all sorts of awkward questions to a distinguished person (he's a Nobel prize winner in Economics, after all.)
Awkwardness has included: "Ahem. Sorry, but do you have any food allergies?" -- poised, pencil and pad in hand -- and, "Would you kindly measure the circumference of your cabeza so that we can order you an appropriately-fitted cap for your gown?" oh, and btw, "How tall are you? Oh! hee hee. Ok."
I have kept my ears pricked around commencement time ever since 1996, when Kermit theeee Frog addressed the graduates of Southampton College... So - here is a list of noteworthy 2009 commencement speakers (and some other stuff, too):
- Albion College: David Brandon, chairman and CEO of Domino's Pizza
- Cazenovia College: Melissa Klish Dino, producer of Sesame Street (hehe, her last name's "dino")
- Savannah College of Art & Design: Glenn Close
- Truman State University: John Ashcroft (eep!)
- University of Charleston: Morgan Spurlock
- Julliard: Laura Linney
- Northeastern: Kenneth Cole (what, the shoe guy?)
- Southern Methodist Univ.: Laura Bush
- UC Merced: MICHELLE OBAMA (she's so hot right now)
- Howard University: Gwen Ifill
- Ithaca College: Jim Lovell, astronaut who famously announced, "Houston, we have a problem."
- USC: Ahhhhnold Schwarzenegger
- Tulane: Ellen DeGeneres
- Yale: Christopher Buckley
- Michigan, Med. School: Dr. Sanjay Gupta (I am pretty sure my mom crushes on him)
... oh, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is giving Dolly Parton an honorary Ph.D.
Memorable commencement speeches: here. (Ali G, Mr. Rogers, Neil Diamond, etc...)
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