commencement speech

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ASU Backtracks on Honorary Obama Degree

University still deciding on commencement gesture, president says

(Newser) - Deluged by a tidal wave of mockery, Arizona State University today set the stage for a flip-flop on its decision not to give President Obama an honorary degree when he speaks at commencement May 13, its president tells Politico. The Tempe school will “honor him in every way possible,...

No Honorary Degree for Obama: ASU
No Honorary Degree for Obama: ASU
OPINION
Apr 10, 2009 10:34 AM CDT

No Honorary Degree for Obama: ASU

What? 'First black president' isn't 'achievement' enough?

(Newser) - Barack Obama probably doesn’t need the extra diploma, but it’s usually considered a package deal: give a commencement speech, get an honorary degree. Arizona State, lucky enough to get Obama as its speaker, has decided that the leader of the free world isn't worthy of one. Seriously. An...

Cardinal: Notre Dame Forgot How to Be Catholic

(Newser) - Cardinal Francis George of Chicago ratcheted up the criticism of Notre Dame for inviting President Obama to give a commencement speech in May, the Tribune reports. The school “didn’t understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation,” said George. Catholic groups have criticized...

College's Persistence Pays Off: First Lady to Speak

(Newser) - Seniors at the University of California, Merced, couldn't rely on a wealthy and established network of alumni to reel in a famous commencement speaker. The UC system's newest campus has yet to graduate a full senior class and only has a handful of alumni. But that didn't keep this year's...

Bishop to Skip Obama Event Over Stem Cells, Abortion

(Newser) - The Roman Catholic bishop whose diocese includes the University of Notre Dame says he will boycott President Obama's May 17 commencement speech at the school because of Obama's support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. John D'Arcy said today that Obama's recent decision to fund embryonic stem-cell research brought...

'Star' Hillary Keeps Vow With Bronx Grad Speech

Attends teenager's high school graduation

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton was given a rock star's reception yesterday at her first public appearance in New York since surrendering the Democratic field to to Barack Obama. She presented the graduation address at Pelham Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, fulfilling a promise she made years ago to attend the commencement of...

Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard
 Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard 
Jun 6, 2008 7:10 AM CDT

Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard

Fight the monsters, she urges

(Newser) - Harry Potter birth mom JK Rowling yesterday urged Harvard graduates at their commencement to use their imaginations on more than wizards and muggles to envision—and create—a better world. She recalled the rewarding time she spent when she was younger working for prisoners of totalitarian regimes for Amnesty International....

Chicago Mayor a 'Letdown,' Grads Moan

Northwestern seniors, hoping for a bigger name, not pleased with Daley as speaker

(Newser) - Some Northwestern University seniors are disappointed the “extremely well-known person” promised as graduation speaker is no one more significant than Richard Daley, Chicago’s mayor. Graduating students have called the revelation “lame” and a “letdown,” the Tribune reports; John McCain and Barack Obama were recent speakers....

US 'Learning as We Go' in Iraq, Says Bush

President compares war on terrorism to war on fascism and communism

(Newser) - President Bush said today the US is "learning as we go" in trying to bring democracy to Iraq and urged Americans not to lose faith. Delivering the commencement address at the Air Force Academy, Bush likened today's campaign against Islamic extremism to the fight against fascism of last century,...

Sir Paul Picks Up Yale Doctorate

Former Beatle awarded honorary degree

(Newser) - Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Yale University yesterday during the 307th commencement at the Ivy League institution. The identities of recipients of honorary degrees are usually a closely guarded secret, but McCartney's presence on the Yale campus was impossible to keep under...

Obama Takes Message of Hope to Wesleyan

Dem urges grads to bypass 'money culture'

(Newser) - Barack Obama stepped in for Ted Kennedy to deliver Wesleyan University’s commencement address today, and urged graduates to look beyond "our money culture" to a higher cause. “There is nothing naïve about your impulse to change this world,” Obama told the 800 graduates and guests...

Landing Obama Last Minute Has Wesleyan Scurrying

College glad Kennedy found graduation pinch-hitter, but logistics are tougher

(Newser) - Wesleyan University is happy that ailing Ted Kennedy found someone to take his place as commencement speaker Sunday, the Hartford Courant reports—though the fact that it's Barack Obama has created some logistical issues on the small Connecticut campus. "It'll be pretty crazy," an administrator says of the...

Catholic School Grads Hear Fewer Pro-Choice Speakers

Pols run afoul of tightening rules

(Newser) - Catholic universities are increasingly leaving pro-choice politicians off their lists of possible commencement speakers and honorary-degree recipients, reports the Boston Globe. John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, and other Catholic pols who don’t hew to the church's party line, especially on abortion, find themselves sidelined as the 225 American...

Law Students Object to Springer Speech

Northwestern rules in favor of alum as graduation headliner

(Newser) - No one’s resorted to chair throwing—yet—but Northwestern law students aren’t happy about their commencement speaker: Jerry Springer, class of '68. The committee that tapped the TV host touted his success in news and entertainment, and even politics, the Chicago Tribune reports. Never mind that he resigned...

JK Rowling to Speak at Harvard Commencement

Hogwarts creator will get honorary degree

(Newser) - Harvard students will get a Hogwarts send-off at their spring commencement this year, reports the Crimson, with Harry Potter author JK Rowling as the keynote speaker.  "Perhaps no one in our time has done more than JK Rowling to inspire young people to experience the excitement and the...

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