On August 6, 1845 the University of Michigan held commencement for its first graduating class which consisted of 12 students. Commencement continued to take place in August until 1852 when it was moved to July 21. Starting in 1853 Commencement was moved to the last week of June and remained so until 1962. The first Winter Commencement exercise was held in January 1957. A separate Spring commencement ceremony, with a speaker, for the graduate School was initiated in 1994
According to the Commencement Week exercise programs, the last week of June was filled with a Baccalaureate sermon, addresses, orations and poems. The 1878 Commencement Program is the first to list an Oration at the Commencement Exercises, given that year by the Hon. G.V.N. Lothrop, LL.D. of Detroit.
The following list includes the date of commencement, the speaker and title of the address (if known). Where the word Yes appears (in the text column), this is a link to a pdf version of the address. Please note that for some speeches we have only excerpts. Texts of the addresses come from a variety of sources including reprints in the Michigan Alumnus Magazine, the record groups of the offices President and the Assistant to the President, and other sources.
1900-1920 | 1921-1940 | 1941-1950 | 1961-1980 | 1981-2000 | 2001- |
| Year | Ceremony | Speaker | Title / Description | Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | June 27 | Hon. George.V.N Lothrop, LL.D. D. of Detroit |
A Plea for Education as a Public Duty | Yes |
| 1879 | June 26 | James B. Angell, LL.D. President of the University of Michigan |
The Higher Education: A Plea for Making it Accessible to All. |
Yes |
| 1880 | July 1 | Rt. Rev. Samuel S. Harris, D.D., LL.D. Bishop of Michigan | Complete Education | Yes |
| 1881 | June 30 | Rev. John Philip Newman, D.D., LL.D. of New York |
The Beneficence of Science | Yes |
| 1882 | June 29 | Rev. John Milton Gregory, D.D. of Chicago |
The Sciences and the Arts of the Nineteenth Century | Yes |
| 1883 | June 28 | Prof. James Ormsby Murray, D.D. Princeton College |
The Debt of Our Civilization to Our Literature | Yes |
| 1884 | June 26 | Rt. Rev. Bishop Henry Codman Potter, D.D. LL.D. |
The Place of the Scholar in the American Life | Yes |
| 1885 | June 25 | Rev. Dr. Samuel Lunt Caldwell President of Vassar College |
Literature in Account with Life | Yes |
| 1886 | July 1 | Hon. Cushman Kellogg Davis of St. Paul, Minnesota |
The Practical Limitations of Historical Precedents | Yes |
| 1887 | June 30 | James B. Angell, LL.D. President of the University of Michigan |
Commemorative Oration on the Semi-Centennial Celebration of the Organization of the University of Michigan |
Yes |
| 1888 | June 28 | Thomas C. Chamberlain, LL.D. President of the University of Wisconsin |
The Ethical Functions of Scientific Study | Yes |
| 1889 | June 27 | J.L.M. Curry, D.D., LL. D. of Richmond, Va. |
Causes of the Power an Prosperity of the United States | Yes |
| 1890 | June 26 | The Honorable Andrew Dickson White, LL.D. of Ithaca, NY |
Evolution and Revolution | Yes |
| 1891 | June 25 | Daniel Coit Gilman LL.D. President of Johns Hopkins University |
Growth of Ideas (The Growth and Relation of the Universities to the Material Progress of the Human Race) Synopsis of U of Wisc. Madison, 1891 |
Yes |
| 1892 | June 30 | Justin Winsor, LL.D. Librarian of Harvard University |
The Pageant of Saint Lusson 1671 | Yes |
| 1893 | June 29 | Charles Dudley Warner, L.H.D. of Hartford, Ct. |
The Work of Washington Irving | Yes |
| 1894 | June 28 | George Herbert Palmer, LL.D Professor in Harvard University |
Self-Cultivation in English | Yes |
| 1895 | June 27 | James Hulme Canfield, LL.D. Chancellor of the University of Nebraska, and president-elect of the Ohio State University |
The Unit of Power | |
| 1896 | June 25 | Charles Kendall Adams, LL.D. President of the University of Wisconsin |
The University of Michigan - The Sources of its Power and its Successes |
Yes |
| 1897 | July 1 | Andrew Sloan Draper, LL.D, President of the University of Illinois |
The Recovery of the Law | Yes |
| 1898 | June 30 | Benjamin Ide Wheeler LL.D. Professor in Cornell University |
The Old World in the New | Yes |
| 1899 | June 22 | Nicholas Murray Butler, LL.D. Professor in Columbia University |
The Education of Public Opinion | Yes |
| 1900 | June 21 | John Merle Coulter, PH.D. Professor in the University of Chicago |
The Mission of Science in Education | Yes |
| 1901 | June 20 | Albert Bushnell Hart, PH.D. Professor in Harvard University |
The Practical Man | No |
| 1902 | June 19 | Rev. Washington Gladden, D.D. of Columbus, Ohio |
Rights and Duties | Yes |
| 1903 | June 18 | Hon. Joseph Very Quarles United States Senator from Wisconsin |
The Old and the New | Yes |
| 1904 | June 23 | Professor Calvin Thomas Columbia University |
Culture and Service | Yes |
| 1905 | June 22 | President Henry S. Pritchett President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Shall the University Become a Business Organization (Partial) |
Yes |
| 1906 | June 21 | Bliss Perry, L.H.D., Litt.D. Boston Mass. |
The Academic Temper | Yes |
| 1907 | June 20 | Ira Remsen, LL.D. President of Johns Hopkins University |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1908 | June 18 | John H. Finley, LL.D. President of the College of the City of New York |
Untitled (summary) |
Yes |
| 1909 | June 24 | Charles Mills Gayley, Litt.D., LL.D. | Joined unto Idols Partial |
Yes |
| 1910 | June 30 | Reverend William Herbert Perry Faunce, D.D., LL.D. President of Brown University |
New Callings and Old Duties | Yes |
| 1911 | June 29 | Harry Pratt Judson, LL.D. President of the University of Chicago |
Education and Social Progress | Yes |
| 1912 | June 27 | Professor Jeremiah Whipple Jenks Cornell University'78, LL.D. '03 |
The Coming Citizenship | Yes |
| 1913 | June 26 | Professor George Edgar Vincent, LL.D. President of the University of Minnesota |
The Sense of the State Partial |
Yes |
| 1914 | June 25 | Edmund Janes James, LL.D. President of the University of Illinois |
Untitled Partial |
Yes |
| 1915 | June 24 | William Oxley Thompson, LL.D. President of the Ohio State University |
The New Outlook for Educated Citizenship | Yes |
| 1916 | June 29 | Albert Ross Hill, LL.D. President of the University of Missouri |
University Aims and Ideals | Yes |
| 1917 | June 28 | Livingston Farrand, LL.D. President of the University of Colorado |
The Crisis and the Responsibility | Yes |
| 1918 | June 27 | William Lowe Bryan, LL.D. President of Indiana University |
The Trap | Yes |
| 1919 | June 26 | Honorable Frederick Paul Keppel Third Assistant Secretary of War |
What Have We Learned? | Yes |
| 1920 | June 25 | Marion Le Roy Burton W President of the University of Minnesota and President-elect of the University of Michigan |
Being Alive Partial |
Yes |
| 1921 | June 30 | The Right Honorable Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes, K.C.B. M.D., LL.D. British Ambassador to the United States |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1922 | June 19 | The Honorable Charles Evans Hughes, LL.D. Secretary of State of the United States |
Some Observations on the Conduct of Foreign Relations | Yes |
| 1923 | June 18 | Reverend Harry Emerson Fosdick D.D. Union Theological Seminary, New York |
Private Conscience and Social Institutions Partial |
Yes |
| 1924 | June 16 | Glenn Frank, Litt.D. Editor of The Century Magazine |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1925 | June 15 | John Huston Finley, LL.D. Editor of The New York Times |
The Mystery of the Mind's Desire | Yes |
| 1926 | June 14 | Sir Frederick Whyte Former President of the Legislative Assembly of India |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1927 | June 20 | Honorable Nicholas Longworth, M.C. Speaker of the House of Representatives, United States Congress |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1928 | June 18 | Honorable Chester Harvey Rowell Regent of the University of California |
Your Pioneer Generation | Yes |
| 1929 | Jan. 17 | Robert Andrews Millikan, Ph.D., SC.D., LL.D. Director of the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics, California Institute of Technology |
Science and Spiritual Values | Yes |
| 1930 | June 23 | Vincent Massey Canadian Minister to the United States |
The Amateur Spirit | Yes |
| 1931 | June 22 | Lotus D. Coffman LL.D (Hon) President, University of Minnesota |
Today's Challenge to the College Graduate | Yes |
| 1932 | June 20 | James Brown Scott Expert on International Law |
Something Attempted - Something Done | Yes |
| 1933 | June 19 | Christian Frederick Gauss Dean of the College of Princeton University |
Let Us Have Peace | Yes |
| 1934 | June 18 | Walter Lippmann | No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1935 | June 14 | Honorable Cordell Hull Secretary of State |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1936 | June 20 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1937 | June 19 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
Cultivation or Confusion | Yes |
| 1938 | June 18 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
Education and Service | Yes |
| 1939 | June 17 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
A Naturalist in Our Times | Yes |
| 1940 | June 15 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
Never to Grow Old | Yes |
| 1941 | June 21 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
Our Moral Heritage | Yes |
| 1942 | May 30 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
The Armour of Honest Thought | Yes |
| 1943 | Jan. 23 | Professor Lyman Bryson | The World We Want | Yes |
| 1943 | May 29 | Alexander G. Ruthven President, University of Michigan |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1943 | October 10 | Leo Sharfman Professor, Chairman, Economics, UM Member, Federal Railway Mediation Board |
The Challenge of the World Crisis | Yes |
| 1944 | February 19 | John A. Hannah President, Michigan Agricultural College |
The Debt We Owe | No |
| 1944 | June 24 | Shirley W. Smith Vice President and Secretary, University of Michigan |
The 1944 Commencement Address | Yes |
| 1944 | October 21 | Professor Hayward Keniston Chairman, Romance Languages, UM Former Cultural Attache at U.S. Embassy at Buenos Aires |
A New Generation of University Graduates | Yes |
| 1945 | February 24 | Campbell Bonner Professor, Greek Language and Literature, UM |
Ask the Men Who Know | Yes |
| 1945 | June 23 | Edwin Blythe Stason Dean, Law School, University of Michigan |
Freedom of the Mind | No |
| 1945 | October 20 | Honorable Eugene Bradley Elliott Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Michigan |
Schools and the Means of Education Shall Forever Be Encouraged |
No |
| 1946 | June 22 | Clinton P. Anderson Secretary of Agriculture |
Can We Use The Harvest? | Yes |
| 1947 | June 14 | Honorable Paul Joseph James Martin Minister of National Health and Welfare, Canada |
The Dynamics of Peace | No |
| 1948 | June 12 | Honorable James William Fulbright United States Senator from Arkansas |
America's Opportunity | No |
| 1949 | June 11 | Justice Bruce D. Bromley New York Court of Appeals |
The Conservative's Role in America | Yes |
| 1950 | June 17 | Right Honorable Sir Oliver Shewell Franks Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to the United States |
No Title for Address | No |
| 1951 | June 16 | Ralph J. Bunche Director, Department of Trusteeship of the United Nations |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1952 | June 14 | Oliver C. Carmichael President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching |
The University Today | Yes |
| 1953 | June 13 | Clarence B. Randall Chairman, Inland Steel Company |
Challenge in the Market Place | Yes |
| 1954 | June 12 | Dr. Laurence McKinley Gould President, Carleton College |
Noblesse Oblige (Address not given because of rain) |
Yes |
| 1955 | June 11 | Honorable Earl Warren Chief Justice of the United States |
No Title for Address | No |
| 1956 | June 16 | Nabor Carrillo Rector, National University of Mexico |
A New Responsibility of Universities | Yes |
| 1957 | Jan. 26 | Harlan Hatcher President, University of Michigan |
Untitled | No |
| 1957 | June 15 | Dr. James Roscoe Miller President, Northwestern University |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1958 | Jan. 25 | John A. Perkins President, University of Delaware Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare |
Untitled | Yes | 1958 | June 14 | Dr. Henry T. Heald President and Director, Ford Foundation |
A New Unity for the House of Learning | Yes |
| 1959 | Jan. 24 | The Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh President, University of Notre Dame |
Preparation for Tomorrow | Yes |
| 1959 | June 13 | Marian Anderson Member of the United States Delegation to the United Nations |
Untitled | Yes |
| 1960 | Jan. 16 | Sydney Chapman Senior Research Scientist, UM Institute of Science & Technology Former Head, International Geophysical Year Committee |
International Adventure in Learning | Yes |
| 1960 | June 11 | Sir Geoffrey Crowther Chairman, Central Advisory Council on Education (England) Former Editor of the Economist |
Two Heresies | Yes |
| 1961 | Jan. 21 | Chester Bowles Acting Undersecretary of State |
The Challenge of the New Era | Yes |
| 1961 | June 17 | Edward R. Murrow Director, United States Information Agency |
Who Speaks for America? | Yes |
| 1962 | Jan. 20 | Right Reverend Richard S.M. Emrich Episcopal Bishop of Michigan |
Some Aspects of a Philosophy of History as Contained in a Popular Form of Modern Literature |
Yes |
| 1962 | June 16 | Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense |
No Title for Address | No |
| 1963 | Jan. 26 | Claude T. Bissell President, University of Toronto |
Education and Power | Yes |
| 1963 | June 8 | Sir Charles Snow Rector, University of St. Andrews |
Anticipations | No |
| 1963 | Dec. 19 | W. Willard Wirtz Secretary of Labor |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1964 | May 22 | Lyndon B. Johnson President, United States |
The Great Society [see also Anatomy of a Speech] | Yes |
| 1964 | Dec. 19 | Honorable Thurgood Marshall Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit |
A New Era in Human Rights - A Challenge | Yes |
| 1965 | May 1 | James B. Reston Associate Editor, New York Times |
Commencement of What | Yes |
| 1965 | Dec. 18 | Grayson Kirk President, Columbia University |
The University in Contemporary Society | Yes |
| 1966 | April 30 | John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics, Harvard University |
Foreign Policy, Politics, and the University | Yes |
| 1966 | Aug. 7 | Gardner Ackley Chairman, Council of Economic Advisors |
The Uses of Economic Knowledge | Yes |
| 1966 | Dec. 17 | Philip C. Jessup Judge, International Court of Justice at the Hague |
The Expedient Things | Yes |
| 1967 | April 29 | Zakir Husain Vice-President of India |
The Nation - State as a Moral Entity | Yes |
| 1967 | Aug. 6 | William G. Milliken Lieutenant Governor, State of Michigan |
Knowledge, Wisdom, and the Courage to Serve | Yes |
| 1968 | April 27 | Robert C. Weaver Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development |
Campus and City | Yes |
| 1968 | Aug. 4 | John Philip Dawson Charles Stebbins Fairchild Professor of Law, Harvard University |
Our Beleaguered Universities | Yes |
| 1968 | Dec. 14 | William T. Gossett President, American Bar Association |
The Politics of Dissent | Yes |
| 1969 | May 3 | Charles Odegaard President, University of Washington |
Competence and Commitment | Yes |
| 1699 | Aug. 10 | George Wells Beadle, Geneticist Director, Institute for Biomedical Research, University of Chicago |
Genes, Intelligence, and Education | Yes |
| 1969 | Dec. 12 | Philip A. Hart Senator, State of Michigan |
National Priorities: Few Saints and Many Martyrs | Yes |
| 1970 | May 2 | Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. President, Michigan State University |
The Pluralistic University: The Concern for Human Values |
Yes |
| 1970 | Aug. 9 | Sol M. Linowitz Lawyer, Former U.S. Ambassador, Organization of American States |
Reflections on a Troubled Campus | Yes |
| 1970 | Dec. 12 | Germaine Bree Prominent Scholar, 20th Century Literature, Professor, Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin |
Women Now: The Ultimate Goals | Yes |
| 1971 | May 1 | Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron of Trumpington Master of Christ's College in Cambridge, England, Head of Organic Chemistry, University of Cambridge, England |
Man and His Future - A Scientist's View | Yes |
| 1971 | Aug. 15 | Klaus Schutz Lord Mayor of Berlin |
The Possibility of Lasting Peace in Europe | Yes |
| 1971 | Dec. 19 | John U. Monro Director, Freshman Studies, Miles College, Former Dean, Harvard University |
The Black College Dilemma | Yes |
| 1972 | May 6 | William James McGill President, Columbia University |
A New Problem in Academic Freedom | Yes |
| 1972 | Aug. 20 | George Gullen President, Wayne State University |
Your Second Act | Yes |
| 1972 | Dec. 17 | Robben W. Fleming President, University of Michigan |
Who, What, and How? | Yes |
| 1973 | May 5 | Sir Kingsley Dunham Director, Institute of Gerontological Sciences of Great Britain, President, International Union of Geological Sciences |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1973 | Aug. 19 | Patricia Roberts Harris Lawyer, Educator |
The End of Innocence | Yes |
| 1973 | Dec. 16 | Clark Kerr Chairman, Carnegie Commission on Higher Education |
The American University-End of its Golden Age? | Yes |
| 1974 | May 4 | Gerald R. Ford Vice-President, United States |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1974 | Aug. 18 | Damon Jerome Keith Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of the State of Michigan |
Working Towards an Open Society | No |
| 1974 | Dec. 15 | Donald Thomas Campbell Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University |
Getting Ready for the Experimenting Society | No |
| 1975 | May 3 | Kingman Brewster President, Yale University |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1975 | Aug. 17 | Mary Ellen Avery Thomas Morgan Rotch Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Physician-in-Chief, Children's Hospital, Boston |
The Pediatrician and the Public | Yes |
| 1975 | Dec. 14 | Alice M. Rivlin Director, United States Congressional Budget Office |
Government, Leadership and A Preposterous World | Yes |
| 1976 | May 1 | Francoise Giroud Secretary of State on The Condition of Women, The Republic of France |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1976 | Aug. 22 | Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Senior partner in law firm of Jenner and Block in Chicago |
Welcome to the Revolution | Yes |
| 1976 | Dec. 19 | Wilbur K. Pierpont Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, UM (Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald Ford also spoke) |
Requisites for Excellence | No |
| 1977 | April 30 | John Hope Franklin Professor of American History, Univ. of Chicago, Educator, Author, Emancipator |
To Renew Our Faith | Yes |
| 1977 | Aug. 21 | Saburo Okita Economist, Business Leader, Financial Statesman, Japan |
Rich and Poor Nations | Yes |
| 1977 | Dec. 18 | Joseph Anthony Califano, Jr. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, & Welfare |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1978 | April 29 | Walter F. Mondale Vice-President, United States |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1978 | Aug. 20 | W. Michael Blumenthal Secretary of the Treasury, United States |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1978 | Dec. 17 | Right Honorable Roy Harris Jenkins President, Commission of the European Communities |
Europe and America: Image and Reality | Yes |
| 1979 | April 28 | Shirley M. Hufstedler Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit at Los Angeles |
Shuttle Diplomacy in Social Revolutions | Yes |
| 1979 | Aug. 19 | Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Clergyman, Civil Rights Leader |
America and the Challenge of a New World Order: A Quest for Peace |
Yes |
| 1979 | Dec. 16 | Thomas N. Bonner President, Wayne State University |
Whither Higher Education in Michigan | No |
| 1980 | May 3 | Donald F. McHenry U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1980 | Aug. 24 | Harold T. Shapiro President, University of Michigan |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1980 | Dec. 21 | The Honorable Coleman A. Young Mayor, City of Detroit |
No Title for Address | No |
| 1981 | May 2 | Harold T. Shapiro President, University of Michigan |
The Promise of Knowledge and Beyond | Yes |
| 1981 | Aug. 23 | The Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1981 | Dec. 20 | Hanna Holborn Gray President, University of Chicago |
The Real World and Other Academic Problems | Yes |
| 1982 | May 1 | William G. Milliken Governor, State of Michigan |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1982 | Aug. 22 | Donald Kennedy President, Stanford University |
Public and Private: The Common Ground | Yes |
| 1982 | Dec. 19 | William D. Ford United States Congressman |
A Challenge for Our Times | Yes |
| 1983 | April 30 | Lee A. Iacocca Chairman of the Board, Chrysler Corporation |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1983 | Aug. 21 | Otis M. Smith Vice-President, General Motors Corporation, Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1983 | Dec. 18 | Cecil Mackey President, Michigan State University |
Thoughts on 1984's Eve | Yes |
| 1984 | April 28 | Walter Cronkite Journalist |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1984 | Dec. 16 | Nancy Hays Teeters Economist, Governor of the Federal Reserve System |
Our Changing World | Yes |
| 1985 | May 4 | James J. Blanchard Governor, State of Michigan |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1984 | Dec. 15 | Robert Alan Dahl Sterling Professor of Political Science, Yale University |
Lifetime Learning | Yes |
| 1986 | May 3 | Javier Perez de Cuellar Secretary-General, United Nations and Peruvian Diplomat |
"Setting a Safe Course for the 21st Century" In Messages and Statements on the International Year of Peace 1986 |
|
| 1986 | Dec. 14 | Dr. Charles Adams Pastor, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Detroit |
Hope vs. Fatalism | Yes |
| 1987 | May 2 | Mike Wallace CBS News Correspondence |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1986 | Dec. 20 | Harold T. Shapiro President, University of Michigan |
No Title for Address | Yes |
| 1988 | April 30 | Marshall D. Shulman Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Relations, Columbia University, Director, W. Averell Harriman Inst. For Advanced Study of the Soviet Union, Columbia University |
No Title for Address | No |
| 1988 | Dec. 18 | Joseph A. Brodsky Poet, Nobel Laureate, Columbia University |
Some Tips (Excerpts) |
Yes |
| 1989 | April 29 | James J. Duderstadt President, University of Michigan |
The Future is Just Not What It Used to Be | Yes |
| 1989 | Dec. 17 | Blenda J. Wilson Chancellor, University of Michigan - Dearborn |
The Responsibility of an Educated People | No |
| 1990 | Spring | Frank T. Rhodes President, Cornell University Former VP Academic Affairs |
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| 1990 | Winter | Robert Nederlander President NY Yankees |
[No title for address] | |
| 1991 | Spring | George H.W. Bush 41st U.S. President |
[No title for address] | |
| 1991 | Winter | Harold Shapiro Pres. Princeton University Pres. Emeritus of U-M |
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| 1992 | Spring | Charles W. Moore Architect and Educator |
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| 1992 | Winter | [no speaker} | [each honorary degree recipient made brief remarks] | |
| 1993 | Spring | Hillary Rodham Clinton First Lady of U.S. |
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| 1993 | Winter | John M. Engler 46th Gov. of Michigan |
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| 1994 | Spring | Cathy Guisewite Syndicated Cartoonist of Comic Strip Cathy since 1976 |
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| 1994 | Graduate | Dennis W. Archer Mayor of Detroit |
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| 1994 | Winter | Antonio C. Novello UNICEF Special Representative for Health and Nutrition; former Surgeon General of U.S. |
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| 1995 | Spring | Marian W. Edelman Founder and Pres. of Children's Defense Fund |
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| 1995 | Graduate | William G. Bowen Pres., Carnegie Mellon University. |
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| 1995 | Winter | [no speaker} | [each honorary degree recipient made brief remarks] | |
| 1996 | Spring | Johnetta B. Cole Pres., Spellman College |
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| 1996 | Graduate | James J. Duderstadt 11th Pres., University of Michigan. |
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| 1996 | Winter | Sandra Day O'Connor Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
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| 1997 | Spring | Lee Bollinger 12th Pres., University of Michigan |
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| 1997 | Graduate | Lee Bollinger 12th Pres., University of Michigan |
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| 1997 | Winter | Ken Burns Filmmaker and Historian |
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| 1998 | Spring | Mamphele Ramphele Chancellor, Cape Town University |
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| 1998 | Graduate | Richard Ford Author |
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| 1998 | Winter | David DiChiera Founder and General Director, Michigan Opera Theatre |
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| 1999 | Spring | Kofi Annan 7th Director, General of United Nations |
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| 1999 | Graduate | Shirley Malcolm Chemist, Science Policy and Science Advisor |
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| 1999 | Winter | Romano Prodi Pres. of the European Community former Prime Minister of Italy |
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| 2000 | Spring | David Halberstam Journalist, Author, Pulitzer Prize Recipient |
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| 2000 | Graduate | Bernice Johnson Reagon Dist. Prof of History, Curator Smithsonian, Musician and Producer |
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| 2000 | Winter | Elmore Leonard Popular Contemporary Author |
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| 2001 | Spring | Robert Pinsky Former U.S. Poet Laureate |
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| 2001 | Graduate | Marshall Sahlins Anthropologist |
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| 2001 | Winter | Charles Baxter Author and Adjunct Prof. of English Language and Literature |
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| 2002 | Spring | William
H Gray CEO, College Fund/UNCF, Social Activist |
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| 2002 | Graduate | Donna Shalala President, University of Miami |
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| 2002 | Winter | Philip Levine Poet and 1995 Pulitzer Prize Winner |
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| 2003 | Spring | Jennifer Granholm 47th Gov. of Michigan |
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| 2003 | Graduate | John J. Schwartz Physician, former Michigan State Senator |
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| 2003 | Winter | Thomas J. Miller United States Ambassador to Greece |
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| 2004 | Spring | David E. Davis, Jr. Journalist, founder, Editor Emeritus of Automobile Magazine |
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| 2004 | Graduate | Julius J. Chambers Civil Rights Leader and Educator |
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| 2004 | Winter | Robert P. Moses Civil Rights Leader, Educator of Mathematics, Founder and President the Algebra Project, Inc. |
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| 2005 | Spring | John Seeley Brown Computer Scientist |
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| 2005 | Graduate | Mildred S. Dresselhause Physicist |
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| 2005 | Winter | Freeman J. Dyson Prof. Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Mathematician and Physicist |
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| 2006 | Spring | Christiane Amanpour Journalist, Chief International Correspondent, CNN |
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| 2006 | Graduate | Amartya Sen Economist, Nobel laureate |
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| 2006 | Winter | Dave Bing The Bing Group |
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| 2007 | Spring | William Jefferson Clinton 42nd President of the United States |
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| 2007 | Graduate | Philip Converse Sociologist |
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| 2007 | Winter | Francis S. Collins Former Director of Human Genome Project |
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| 2008 | Spring | Robert W. Woodruff ABC News Anchor, Journalist |
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| 2008 | Graduate | Frances Allen Computer Scientist, Turing Award Winner |
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| 2008 | Winter | Roger S. Penske Chairman, Penske Corporation |
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| 2009 | Spring | Lawrence Page Co-Founder and President, Google |
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| 2009 | Graduate | Michael Posner Cognitive Scientist |
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| 2009 | Winter | Jeff Daniels Actor |
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| 2010 | Spring | Barack Obama 44th President of the United States |
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| 2010 | Graduate | Charles Vest President, National Academy of Engineering |
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| 2010 | Winter | Daniel Kahneman Philosopher, Nobel Laureate Princeton, Emeritus |
video | |
| 2011 | Spring | Richard D. Snyder 48th Gov. of Michigan |
video | |
| 2011 | Graduate | Eugene Robinson Journalist and Author |
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| 2011 | Winter | Jill Abrahamson Executive Editon, New york Times |
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| 2012 | Spring | Sanjay Gupta CNN Chief Medical Correspondent |
video | |
| 2012 | Graduate | Susan Orlean Journalist and Author |
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| 2012 | Winter | Dr. Raynard S. Kington, President of Grinnell College |
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| 2013 | Spring | Dick Costolo CEO of Twitter |
video | |
| 2012 | Graduate | Rosabeth Kanter Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor, Harvard, Editor, Harvard |
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| 2013 | Winter | Michele Norris-Johnson Host and Special Correspondent, National Public Radio |