2013 Commencement Speakers List
You Might Also Like: 2014 Graduation Speakers List
Universities and colleges from around the country are announcing their Spring 2013 commencement graduation speakers. The hope is that with today's ubiquitous linking, sharing, tweeting and pinning, the speakers realize they are essentially imparting wisdom not only with the day's graduates and their families but with thousands more potential, virtual audience members. No pressure...there is great potential. Last year's top two commencement speakers landed book deals after their speeches went viral.
| Date | Commencement Speaker | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 05/02/13 | Liz Murray, Author, "From Homeless to Harvard" | University of Utah |
| 05/03/13 | Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank | Northeastern University |
| 05/04/13 | Andy Alexander, Journalist | Ohio University |
| 05/04/13 | Richard (Dick) Costolo, Twitter CEO | University of Michigan |
| 05/04/13 | Charlie Denson, Nike Brand President | Utah State University |
| 05/04/13 | Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino's Pizza | Central Michigan University |
| 05/04/13 | Walter Robb, Businessman Whole Foods Co-CEO | University of Pacific |
| 05/04/13 | Martin Sheen, Actor | La Roche College |
| 05/05/13 | Barack Obama, 44th US President | Ohio State University |
| 05/05/13 | Terry Bradshaw, Pro Footbal Hall of Famer | New England Inst. of Tech. |
| 05/09/13 | Toni Morisson, Author | Vanderbilt Univ., Senior Day |
| 05/10/13 | Julie Andrews, Actress | University of Colorado |
| 05/10/13 | Norman Aderson, American Psychological Assoc. | UNC Greensboro |
| 05/11/13 | Sharyn Alfonsi, TV Journalist/td> | Univ. of Mississippi |
| 05/11/13 | Tom Brokaw, TV Journalist and Anchor | Loyola University |
| 05/11/13 | Lawrence Bender, Movie Producer | University of Maine |
| 05/11/13 | David Brooks, NYT Columnist and Author | Sewanee, Univ. of the South |
| 05/11/13 | Norbert Leo Butz, Actor | Webster University |
| 05/11/13 | Bill Clinton, 42nd US President | Howard University |
| 05/11/13 | Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist | Rice University |
| 05/11/13 | Al Franken, US Senator | Univ. of Minnesota Morris |
| 05/11/13 | John Green, Author | Butler University |
| 05/11/13 | Carson Kressley, Fashion Celebrity | Philadelphia University |
| 05/11/13 | Annie Lennox, Singer | Berklee College of Music |
| 05/11/13 | Sheri McCoy, CEO of Avon Products | Univ. of Massachusetts |
| 05/11/13 | Darius Rucker, Lead Singer Hootie& the Blowfish | Univ. of South Carolina |
| 05/11/13 | Haley Scott DeMaria, Motivational Speaker | Seton Hill University |
| 05/12/13 | Tammy Baldwin, US Senator | Beloit College |
| 05/12/13 | Carl Bernstein, Watergate Era Reporter | Marietta College |
| 05/12/13 | Melinda Gates, Philantropist | Duke University |
| 05/12/13 | Steve Case, Co-founder of AOL | Univ. of North Carolina |
| 05/12/13 | Shahid Khan, Entrepreneur | University of Illinois |
| 05/12/13 | Nicolas Kristof, New York Times columnist | Syracuse University |
| 05/12/13 | Jeffrey Sacks, Economist | Ethical Cult. Fieldston School |
| 05/12/13 | Mark Shields, Political Analyst | Saint Michaels College |
| 05/12/13 | Nate Silvers, New York Times statistician | Ripon College |
| 05/13/13 | Joe Biden, US Vice President | University of Pennsylvania |
| 05/13/13 | Rita Dove, Poet and Author | Emory University |
| 05/13/13 | Mark Shields, Political Analyst | Saint Michael's College, VT |
| 05/16/13 | Cokie Roberts, Political Commentator | LSU |
| 05/16/13 | Jimmy Iovine, Music Producer | Univ. of Southern California |
| 05/17/13 | Marcus Eriksen, Ecological Adventurer | Univ. of New Orleans |
| 05/17/13 | Alex Kipman, Primary inventor of Kinect for Xbox | Rochester Inst. of Tech. RIT |
| 05/17/13 | Maria Shriver, Journalist and Author | Wheelock College |
| 05/18/13 | His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Spiritual Leader of Tibet | Tulane University |
| 05/18/13 | Stephen Colbert, Author and TV Host | Univ. of Virginia, Valediction Speaker |
| 05/18/13 | Carlos Eire, Author and Professor | Midland University |
| 05/18/13 | Anders Holm, Comic Actor and Writer | University of Wisconsin |
| 05/18/13 | Sanya Richards-Ross, 2012 Gold Medial Olympic Sprinter | Univ. of Texas at Austin |
| 05/18/13 | Ruth Markowitz, Entrepreneur | Scripps College |
| 05/18/13 | David McCullough, Writer | Lesley University |
| 05/18/13 | Jeff Hoffman, Priceline Founder | Bradley University |
| 05/18/13 | William Staples, Motivational Speaker | Warren CC College |
| 05/18/13 | Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani Inc. | Sage Colleges |
| 05/19/13 | Regina Benjamin, US Surgeon General | Spelman College |
| 05/19/13 | Cory Booker, Newark Mayor | Yale Univ. Class Day Speech |
| 05/19/13 | Charles Frank Bolden, head of NASA | Delaware State University |
| 05/19/13 | James Carville, Political Commentator | Hobart and W. Smith Colleges |
| 05/19/13 | Steven Chu, Nobel Laureat in Physics | University of Rochester |
| 05/19/13 | Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient | Barnard College |
| 05/19/13 | Howard Gordon, Writer and Co-Creator of the TV Series 'Homeland' | Connecticut College |
| 05/19/13 | Rick Hodes, Physician and Author | Brandeis University |
| 05/19/13 | Eric Idle, Comedian and Actor (Monty Phyton) | Whitman College |
| 05/19/13 | Arianna Huffington, Political Journalist and Author | Smith College |
| 05/19/13 | Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman, Republic Records founders | University at Albany |
| 05/19/13 | Wynton Marsalis, Jazz and Classical Musician | University of Vermont |
| 05/19/13 | Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext | Colgate University |
| 05/19/13 | Cal Ripken, Baseball Legend | University of Maryland |
| 05/19/13 | Eugene Harold Robinson, Columnist | Utica College |
| 05/19/13 | Barack Obama, 44th US President | Morehouse College, Atlanta |
| 05/19/13 | Claude M. Steele, Social Scientist | Tufts University |
| 05/20/13 | Byron Pitts, CBS Journalist | Clark College |
| 05/21/13 | Bill Cosby, Actor and Entertainer | University of Baltimore |
| 05/23/13 | Julie Bowen, Actress | Greenwich Academy |
| 05/24/13 | Anne Fadiman, Author and Essayist | College of Holy Cross |
| 05/24/13 | Michael Uslan, Batman Executive Producer | Mohawk Valley Community College |
| 05/24/13 | Judith Viorst, Author | Goucher College |
| 05/25/13 | Deepak Chopra, Author | Hartwick College |
| 05/25/13 | Brian Williams, New Anchor | Elon University |
| 05/25/13 | Gabrielle Giffords and M. Kelly, Former Congresswoman and Retired Space Shuttle Commander | Bard College |
| 05/26/13 | Jonathan Safran Foer, Writer | Middlebury College |
| 05/26/13 | Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator | Vassar College |
| 05/26/13 | Thomas Tull, Batman Executive Producer | Hamilton College |
| 05/26/13 | Joss Whedon, Writer & Director (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers) | Wesleyan University |
| 05/30/13 | Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur, Talk Show Host | Harvard University |
| 06/01/13 | Katie Couric , Journalist and TV Personality | Randolph-Macon College |
| 06/01/13 | Robert Redford, Actor | Westminster College |
| 06/02/13 | Ben Bernanke, Economist | Princeton University |
| 06/07/13 | Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox | MIT |
| 06/08/13 | Ed Helms, Actor and Comedian | Knox College |
| 06/15/13 | Lewis Black, Comedian | Thurgood Marshall College |
| 06/16/13 | Michael Bloomberg, NY City Mayor | Class Day Lecture at Stanford |
| 06/21/13 | Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ballet Dancer | Northwestern University |
| 09/17/13 | Tim Minchin, Musician and Comedian | The University of Western Australia |
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It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with what happens to you.
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