The 2014 repertoire of commencement speakers is full of inspiring, humorous, and powerful figures in politics, television, and current events. Who is the commencement speaker at your college graduation? Email us or add your school’s commencement speaker in our comments.
Congratulations to all 2014 college graduates! Enjoy your commencement speakers.
[Find flexible online degree programs at Kaplan University.]
The Complete List of 2014 Commencement Speakers
Alma College: Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future Inc
Assumption College: Boston attorney and anti-abortion activist Frances X Hogan
Babson College: Tory Burch, CEO and designer of Tory Burch, an American lifestyle brand
Baldwin Wallace University: Mark Shapiro, president of the Cleveland Indians, and William T Hiller, executive director of the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
Beacon College: Patricia Latham, Immediate Past President of the Learning Disabilities Association of America and a founding member of Beacon College
Cabrini College: Lisa Johnson Nutter, president of Philadelphia Academies, Inc , and Michael O’Neill, co-founder and chair of the Philadelphia School Partnership
California Institute of Integral Studies: James Hormel, philanthropist and former ambassador
Catholic University of America: Philip Rivers, quarterback of the San Diego Chargers
Central Community College, in Nebraska: J. Noah Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Association of Community College Trustees
Centre College: Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear
Chandler-Gilbert Community College: Michele St. Louis-Weber, a factory manager at Intel Corporation
Colby College: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Colgate University: Gloria Borger, chief political analyst for CNN
Colorado College: Jane Lubchenco, the first woman to serve as the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Columbia University: actor and screenwriter Dan Futterman
Columbus State University: Georgia Governor Nathan Deal
Cornell University: actor Ed Helms
Dickinson College: Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State
Duke University: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey
Emmanuel College: Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the One Fund Boston
Endicott College: Anne Mosle, vice president at the Aspen Institute and executive director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute
Fayetteville State University: Donald Reaves, chancellor at Winston-Salem State University
Fisher College: Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo, who became heroes during the Boston Marathon tragedy when Arredondo helped save Bauman’s life by wrapping a makeshift tourniquet around his leg and wheeling him to safety
Fresno Pacific University: Randy White, community activist, author, and director of the Center for Community Transformation
George Washington University: Chef José Andrés
Green Mountain College: the longest-serving member of the US Senate, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy
Hamilton College: Award-winning author and journalist Christopher Dickey
Harper College: US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker
Harvard University: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Hilbert College: Sister Ann Marie Hudzina, general minister of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph
Iona College: Reverand Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
Ithaca College: Emmy Award–winner Chris Regan, currently a writer for Family Guy
Johns Hopkins University: YouTube Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki
Juniata College: John Kuriyan, professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley
Lafayette College: Prime Minister of Jamaica Portia Simpson Miller
Lake Forest College: Kelly Leonard ’88, executive vice president of Second City
Lakeland College: Jeffrey Selingo, a contributing editor to The Chronicle of Higher Education and professor of practice at Arizona State University
Loyola University Maryland: Mark K. Shriver, senior vice president for strategic initiatives and senior advisor to the CEO of Save the Children
Loyola University New Orleans: David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN
Mansfield University: Francis Duffy, professor of public administration and coordinator of the master of public administration program at Gallaudet University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Ellen Kullman, DuPont Chief Executive Officer
Miami University, in Ohio: Forest Whitaker, actor
Michigan Technological University: former astronaut and NFL football player Leland D. Melvin
Middlebury College: Diana Nyad, who last year defied the odds and dangers to achieve her lifelong goal to become the first person to swim the 110 miles between Cuba and Florida without the aid of a shark cage or fins
Mississippi College: Jim Futral, executive director-treasurer at the Mississippi Baptist Convention
Montclair State University: James Patterson, novelist
Morehouse College: Jeh C. Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security
National Louis University: Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and Daniel Greenstein, director of postsecondary success for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
New York University: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen
New York University Abu Dhabi: former President Bill Clinton
Northeastern University: Former Secretary of Homeland Security and current University of California President Janet Napolitano
Northwestern College (Iowa): James Bultman, former president of Hope College and Northwestern College
Norwich University: Former director of the National Security Agency General Keith Alexander
Oberlin College: United State Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez
Ohio State University: MSNBC Anchor Chris Matthews
Pacific Oaks College: Judge Dorothy Wright Nelson of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Pasadena City College: Dr. Eric Walsh
Princeton University: former Vice President Al Gore
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Virginia M. Rometty, the chairman, president, and CEO of IBM
Ripon College: David Plotz and Hanna Rosin, both journalists from Slate
Roanoke College: Warner Dalhouse, retired chairman and CEO of First Union National Bank in Roanoke, VA
Robert Morris University: Carol R. Brown, former president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and Bobby Vagt, former president of the Heinz Endowments
Roger Williams University: Governor Lincoln D. Chafee of Rhode Island
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology: Gregg A. Lowe, CEO of Freescale Semiconductor
Rowan University: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Rutgers University: Condoleezza Rice, 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first African-American woman to hold the post
Saint Anselm College: Bob Schieffer, anchor and moderator of “Face the Nation”
San Jacinto College: Scott McClelland, president of H-E-B’s Houston division
Sarah Lawrence College: Fareed Zakaria, a host for CNN and editor-at-large of Time
Scripps College: Nonie Creme, who helped found Butter London, a beauty product brand
Simmons College: Billie Jean King, the tennis star
Smith College: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde
St. Charles Community College: Graham R. Fisher, chief scientist at SunEdison Inc.
St . Edward’s University: David Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
St . Mary’s College of Maryland: Gwen Ifill, PBS news anchor
Stanford University: philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates
Stonehill College: CEO of the Boston Globe, Michael Sheehan
Syracuse University: David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker
Thomas University: Major General (Retired) Bernard “Burn” Loeffke
Trinity College: Katie Couric, award-winning journalist
Tulane University: Wynton Marsalis, New Orleans native and Pulitzer Prize winner
United States Military Academy at West Point: President Barak Obama
UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business: Greg Creed, CEO for Taco Bell Corporation
Union College: Dr. Deborah L. Birx, a renowned international expert in the field of HIV/AIDS
Unity College: Céline Cousteau, the nature documentary film-maker
University of California at Merced: Kristina Johnson, CEO of Enduring Hydro LLC, and Merced County Superior Court Judge Paul C. Lo
University of California Irvine: President Barack Obama
University of Maryland: Maryland Governor and 2016 Democratic presidential hopeful, Martin O’Malley
University of Massachusetts Amherst: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
University of Massachusetts Lowell: Bill Nye the “Science Guy”
University of Michigan: General Motors Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra
University of New Hampshire: Frozen screenwriter and director Jennifer Lee, the first woman to direct an animated feature film for Walt Disney Animation Studios
University of North Carolina at Asheville: Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Dr. Atul Gawande, a celebrated surgeon and best-selling author
University of Pennsylvania: John Legend, Grammy award–winning soul artist, philanthropist, and UPenn alum
University of Rochester: Chris Matthews, political news commentator and author
University of South Carolina: Vice President Joe Biden
University of Southern California: Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com
University of Texas: United States Navy Admiral William H. McRaven
University of the Pacific: Edward E. Whitacre Jr., the former CEO of AT&T and GM
University of Utah: Alex Smith, quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, a University of Utah graduate
University of Virginia: Ray Mabus, the US Secretary of the Navy
University of Washington: longtime Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
University of Wisconsin: former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman
Wake Forest University: New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson
Washington University in St Louis: Tony La Russa, recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and considered one of the best managers in baseball history
Wellesley College: Susan L Wagner, cofounder and director of BlackRock
Wesleyan University: civil rights activist Theodore M. Shaw
Wheelock College: Howard K. Koh, US Assistant Secretary for Health, and David C. Banks, president and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation
Williams College: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Bernard Amadei, founder of Engineers Without Borders USA, and cofounder of the Engineers Without Borders International network
Yale University: Secretary of State John Kerry