Michael Bloomberg to Speak at Penn Commencement; Honorees Include Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust
Note for news media: Reporters and photographers covering the Commencement ceremony on May 19 at Franklin Field should pick up media badges at the Athletic Ticket Office at the main entrance.
PHILADELPHIA –- Michael R. Bloomberg, mayor of New York and founder of Bloomberg L.P., will deliver the address at the University of Pennsylvania's 252nd Commencement on Monday, May 19, at Franklin Field, 33rd and South streets. The procession of graduates begins at 9 a.m.
Bloomberg, now in his second term, is credited with reducing crime and creating jobs in the nation’s most populous city while embarking on a series of ambitious environmental and public-health initiatives. A member of the boards of numerous charitable, cultural and educational institutions, his financial-information company, Bloomberg L.P., has locations in 130 cities worldwide.
He will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the Penn Commencement.
Other honorary degree recipients include Paquito D’Rivera, nine-time Grammy Award-winning musician; Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard’s first female president; Lila R. Gleitman, co-founder of the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research in Cognitive Science; Bert W. O’Malley, a professor of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; Cyril Ramaphosa, former secretary general of the African National Congress and a leader in South Africa’s transition from apartheid; and Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and host of the PBS series “NOVA ScienceNOW.”
Details on the specific school ceremonies and speakers:
Annenberg School for Communication (undergraduate), 10 a.m., Sunday, May 18, Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
Annenberg School for Communication (doctoral), 1:30 p.m., Monday, May 19, Annenberg School, Room 110. A reception will precede the ceremony from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Annenberg School Forum.
Biomedical Graduate Studies, 12:30 p.m., Monday, May 19, Harrison Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Reception to follow in the Museum's Warden Garden, weather permitting.
College of Arts and Sciences, 6:30 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Franklin Field. Speakers: Marc Platt, American film, television and theater producer, and Maya Ondalikoglu, college senior.
College of General Studies, 4:30 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Hill Field, 33rd and Walnut streets. Speaker: David P. Balamuth. Reception immediately following at the Inn at Penn.
School of Arts and Sciences (Graduate Division), 1 p.m., Monday, May 19, Hill Field, 33rd and Walnut streets. Speaker: Marsha I. Lester, chair of the Department of Chemistry. Reception to follow.
School of Dental Medicine, 1 p.m., Monday, May 19, Irvine Auditorium, 3401 Spruce St. Speaker: Estelle Richman, secretary of public welfare for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Reception to follow.
School of Design, 1:30 p.m., Monday, May 19, Furness Plaza, 34th Street and Locust Walk. Speaker: Gary Hack, dean of the School of Design. Luncheon to precede ceremony at noon, Meyerson Hall, 210 S. 34th St.
School of Engineering and Applied Science (undergraduate), 2:30 p.m., Monday, May 19, Franklin Field. Speaker: Douglas Glanville, former Major League Baseball player and president of G.K. Alliance LLC, and Gabriel Kopin, college senior. Reception to follow main University Commencement ceremony, West Towne Lawn and Levine Hall.
School of Engineering and Applied Science (graduate), 4 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. Speaker: Douglas Alexander, managing director of operations Internet Capital Group. Reception immediately following at Annenberg Plaza.
School of Engineering and Applied Science (doctoral), 1 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. Speaker: Stephen Matson, founder and executive director of ConTechs Associates Inc. Reception immediately following at Annenberg Plaza.
Graduate School of Education, 8:30 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Franklin Field at 33rd and Spruce streets. Speaker: Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor of urban education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Reception immediately following the main University Commencement ceremony, Monday, May 19 at Graduate School of Education Courtyard.
Fels Institute of Government, 1 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Fels Institute, 3814 Walnut St. Speaker: Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia. Reception immediately following.
Law School, 3 p.m., Monday, May 19, Academy of Music, Broad and Locust streets. Speaker: Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico. Reception, 2 p.m., Sunday, May 18, at the Law School, 3400 Chestnut St.
School of Medicine, 8 p.m., Monday, May 19, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce streets. Speaker: Jordan Cohen, president emeritus of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Reception immediately following.
School of Nursing, 3 p.m., Monday, May 19, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce streets. Speaker: Linda Burns Bolton, chief nursing officer and director of Nursing Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Reception precedes ceremony, noon to 1:30 p.m., Gates Lobby, Fagin Hall, 418 Curie Blvd.
School of Social Policy and Practice, 6:30 p.m., Monday, May 19, Irvine Auditorium, 34th and Spruce streets. Speaker: Bettie Roundtree. Reception immediately following the ceremony, Hall of Flags, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St.
School of Veterinary Medicine, 2:30 p.m., Monday, May 19, Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. Speaker: Lisa Freeman, associate vice president for innovation at the Kansas State Olathe Innovation Campus and professor of pharmacology at Kansas State's College of Veterinary Medicine. Reception immediately following the ceremony, Annenberg Center Courtyard.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (undergraduate ceremony), 9 a.m., Sunday, May 18, Franklin Field. Reception to follow ceremony, Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut St.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (graduate ceremony), 1 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Franklin Field. Speaker: Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., governor of Utah. Reception to follow ceremony, Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut St.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (doctoral ceremony), 5:30 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut St. Reception immediately following the ceremony.
Additional information about the 252nd Commencement ceremony is available at 215-573-4723 or www.upenn.edu/commencement.
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