2001 Commencement Speakers: Words of Wisdom to the Graduates Came From …

Black Issues in Higher Education, May 24, 2001

2001 Commencement Speakers:
Words of Wisdom to the Graduates Came From ...

COLLEGE                  SPEAKER                 TITLE

Agnes Scott College      Madame Jehan            Former first lady of
(Ga.)                    Sadat Ph.D.             Egypt, associate
                                                 resident scholar at
                                                 the University of
                                                 Maryland

Barnard College          Bernice Johnson         Founder of Grammy
(N.Y.)                   Reagon                  Award Winning Group,
                                                 Sweet Honey in the
                                                 Rock

Brenau University        Cathy Cox               Georgia's Secretary
(Ga.)                                            of State


Bryn Mawr College        Drew Gilpin Faust       First dean of Harvard
(Pa.)                                            University's
                                                 Radcliffe Institute
                                                 for Advanced Study

Chatham College          Eleanor Holmes          U.S. Congresswoman
(Pa.)                    Norton                  for the District of
                                                 Columbia

Cleveland State          Alfred Lerner           Chairman, Owner of
University (Ohio)                                NFL's Cleveland
                                                 Browns

Colby College            Rev. Peter J. Gomes     Reverend, professor
(Maine)

College of Saint         Helen Thomas            White House
Benedict (Minn.)                                 correspondent for
                                                 more than 50 years

College of St.           Sr. Carol Coston        Director of Partners
Catherine (Minn.)                                for the Common Good
                                                 2000

College of Saint         Patricia A. Lamberty    Nebraska's district
Mary (Neb.)                                      judge

Columbia College         Christa Compton         South Carolina
(S.C.)                                           teacher of the year

Converse College         The Hon. Harriet S.     Justice of the
(S.C)                    O'Neill                 Supreme Court of
                                                 Texas

Dillard University       Susan Taylor            Senior vice president
(La.)                                            of Essence
                                                 Communications and
                                                 former editor of
                                                 Essence magazine

Duke University          Charlayne               Journalist, CNN
(N.C.)                   Hunter-Gault            Correspondent

Goucher College          Bill Cosby              Actor, philanthropist
(Md.)

Governors State          Marjorie Craig Benton   Chair of President's
University (Ill.)        and Dempsey Travis      Commission on White
                                                 House Fellowships;
                                                 President
                                                 of Travis Realty
                                                 Company

Grambling State          Dr. Roderick R. Paige   U.S. Secretary of
University (La.)                                 Education

Hampton University       Kweisi Mfume            President of the
(Va.)                                            NAACP

Haverford College        William H. Gray III     President and CEO,
(Pa.)                                            United Negro College
                                                 Fund

                         Bernice Johnson         Founder of Grammy
                         Reagon                  Award Winning Group,
                                                 Sweet Honey in the
                                                 Rock

                         Chinua Achebe           Nigerian novelist,
                                                 author of Things Fall
                                                 Apart

                         David Park McAllester   American Indian music
                                                 scholar

Hobart and William       Gwen Ifill              Journalist
Smith Colleges
(N.Y.)

Hollins University       Ann Compton             Chief Washington
(Va.)                                            correspondent for
                                                 ABCNews.com

Howard University        Bryant Gumbel           CBS-TV broadcast
(D.C.)                                           journalist

Huston-Tillotson         Judge Glenda A.         Judge
College (Texas)          Hatchett

Illinois Wesleyan        William Cohen           Former U.S. Secretary
University (Ill.)                                of Defense

Immaculata College       Dr. Don L. Francis      President of the
(Pa.)                                            Association of
                                                 Independent Colleges
                                                 and Universities

Jackson State            Dr. Roderick R. Paige   U.S. Secretary of
University (Miss.)                               Education

Lesley University        Debbie Allen            Dancer,
(Mass.)                                          choreographer,
                                                 actress, producer/
                                                 writer

Lincoln University       Rear Adm. (ret.)        First African
(Pa.)                    Lillian E. Fishburne    American female flag
                                                 officer in the U.S.
                                                 Navy

Marymount University     Andrea Roane            Broadcast journalist
(Va.)

Meredith College         Elizabeth Dole          First woman to serve
(N.C.)                                           as Secretary of
                                                 Transportation

Middlebury College       Fred Rogers             Television host of
(Vt.)                                            "Mr. Rogers
                                                 Neighborhood"

Midway College           Judge Pamela R.         First African
(Ky.)                    Goodwine                American female
                                                 appointed to the
                                                 bench in Fayette
                                                 County

Mississippi University   Ted Turner              Founder of CNN
for Women

Mississippi Valley       George E. Curry         Former editor-in-chief
State University                                 of Emerge magazine,
                                                 syndicated newspaper
                                                 columnist

Montgomery College       Dr. Freeman A.          President, University
(Md.)                    Hrabowski               of Maryland Baltimore
                                                 County

Moore College of Art     Tendai Johnson          Assistant professor of
and Design (Pa.)                                 fine arts

Morehouse College        Dr. David Satcher       U.S. Surgeon General
(Ga.)

Morris Brown             Bill Cosby              Actor, philanthropist
College (Ga.)

Morris College           Patricia                Motivational speaker,
(S.C.)                   Russell-McCloud         president of Russell
                                                 McCloud & Associate

Mount Holyoke            Suzan-Lori Parks        Award-winning
College (Mass.)                                  screenwriter,
                                                 playwright

Mount St. Mary's         Ann Meyers Drysdale     Television sports
College (Calif.)                                 analyst

National University      Andrew Young            Former ambassador,
(Calif.)                                         civil rights activist

Norfolk State            Darien Dash             Founder and CEO of DME
University (Va.)                                 Interactive Holdings
                                                 Inc.

North Carolina A&T       Rev. Edward A.          President of the
State Univ.              Malloy, C.S.C           University of Notre
                                                 Dame

Peace College            Beverly Perdue          First female
(N.C.)                                           lieutenant governor of
                                                 North Carolina

Ramapo College           Dr. Allan E. Goodman    President and CEO of
(N.J.)                                           the Institute of
                                                 International
                                                 Education

Randolph-Macon           Dr. Johnetta B. Cole    Former president of
Woman's Coll. (Va.)                              Spelman College,
                                                 anthropologist and
                                                 author

Regis College            Heather Kahn            Former WCVB-TV news
(Mass.)                                          anchor

Rensselaer Polytechnic   Bill Cosby              Actor, philanthropist
Inst. (N.Y.)

St. Augustine's          Herman Boone            High school football
College (N.C.)                                   coach portrayed in
                                                 "Remember the Titans"

Saint Joseph             Elisabeth Gordon        Sculptor, founder of
College (Conn.)          Chandler                Lyme Academy of Fine
                                                 Arts

                         Robin Roberts           Sports journalist,
                                                 inductee to Women's
                                                 Institute On Sports/
                                                 Education Foundation's
                                                 Hall of Fame

St. Mary-of-the-Woods    Helen Prejean, CSJ      Author of Dead Man
College (Ind.)                                   Walking

Saint Mary's             Paula Madison           President/General
College (Ind.)                                   manager of KNBC-TV
                                                 Los Angeles

Salem College            Bonnie Angelo           Author of First
(N.C.)                                           Mothers: The Women Who
                                                 Shaped the Presidents

Santa Monica College     William H. Gray III     President and CEO of
(Calif.)                                         United Negro College
                                                 Fund

Scripps College          Jan Piercy              U.S. executive
(Calif.)                                         director of the World
                                                 Bank

Seton Hill College       Maureen O'Connor        Lieutenant Governor
(Pa.)                                            of Ohio

Simmons College          Myrlie Evers-Williams   Former president of
(Mass.)                                          NAACP, widow of
                                                 assassinated civil
                                                 rights leader Medgar
                                                 Evers

Smith College            Toni Morrison           Acclaimed novelist;
(Mass.)                                          awarded the Nobel
                                                 Prize for Literature
                                                 in 1993

Southeast Missouri       Dr. Edward Perkins      Former ambassador,
State University                                 professor

Spelman College          Hon. Alexis Herman      Former U.S. Secretary
(Ga.)                                            of Labor

Stanford University      Carleton (Carly) S.     Chairman and CEO of
(Calif.)                 Fiorina                 Hewlett-Packard Co.

State University of      Sen. Hillary Rodham     U.S. Senator
N.Y. College of          Clinton, D-N.Y.
Technology at Delhi

Trinity College          Stacey H. Davis         President and CEO of
(D.C.)                                           the Fannie Mae
                                                 Foundation

University of            Robert Pinsky           Professor at Boston
Michigan                                         University

University of            Jim Barksdale           Former Netscape
Mississippi                                      president

University of Notre      President               President of the
Dame (Ind.)              George W. Bush          United States

University of            Sen. John S. McCain,    U.S. Senator
Pennsylvania             R-Ariz.

Virginia State           Earl G. Graves          Founder, publisher of
University                                       Black Enterprise
                                                 magazine

Voorhees College         Dr. Leonard E. Dawson   President of Voorhees
(S.C.)                                           College

Wellesley College        Madame Jehan Sadat      Former first lady of
(Mass.)                  Ph.D.                   Egypt, associate
                                                 resident scholar at
                                                 the University of
                                                 Maryland

Wells College            Joanne Shenandoah       Award-winning American
(N.Y.)                                           Indian composer,
                                                 vocalist and performer

Wesleyan College         Queen Noor of Jordan    Widow to the late King
(Ga.)                                            Hussein of Jordan,
                                                 president of the
                                                 United World Colleges

Wilson College           Leslie Anne Miller      First female president
(Pa.)                                            of Pennsylvania Bar
                                                 Assoc.

Winston Salem State      Myrlie Evers-Williams   Former president of
University (N.C.)                                NAACP, widow of slain
                                                 civil rights leader
                                                 Medgar Evers