Notable Speakers at 257th Commencement Ceremonies for Columbia College in NYC

Butler Library, Opened in 1934, First called

South Hall, then renamed for Columbia University

President Nicholas Murray Butler

Photo courtesy of WikiCu

Several excellent speakers entertained the audience of thousands under the big tent on Tuesday morning, May 17th.

Alexandra Wallace Creed Keynote speaker

Alexandra Wallace Creed, class of 1988, delivered the Keynote Address. She is Senior Vice President of NBC news and former executive in charge of NBC evening news along with Brian Williams. She urged the students to follow her directive to determine early on where your passion lies. Building upon her own experience, she described how, early on, her kindergarten report card commented how she-- the journalist- to- be-- expressed her journalistic impulses by constantly asking questions about who created the universe, where is God to be found, etc.

Upon graduation from Columbia, she took off for London to find a job, visited many many prospective employers dropping off her resumes (way too many, she says) and wound up being hired by the London office of CBS and became a reporter there for the next 17 years.

As she says, she never stopped asking questions..which continues to this day.

Michelle Moody-Adams 

speaking on Class Day

Next up, we heard from Dean Michelle Moody- Adams who has a most impressive academic background in Philosophy and Ethics; she earned B.A.s from both Wellesley and Oxford and then her MA and her PH.D. from Harvard.

Adams immediately connected with the class: she commented how pervasive facebook and twitter are in their lives; indeed texting is a way of life. She, however, warned against interpreting life always in 140 characters or less... She hoped the class would be defining their lives beyond the terseness (and impersonality) of short bursts of information. She referenced the Lincoln's Gettysberg Address, noted for its brevity (some 270 words in 10 sentences), yet replete with profound meaning drawn from the wisdom of the founding fathers inscribed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Great job, Dr. Adams.

Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University

Finally, we heard from President Lee Bollinger, himself a graduate of the Law School He prefaced his talk by speaking directly to the thousands of parents and friends showing sympathy for them I, too, he said, sat eagerly as a parent waiting for the granting of the diplomas. So, he emphasized that he would keep his remarks short; Come back tomorrow to hear a much longer speech to all other University graduates.

He continued, now addressing the college grads. Your lives, he explained, will span the greater part of the 21st century and the challenges are many. He then challenged the class to create new models for dealing with politics- local and global (indeed they are connected!), economics and job creation. He stressed that their generation would have to address the problem of the concentration of wealth in this country in the hands of the few. (Applause ensued).

I would have liked to have returned the next day to hear his hour long talk, but, alas, due to the constraints of time and the lack of a ticket, I will, like the rest of you, await its posting online.

Meanwhile here is a link to the Barnard college commencement which featured Sheryl Sandberg COO of Facebook addressing the graduates about the lack of women in top jobs.

For more in-depth coverage of these events check out this Columbia Spectator article.

The preliminary Parade of Classes event at John Jay Hall Dining Room and along South Walk adds 'rays' of sunlight to an otherwise rain soaked 257th Commencement.

For short takes on events occurring at South Campus at the 257th commencement click here.

Have a great day, all!