Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame University and former chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, will be this year's principal Commencement speaker.

Hesburgh, an ordained priest who holds 17 honorary degrees from universities throughout the nation, has spent his life working on religious, educational and social problems.

He recently came to public prominence when a dispute between him and the Nixon administration resulted in his resignation from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Among the diverse organizations on which Hesburgh has served are the Carnegie Foundation Commission on Higher Education, the Vatican's Atomic Energy Agency, and the U.S. Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force.

Change of Address

In 1964, former President Johnson awarded Hesburgh the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Maurice Lazarus '37, president of the Associated Harvard Alumni, said yesterday that Hesburgh will deliver the Commencement address on June 13, one day before official graduation ceremonies.

Commencement speeches have been moved up one day to permit parents and seniors, who usually leave immediately after the graduation ceremony, to hear the addresses.

Hesburgh has not yet selected a topic for his speech, Lazarus said.