Commencement 2011
Words of Wisdom from Class Days of Yore
With the recent announcement that Soledad M. O'Brien '88-'00 is slated to take the stage at Class Day this year, we at the Flyby thought we'd seize this opportunity to reflect upon some words of wisdom from previous Class Day speakers. Here are some salient snippets of their stirring speeches. Added bonus: watching these will help you with tonight's procrastination, guaranteed.
Faust Confers 9 Honorary Degrees
Commencement speaker and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was among nine recipients of honorary degrees at the morning exercises of the Commencement ceremony Thursday.
The Crimson's Commencement Coverage
As the Class of 2011 graduates from Harvard, The Crimson publishes its annual Year in Review issue. In this special section, we discuss the events and trends that have made this school year memorable.
At 360th Commencement, Faust Confers More Than 7,200 Degrees
University President Drew G. Faust conferred 1,556 bachelors of arts and bachelors of science degrees on the Class of 2011 in the morning Commencement exercises.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Kennedy School of Government alumna and the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was awarded an honorary degree during the morning exercises of Commencement on Thursday. In the afternoon she delivers a speech to the Harvard Alumni Association in which she encourages its newest members to "resist cynicism."
Latin Salutatory
Graduating senior Charles Bridge delivers the Latin Salutatory address during the morning exercises of Commencement in Tercentenary Theatre.
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (center) is congratulated after being serenaded by opera singer Plácido Domingo (left) after both were awarded honorary degrees. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (right), Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, Dudley Herschbach, James R. Houghton, Rosalind Krauss, J. G. A. Pocock, and David Satcher also received honorary degrees during Thursday's Commencement Exercises.
Commencement 2011 Morning Exercises
Thousands of Harvardians fill Tercentenary Theatre for the morning exercises of Commencement Day, 2011.
Commencement 2011 Morning Exercises
Minutemen players in costumes walk past volunteer alumni organizers in the Old Yard after leading students to their Commencement morning exercises on Thursday.
Commencement 2011 Morning Exercises
Malik Ahmad Jalal holds up an inflatable globe and cheers with his fellow students as they become Kennedy School of Government graduates during Commencement.
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Joseph C. Higgins '11 and his friends celebrate the conferral of their degrees near the close of Morning Exercises.
Si Se Puede
Dianne Sánchez and Silvia Rodriguez Vega received their Master's degrees in Arts in Education. Silvia is undocumented and an immigrant rights activist. Her mortarboard borrows the dictum of Cesar Chavez.
Posthumous Degrees
After graduating in the morning, Tiffany Smalley accepts a posthumous degree from the university in the honor of another Aquinnah Wampanoag, Joel Iacoomes, who died in 1665 after studying at the Harvard Indian College. Bernard Coombs, a relative, also accepts Iacoomes' degree in his honor. Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, and Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, were also present as University President, Drew Faust, presents the degrees.
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Members of the Class of 2011 take photos in front of the John Harvard statue before processing into Tercentenary Theatre for Harvard's 360th Commencement exercises.