May is graduation month
CBS’s Lesley Stahl, Gore attorney David Boies are among campus speakers

By Patricia McBroom, Public Affairs

02 May 2001 | About 6,000 students will graduate this month in departmental ceremonies across campus — starting with Commencement Convocation, at 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 9.

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno will kick off three weeks of graduation ceremonies with a keynote speech at the convocation, where graduating seniors and graduate students will be honored.

Several hundred graduates will march into the Greek Theatre wearing caps and gowns for the convocation. Such a procession has not occurred since 1969, according to campus archives. Faculty members will process into the amphitheater next, wearing coloful regalia that represents their academic backgrounds. Reno will speak following this campuswide procession.

Convocation will include an address by the campus’s top graduating senior, Christine Ng, who will receive this year’s University Medal.

No diplomas will be awarded at the convocation, which is not open to the public. Instead, degrees are conferred at individual graduation ceremonies held in May by some 50 schools, colleges and departments.

Several prominent speakers will address graduates at the individual ceremonies between May 9 and May 25. These ceremonies are also not open to the public.

The speakers include:

• Lesley Stahl, CBS correspondent and co-editor of 60 Minutes. She will speak at ceremonies for the Graduate School of Journalism at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, May 12, in the North Gate Courtyard.

• David Boies, attorney with Boies, Schiller and Flexner, LLP, who argued the Democratic case for a Florida recount in the last presidential election. He will speak at ceremonies for the School of Law (Boalt Hall) at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 19, in the Greek Theatre.

• David Pottruck, president and co-CEO of the Charles Schwab Corp., which has been named company of the year by Forbes magazine. He will speak at Haas School of Business ceremonies at 9 a.m., Sunday, May 20, in the Greek Theatre.

• Mark Schneider, Peace Corps director, will address International and Area Studies students at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 19, in Zellerbach Auditorium.

• Robert Hass, former U.S. Poet Laureate and professor of English, will speak at ceremonies for Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies at 10 a.m., Thursday, May 17, in the Greek Theatre.

• Daniel Goldin, who as NASA Administrator heads the space agency, will address the College of Engineering graduation ceremonies at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 19, in the Greek Theatre.

In addition to the University Medal, several other awards will be given at Commencement Convocation on May 9. Among them are:

• The Mather Good Citizen Award, established in l983 to recognize a high standard of conduct and service to the university.

• The Kenneth Priestley Award, established in l948 to recognize outstanding student leadership and contributions to student welfare.

• The Anna Espenshade Prize and the Jake Gimbel Prize, given to athletes who embody the “Golden Bear” spirit.

• The Ina K. and Roy B. Christie Award for Excellence in Creative Innovation, established this year to honor a graduating senior who has demonstrated outstanding innovation and ingenuity in problem-solving.

See the graduation gateway Web site — www.urel.berkeley.edu/grad_gateway/ — for a complete listing of departmental graduation ceremonies and speakers.