Commencement Speakers Announced for Spring 2014

President Obama will be the commencement speaker at University of California Irvine campus this June, while first lady Michelle Obama will speak at Dillard University. Harvard University will  host Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City and William Daniel Phillips, a researcher with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a Nobel Prize winner (and a Juniata grad who I had the pleasure of meeting when I toured that campus last fall) will be speaking at Rochester Institute of Technology.

 Here are some of the other esteemed speakers at this spring's college graduation ceremonies:

• Albright College: Bob Garfield, NPR’s “On the Media."
• Catholic University of America: Philip Rivers, quarterback of San Diego Chargers.
• Clark University: Ron Shaich, founder and CEO of Panera Bread Company.
• Colgate University: Gloria Borger, chief political analyst for CNN.
• Colorado College: Jane Lubchenco, first woman to serve as the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Dickinson College: Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state.
• Duke University: General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Emmanuel College: Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the One Fund Boston.
• Fashion Institute of Technology: Bobbi Brown, a beauty industry entrepreneur, and Christian Louboutin, the footwear designer.
• Franklin & Marshall College: George Stephanopoulos, and anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America."
• Howard University: Sean Combs, the entertainment executive.
• Johns Hopkins University: Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube.
• Lafayette College: Portia Simpson Miller, the prime minister of Jamaica.
• Lake Forest College: Kelly Leonard ’88, executive vice president of Second City.
• Lawrence University: Charles Gibson, former anchor of ABC’s “World News” and former co-anchor of “Good Morning, America.”
• Lesley University: Lois Lowry, author of The Giver.
• Miami University, Ohio: Forest Whitaker, actor.
• Middlebury College: Diana Nyad, swimmer.
• Morehouse College: Jeh C. Johnson, secretary of homeland security.
• New York University: Janet Yellen, chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
• Northeastern University: Janet Napoli­tano, the former sec­re­tary of home­land secu­rity who is now pres­i­dent of the Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­fornia System.
• Norwich University: General Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency.
• Pomona College: Valerie B. Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama.
• Quinnipiac University: Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media.
• Randolph-Macon College: Brit Hume, journalist.
• Ripon College: David Plotz and Hanna Rosin, Slate.
• Rowan University: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
• Saint Anselm College: Bob Schieffer, anchor and moderator of "Face the Nation."
• Saint Joseph’s College, in Maine: Peter Geiger, editor of Farmers' Almanac.
• Sarah Lawrence College: Fareed Zakaria, CNN.
• Simmons College: Billie Jean King, tennis.
• St. Mary's College of Maryland: Gwen Ifill,  PBS News.
• Stanford University: Bill and Melinda Gates.
• Syracuse University: David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker.
• University of California at Berkeley: U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader in the House of Representatives.
• University of Pennsylvania: John Legend, the Grammy Award-winning soul artist and philanthropist.
• University of Rochester: Chris Matthews.
• University of the Pacific: Edward E. Whitacre Jr., former CEO of AT&T and GM.
• University of Washington: Steve Ballmer, who was chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp. from 2000 to 2014.
• Ursinus College: Zainab Hawa Bangura, special representative of the United Nations secretary-general on sexual violence.
• Virginia Military Institute: General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Warren Wilson College: Peter Sagal, NPR “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me”.
• Woodbury University: Marlee Matlin, actress.
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Bernard Amadei, founder of Engineers Without Borders-USA, and co-founder of the Engineers Without Borders-International Network.