commencement

While she did not attend college, Parton was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane and musical letters from Tennessee in 2009 following her commencement address to the graduating class of that year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Plebes, prohibited from fraternizing with girls, celebrated spring commencement by marching across the walkways and climbing Herndon.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

New college graduates booed commencement speakers who spoke of the benefits of artificial intelligence during their graduation ceremonies.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026

She spoke at Chaffey College’s commencement ceremony, livestreamed on YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

In July 1953, at the age of thirty-six, she slips on a white cap and gown and joins one other patient—eighteen-year-old Bert King, from Florida—for high school commencement.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

“I have presided over 28 commencements as a president and dean, and those ceremonies are about celebrating the graduates and their supporters,” Schapiro wrote in a letter declining the speech.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

Revolutionary hostilities canceled the commencements of 1774-78 and 1780, but Harvard would not miss a commencement again until 2020.

From New York Times ● May 23, 2024

Administrators, under pressure to restore order and normal functioning close to college commencements, have said they support the right to speak but not to disrupt life for other students or violate conduct rules.

From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024

More than two dozen satellite commencements for individual colleges and schools would continue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2024

For my final round of commencements as First Lady, I spoke at Jackson State University in Mississippi, another historically black school, using the opportunity to talk about striving for excellence.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama