On occasion, Commencement speakers provide text copies of their speeches. The following texts were provided in recent years.
2013
School of Business: Daniel Toscano ’87 (BUS), May 11, 2013. Daniel Toscano was managing director and head of Global Leveraged and Acquisition Finance, Morgan Stanley.
Graduate School: Jeffrey Immelt, May 11, 2013.
2011
School of Fine Arts: Mia Farrow (speaker and honorary degree recipient), May 7, 2011. Mia Farrow is an actress and human rights advocate.
2010
Graduate Ceremony: Scott S. Cowen, May 8, 2010. Scott S. Cowen is president of Tulane University in New Orleans and 1968 UConn graduate.
Undergraduate Ceremony: Narissa Ramdhani, May 8, 2010 and Wendell G. Minor (honorary degree recipients), May 9, 2010.
Narissa Ramdhani, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the CLAS ceremony, is a former anti-apartheid activist and 1992 UConn graduate.
Wendell G. Minor is the illustrator and designer of covers for more than 2,000 books.
2009
Graduate Ceremony: Robert Sternberg, May 9, 2009. Robert Sternberg is Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tuffs University.
2008 – December
Undergraduate Ceremony: Denis M. McCarthy, December 14, 2018.
Denis M. McCarthy is the retired chairman, CEO and president of Fidelity Management Trust Co., a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s leading providers of financial services. He earned a bachelor’s degree at UConn in 1964, and a master’s degree in 1965, is co-chair of UConn’s capital campaign and a member of the UConn Foundation board of directors. He chaired the board from 2000-04.
2008 – May
CLAS Undergraduate Ceremony: Rebecca Lobo, May 11, 2008. Rebecca Lobo, Class of 1995, is a member of the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, an author, and television sports commentator. She was a member of UConn’s 1995 NCAA national championship women’s basketball team.
Graduate Ceremony: Garry Wills, May 10, 2008. Garry Wills is a scholar and journalist and recipient of numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize.
2007 – May
Undergraduate Ceremony: Fay Weldon, May 6, 2007. Fay Weldon, British novelist, essayist, and screenwriter received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree during the ceremony.
2006 – May
Undergraduate Ceremony: Rep. Rosa DeLaura (D-3rd Conn), May 7, 2006. Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Represenative from Conneticut’s 3rd Congressional District, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during the ceremony.
2005 – December
Undergraduate Ceremony: Dr. Robert Ballard, December 18, 2005. Robert Ballard, president of the Institute for Exploration at Mystic Aquarium and director of the Institute for Archaelogical Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree during the ceremony.
2005 – May
Undergraduate Ceremony: Eduardo Aguirre, May 8, 2005.
Eduardo Aguirre, the country’s first director of citizenship and immigration, an undersecretary post in the Department of Homeland Security, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony.
Graduate Ceremony: Jonathan Fanton, May 7, 2005
Jonathan Fanton, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during the ceremony.
2003
Undergraduate Ceremony: Les Payne, May 17, 2003
Les Payne, a journalist and columnist with Newsday, and a 1964 graduate of UConn, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree during the ceremony.
2000
Undergraduate Ceremony: Christopher Dodd, May 20, 2000. Christopher J. Dodd, U.S. Senator (D-Conn.) and former Congressman (D-Conn., 2nd Dist.), received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during the ceremony.
Graduate Ceremony: Rita R. Colwell, May 21, 2000. Rita R. Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree during the ceremony.
1999
Undergraduate Ceremony: David McCullough, May 15, 1999. David McCullough, a historian, biographer, author, and host of the PBS program The American Experience, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree during the ceremony.
Graduate Ceremony: Noam Chomsky, May 16, 1999. Noam Chomsky, Professor of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree during the ceremony
1998
Undergraduate Ceremony: George H. W. Bush, May 16, 1998. George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States (1989 – 1993), also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during the Comencement Ceremony.
Graduate Ceremony: Varro E. Tyler, May 17, 1998. Varro E. Tyler, Dean and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Pharamacognosy, Purdue University. In 1953, he was the first recipient of a Ph.D in pharmacy from the University of Connecticut.