Graduation Day can be a whirlwind of activity and emotion as you bid farewell to your years as a Butler student. Perhaps you recall the nervous feeling as you processed into the crowded room, hoping you were in the right spot. Maybe it’s the pride you felt as you switched the tassel on your cap from right to left that’s stayed with you. Or the anticipation as the reading of the graduates’ names inched closer to yours.

What you may not recall, however, is the name of that prominent person who delivered your Commencement Address. Here are the last 50 years’ Spring Commencement speakers to help refresh your memory.

 

2018, David Brooks, political and cultural commentator

2017, Dr. John C. Lechleiter, Chairman of the United Way Board Worldwide

2016, Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, CEO, My Stroke of Insight, Inc.

2015, Eva Kor, Holocaust survivor, founder of the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center

2014, Brad Stevens, Head Coach, Boston Celtics

2013, John Green, author, vlogger, producer, and educator

2012, Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, Time Magazine

2011, Dr. Bobby Fong, President, Butler University

2010, Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General minister and president of the Christian Church

2009, Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana

2008, Dr. Susan Solomon, Atmospheric chemist

2007, Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools

2006, James McBride, author and composer

2005, Dr. Robert Funk ’47, MA ’51, Director of the Westar Institute

2004, Mari Evans, poet, writer, and dramatist

2003, Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator, Indiana

2002, The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa

2001, Dr. Bertice Berry, sociologist, author, lecturer, and educator.

2000, Dr. Geoffrey Bannister, President, Butler University

1999, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, first woman ordained a rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism

1998, Randall L. Tobias, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company

1997, Frank O’Bannon, Governor of Indiana

1996, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., American author

1995, Dr. James A. Thom ’60, historical author

1994, Raymond Leppard, Music Director and Conductor, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

1993, Evan Bayh, Governor of Indiana

1992, William Warfield, renowned baritone and actor

1991, Stephen A. Briganti ’64, President and COO, Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation

1990, Arpad Goncz, playwright; member, Hungarian Parliament

1989, Dr. Geoffrey Bannister, President, Butler University

1988, Ulric Haynes, Jr., Former U.S. Ambassador to Algeria

1987, Sarah Evans Barker, Judge, United States District Court

1986, John Beversluis, Professor of Philosophy, Butler University

1985, Richard G. Lugar, U.S. Senator from Indiana

1984, James T. Watt, Associate Professor of English

1983, John G. Johnson, President, Butler University

1982, John G. Johnson, President, Butler University

1981, John G. Johnson, President, Butler University

1980, Hugh S. Sidey, Washington Contributing Editor, TIME Magazine

1979, Dr. Russell W. Peterson, President and CEO, National Audubon Society

1978, Norman Cousins, American journalist

1977, Philip Handler, President, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC

1976, Kenneth E. Boulding, Professor of Economics, University of Colorado

1975, The Honorable Barry M. Goldwater, U.S. Senator

1974, Lt. Gen. Felix M. Rogers, Commander, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base

1973, Dr. Loren C. Eiseley, Professor of Anthropology and History of Science

1972, Neil A. Armstrong, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Cincinnati

1971, William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency

1970, Victor Borge, musician

1969, The Honorable John A. Volpe, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation