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