Academic rites and ceremonies

Scope and Contents From the Series: The Audiovisual series consists of two sub-series: Commencement and Films. The Commencement sub-series contains video footage of undergraduate and graduate commencement cermonies organized chronologically by year. For some years we only have a partial ceremony, specifically only the honorary degree presentation and commmencement address or just the commencement address. All the videos have been digitized. The Films sub-series contains footage of films produced by...

Overview

Some commencement ceremonies have duplicate versions either in the same format or another format, some ceremonies are split across multiple tapes particularly for U-Matic recordings, and some commencements have excerpt tapes with highlight footage of the commencement address and/or honorary degree presentations.

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Comedian and actress Isabel Sanford gave the commencement address.

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Stage and film actress Kathleen Turner and photojournalist Dith Pran received honorary degrees. Kathleen Turner gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held in the Wang Center for the Performing Arts at noon.

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Television journalist Thomas J. Brokaw and businessman Michael J. Solomon received honorary degrees. Thomas J. Brokaw gave the commencement address.

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Media executive Lucille S. Salhany; Emerson College Trustee Emerita and marketing executive Irma Mann Stearns; former Emerson College President John C. Zacharis; U.S. Representative Edward J. Markey; and State Senator Patricia McGovern received honorary degrees. The commencement address was given by Edward J. Markey. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts at noon.

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Comedian, actor, director, producer, and writer Jerry Lewis; actress and activist Marlee Matlin; advertising executive Mary E. Moore; media executive Roger Monroe King; and lawyer James D. St. Clair received honorary degrees. Marlee Matlin gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts at noon.

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Television producer and Emerson College Trustee Vincent J. DiBona; actor James Earl Jones; television executive Kay Koplovitz; environmental advocate and Emerson College Trustee Eckardt C. Beck; and businessman Enrique Senior received honorary degrees. James Earl Jones gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts at noon.

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Filmmaker Henry Hampton, radio broadcaster Donald A. Thurston, television journalist Lesley Stahl, and Mayor of Boston Thomas M. Menino received honorary degrees. Henry Winkler gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts at noon.

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Radio talk show host, TV commentator, and film critic David Brudnoy; radio presenter and stage and television actor Jess Cain; historian and journalist Doris Kearns Goodwin; and civic advisor and audiologist Alma Johnson Powell received honorary degrees. Doris Kearns Goodwin gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts at noon.

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Author Alice Hoffman; actor, sculptor, and painter Anthony Quinn, news correspondent Morley Safer, and President of AOL Interactive Properties Group Ted Leonsis received honorary degrees. Ted Leonsis gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for Performing Arts in the afternoon.

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Actress and activist Jane Fonda; activist Doris R. Haddock; and communications entrepreneur R. E. Turner received honorary degrees. R. E. Turner gave the commencement address.

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Film industry executive Sherry Lansing and chairman of The Shubert Organization Gerald Schoenfeld received honorary degrees. Sherry Lansing gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

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US Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and media executive Leo Hindery, Jr. received honorary degrees. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

Overview Actor, comedian, and writer Denis Leary; business and civic leader, and political commentator Peter Meade; entrepreneur, innovator, and enabler Robert F. X. Sillerman; Emerson College faculty member, artist, designer, and administrator Harry Morgan; Emerson College's resident storyteller, esteemed faculty member, and ordained minister John Coffee received honorary degrees. Robert F. X. Sillerman gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for Performing Arts in...

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Journalist David Gregory, author and playwright Tony Kushner, founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics Bobbi Brown, and US Poet Laureate Robert Pinksy received honorary degrees. David Gregory gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in the morning.

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Emmy Award winner Max Mutchnick, actress and choreographer Debbie Allen, poet and playwright Rita Dove, and philanthropist Eugene M. Lang received honorary degrees. Max Mutchnick gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in the morning, this is the first time the ceremony was held at this venue.

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Emerson alumnus Jay Leno, journalist Scott Simon, CNN news anchor Don Lemon, and president and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank Catherine D'Amato received honorary degrees. Former host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno, gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Agganis Arena at Boston University in the morning.

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Novelist Alice Sebold, reporter Juan González, and Boston poet laureate Danielle Legros Georges received honorary degrees. Alice Sebold gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Agganis Arena at Boston University in the morning.

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Civil rights advocate Anita Hill, novelist Dennis Lehane, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, poet and playwright Claudia Rankine, and Emerson College Associate Professor Emeritus in Communication Studies John Dennis Anderson received honorary degrees. Dennis Lehane gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Agganis Arena at Boston University in the morning.