Cheers resound, smiles abound in the Quad

For many students first arriving at the University several years ago, today may have seemed like the dimmest of lights at the end of the longest of tunnels.

But now, after countless hours of lectures, studying, homework, all-nighters and exams, the diplomas are waiting for undergraduate, graduate and professional students alike.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will confer degrees during today’s 145th Commencement ceremony, which will start at 8:30 a.m. in Brookings Quadrangle. Of the 2,529 candidates, 1,393 are undergraduate and 1,136 are graduate and professional.

There are 524 doctoral candidates, comprising 84 for the doctor of philosophy degree from the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences; 22 for the doctor of science degree from the Henry Edwin Sever Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science; 234 for the juris doctoris degree from the School of Law; and 184 for degrees from the School of Medicine.

In the event of rain, Commencement will still take place in the Quad. If the weather turns violent, the ceremony for undergraduates will be moved to the Athletic Complex, and graduate and professional degrees will be bestowed at each respective school’s Commencement reception. (For details, see Commencement speakers article.)

Streaming video of the ceremony will be broadcast online at commencement.wustl.edu. The webcast can be viewed in January Hall, Room 110; Brown Hall, Room 100 (wheelchair accessible); and Brown Hall, Room 118.

John Major, former prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, will give the Commencement address, titled “The Changing World.”

Major was appointed prime minister on Nov. 28, 1990, and was re-elected when the Conservative Party won an unprecedented fourth term in office at the general election of April 1992.

Continuing the United Kingdom’s strong ties with America, Major gave full support to the United States in the Gulf War of 1991 and thereafter to the U.S. position on Iraq in the United Nations.

Major’s seven years as prime minister were not easy ones. Unlike his predecessor, Margaret Thatcher, Major led the Conservative Party with only slim majorities in Parliament.

Nevertheless, on May 1, 1997, he handed over one of the strongest economies any incoming government had inherited, with The Daily Telegraph in London observing, “John Major leaves a richer legacy than any of his predecessors.”

Since leaving office, Major continues working to secure peace in Northern Ireland, lending his support to Prime Minister Tony Blair. On New Year’s Day 1999, he was awarded one of the United Kingdom’s greatest honors: The Companion of Honour, bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth in recognition of his initiation of the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

Also at Commencement, honorary degrees will be awarded to:

• Aaron J. Ciechanover, M.D., D.Sc., a Distinguished Research Professor at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and co-recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry, doctor of science;

• Anna Crosslin, president and chief executive officer, St. Louis’ International Institute, doctor of humanities;

• Steve Fossett, the first person to fly nonstop around the world solo in a balloon, doctor of science;

• Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ph.D., the W.E.B. DuBois Professor of the Humanities and chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, doctor of humane letters; and

• John F. McDonnell, retired chairman of the board of McDonnell Douglas Corp. and current vice chairman of WUSTL’s Board of Trustees, doctor of science.

The ceremony

Commencement will begin with the traditional academic procession into the Quad, which will be led by honorary grand marshal James W. Davis, Ph.D., professor emeritus of political science in Arts & Sciences, director of the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service and Robert S. Brookings Fellow.

Davis has probably served in as many critical campus positions as anyone in institutional memory.

A teacher, mentor, scholar, writer, colleague, leader and guide, Davis has taught or team-taught courses in four schools on the Hilltop Campus. Since he joined the faculty in 1968, he has been associate provost (1978-1980), associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences (1978-1980), vice chancellor for student affairs and admissions (1980-86) and acting dean of the School of Fine Arts (1989).

As director of the Teaching Center (1996-2002), Davis helped launch a range of new academic assistance and consultation services that enhance the teaching skills of graduate teaching assistants and faculty members. As faculty associate in Small Group Housing, he and his wife, Jean, provided in-house counseling and “meet the professor” dinners for dozens of students residing in what is now known as The Village.

Since February 2005, he has served as director and Robert S. Brookings Fellow at the Gephardt Institute, a new initiative that provides educational programs and support to students and others pursuing volunteer and career opportunities in the public-service arena.

A native of Chillicothe, Mo., Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in American government, with honors, in 1957 from Harvard College. He earned a master’s degree in public administration (1962) and a doctorate in political science (1964) from the University of Michigan.

Also at Commencement, approximately 125 alumni from the Class of 1956, celebrating their 50th reunion, will march in the opening procession.

For the 26th consecutive Commencement, the program will begin with music by The Mighty Mississippi Concert Band of St. Louis, under the direction of Dan Presgrave, music director/conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra, the University Wind Ensemble and The Saint Louis Wind Symphony.

Elise LaBarge, who will receive a master of music in vocal performance degree in Arts & Sciences, will sing “America the Beautiful.”

Sagar K. Ravi, president of the senior class, will deliver the student Commencement greeting (see student speaker article).

Conferral of academic degrees will follow, with the deans of each of the schools and Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, assisting Wrighton.

After the conferral of degrees, Wrighton will deliver his message to the Class of 2006.

Philip Touchette, who will receive a master of music in vocal performance degree, will conclude the ceremony by singing the “Alma Mater.”

Afterward, the University’s schools will hold receptions for graduates and their guests.