John Legend to be Commencement Speaker
Nine time Grammy award winning artist, John Legend, C'99, will be this year's commencement speaker
Did You Know…
that singer, songwriter John Legend, C’99, will deliver the address at theUniversity of Pennsylvania’s 258th Commencement on Monday, May 19, 2014? Legend is a nine-time Grammy Award-winning soul artist celebrated as much for his social activism as for his impressive musical talents. He achieved super-stardom with his 2004 platinum-selling CD Get Lifted. His social contributions have been recognized with the 2010 BET Humanitarian of the Year award, the 2009 CARE Humanitarian Award for Global Change, Africare's 2009 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award, and the 2012 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award. Mr. Legend is receiving an honorary Doctor of Music.
In addition to Legend, this year’s honorary degree recipients include: Eugenio Calabi, Penn's Thomas A. Scott Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, (delete is) a visionary mathematician whose work has had profound implications well beyond his own field of complex differential geometry Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole (delete was appointed the) Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) (delete: in March, 2009) Edna Adan Ismail, Director and Founder, Edna Adan Maternity Hospital Founder, Edna Adan University, Hargeisa, Republic of Somaliland; Raymond G. Perelman, W’40, CEO, RGP Holdings Trustee, Raymond and Ruth Perelman Education Foundation; together with his now-deceased wife Ruth, Perelman’s 2011 gift to Penn’s medical school created a permanent endowment for the school, which was renamed the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, and represented the single largest gift in Penn history; Olympia J. Snowe, former United States Senator, Chairman and CEO, Olympia Snowe, LLC. Snowe is the first women in American history to have served in both houses of Congress and both houses of a state legislature; George A. Weiss, WG'65, CEO, Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers LLC, Founder and Chairman, Say Yes to Education Foundation. Weiss was Chair of the University’s record-breaking Making History campaign, which surpassed its goals by raising $4.3 billion in support of key Penn priorities.
For the complete biographies of all of the honorees, please click on the following link:http://www.upenn.edu/commencement/event/honbio.html
For additional information on commencement ceremony, please visit:http://www.upenn.edu/commencement/event/index.html
The commencement ceremony may be viewed live over the internet. Please visitwww.upenn.edu/commencement/webcast.html to learn more about the webcast.