Williams College Celebrates 218th Commencement
Williams College President Morton Owen Schapiro conferred Bachelor of Arts degrees on 525 seniors at Commencement, Sunday, June 3, 2007. Eleven students in the History of Art Program and 23 fellows from the Center for Development Economics received master’s degrees.
Three graduating seniors spoke. The highest-ranking student Priyanka Bangard, from Kolkata, India, delivered the Valedictory Address, “Culture Shock.” Alan R. Rodrigues, from Dresher, Penn., gave the Phi Beta Kappa Speech, “Pause.” Auyon Mukharji from Prairie Village, Kan., chosen by his classmates as Class Speaker, took a light-hearted look at “What Just Happened?” CBS news anchor Katie Couric gave the college’s Commencement Address, “Seven for ’07: Simple Lessons for a Complicated World.”
Sri Lanka Supreme Court Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane delivered the Baccalaureate Address on Saturday, June 2.
On Saturday, June 2, elected seniors were inducted into academic honor societies. Forty-three were elected to Phi Beta Kappa at the close of the senior year. Those students combined with the 26 inducted in September 2006 represent the top 12.5 percent of the class. Fifty-three seniors were elected to Sigma Xi, the national scientific honor society.
The Speeches
- Shiranee Tilakawardane, Baccalaureate Address
- Katie Couric, Commencement Address
- Auyon Mukharji, Class Speaker
- Alan R. Rodrigues, Phi Beta Kappa Speaker
- Priyanka Bangard, Valedictorian
Honorary Degree Citations
- Douglas J. Bennet, Doctor of Laws
- Katherine A. Couric, Doctor of Laws
- Robert F. Engle, Class of 1964, Doctor of Laws
- Shiranee Tilakawardane, Doctor of Laws
- Neil deGrasse Tyson, Doctor of Science
- Edward O. Wilson, Doctor of Science
Emeritus Citations
- Samuel Y. Edgerton Jr., Amos Lawrence Professor of Art, Emeritus
- Douglas B. Moore, Mary A. and William Wirt Warren Professor of Music, Emeritus
Williams News Releases
- June 3, 2007 Williams College Celebrates 218th Commencement
- April 11, 2007 Six to be Awarded Honorary Degrees
- March 14, 2007 CBS Anchor Katie Couric to Deliver Commencement Address;
Sri Lankan Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane to Give Baccalaureate Address
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