Events, speakers will mark 62nd commencement

Ceremony to be held in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center and live-streamed

Brandeis will hold its 62nd commencement ceremonies on May 19 in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. Approximately 850 undergraduate degrees, as well as more than 930 graduate degrees and certificates, will be awarded, according to the Office of the Registrar.

Dr. Rick Hodes will speak at commencement. Hodes, who is the medical director of Ethiopia for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, will also receive an honorary degree.

Hodes has spent more than two decades as a physician treating children in one of the world’s poorest countries. His work has been the subject of a book (Marilyn Berger’s “This is a Soul”) and three documentaries (HBO’s “Making the Crooked Straight,” Sam Shnider’s “Bewoket” and the forthcoming “Zemene.”) He has received numerous awards, including being named a CNN Hero.

[Visit the Commencement 2013 site for full details.]

Honorary degrees will also be awarded to five other individuals: Carnegie Corporation of New York President Vartan Gregorian; painter, sculptor and printmaker Ellsworth Kelly; director emeritus of Yemin Order Wingate Youth Village Chaim Peri; visionary community leader and co-founder of Operation P.E.A.C.E. (Partnerships in Education and Community Enrichment) Elaine Schuster and The New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier.

The weekend begins with a baccalaureate service at Chapel’s Pond on Friday at 4 p.m., followed at 5 p.m. by the president’s reception for graduates and their families in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium.

On Saturday, there will be a Phi Beta Kappa initiation ceremony and reception in the Spingold Theater Main Stage from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Also on Saturday afternoon, Chris Bedford, the Henry and Lois Foster Director of the Rose Art Museum, will host a conversation with Ellsworth Kelly. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. in the museum, and also may be viewed live online. Two of Kelly's paintings -- "Yellow Curves" (1954) and "Blue White" (1962) -- are part of the permanent collection and currently are on view.  

The main ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, and will be live-streamed. Individual schools and departments will hold ceremonies throughout the day.

Categories: Alumni, General

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