This year's commencement speakers
April 4, 2023
Dear Members of the Brandeis Community,
I am pleased to share that Brandeis’ 2023 Commencement speakers will be the world-renowned physician and researcher Drew Weissman ’81, MA ’81, P’15, and Harvard professor, Pulitzer-prize-winning author, and leading voice on race and American history, Annette Gordon-Reed.
Brandeis’ 72nd Commencement Exercises will be held on May 21, 2023, with an exciting new format, featuring an undergraduate ceremony in the morning, during which Weissman will provide remarks, and exercises for graduate students in the afternoon, when Gordon-Reed will speak.
Weissman’s pioneering research on RNA therapeutics laid the foundation for the development of Moderna and Pfizer’s lifesaving vaccines for COVID-19, and as The Washington Post wrote, “helped make hugs possible again.” We are delighted to welcome back to campus a fellow Brandeisian whose career has exemplified our community’s commitment to healing the world.
Gordon-Reed is one of the most influential historians of our time. A Macarthur Fellow who was presented with the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama, her latest book is “On Juneteenth,” which provides her view of the country’s long road to the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, and later, to the establishment of Juneteenth as a national holiday.
Weissman and Gordon-Reed will receive honorary degrees during the proceedings alongside Katalin Karikó, who is Weissman’s former research partner on RNA therapeutics and vaccines, and a fellow Time magazine 2021 “Hero of the Year,” and Donald M. Soffer, a noted real estate developer, longtime friend to Brandeis, and member of the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame. To learn more about the accomplishments of each of these remarkable people, I encourage you to view the full announcement on BrandeisNow.
I'm looking forward to celebrating all of our graduates in May, on what promises to be an uplifting occasion for our community.
Sincerely,
Ron Liebowitz