Virginia Tech commencement speakers - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

2011 Kenneth Feinberg
Kenneth Feinberg
Kenneth Feinberg is an American attorney, specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Feinberg was appointed Special Master of the U.S...

, administrator of the 9/11 Victims Fund
2010 Bob McDonnell
Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell is an American politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006...

, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
2009, Gen. Lance Smith, former NATO supreme allied commander for transformation from 2005 to 2007.
2008, Hoda Kotb, "Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...

" correspondent, co-anchor of NBC's "Today" show, and 1986 Virginia Tech graduate
2007
Spring, General John Abizaid
John Abizaid
John Philip Abizaid, AO is a retired General in the United States Army and former Commander of the United States Central Command , overseeing American military operations in a 27-country region, from the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, to South and Central Asia, covering much of the Middle...

, U.S. Army (Ret.), former Commander of the United States Central Command
United States Central Command
The United States Central Command is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U.S. armed forces, established in 1983 under the operational control of the U.S. Secretary of Defense...

(spring): Read | Listen.
Fall, E. Scott Geller, Alumni Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems in the Department of Psychology in the College of Science (fall):
2006
Spring, Timothy M. Kaine, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
Fall, Henry J. Dekker, retired founder and president of North American operations for French couturier Louis Feraud, and past member of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors (fall).
2005
Spring, David Calhoun, president and CEO of GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation, formerly known as GE Rail, is a division of General Electric. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation industries. It is based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Locomotives are assembled at the Erie plant, while engine...

(spring)
Fall, Minnis E. Ridenour, former executive vice president and chief operating officer at Virginia Tech and Senior Fellow and director of the Office of Government and Non-Profit Organization Management, Virginia Tech
2004
Spring, Pierre Thomas, ABC News U.S. Justice Department correspondent and 1984 graduate of Virginia Tech (spring)
Fall, Dr. Diane Zahm, associate professor of urban affairs and planning in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Virginia Tech
2003
Spring, Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., chief justice, Virginia Supreme Court (spring)
Fall, Dr. Ezra A. "Bud" Brown, professor of mathematics, Virginia Tech
2002
Spring, Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...

, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia (spring)
Fall, Dr. L.A. "Andy" Swiger, dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech
2001
Spring, Rick Boucher
Rick Boucher
Frederick Carlyle "Rick" Boucher is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...

, congressman, U.S. House of Representatives (spring)
Fall, Dr. Charles J. Dudley, professor of sociology and director of the University Honors Program, Virginia Tech
2000
Spring, John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...

, senator, Commonwealth of Virginia
Fall, Arthur L. Buikema Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor, Department of Biology, Virginia Tech
1999
Spring, Eric E. Schmidt
Eric E. Schmidt
Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American software engineer and the current executive chairman of Google. From 2001 to 2011, he served as the chief executive officer of Google....

, chairman and chief executive officer, Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...

Inc.
Fall, Paul Torgersen
Paul Torgersen
Paul Ernest Torgersen, Ph.D was the 14th President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.-Background:...

, president, Virginia Tech, and John W. Hancock Jr., Chair of Engineering
1998
Spring, James S. Gilmore III, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia

Fall, James R. Craig, professor of geological sciences, Virginia Tech
1997
Spring, Raymond J. Lane, president and chief operating officer, Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...

Fall, Charles "Jack" Dudley, director, University Honors Program, Virginia Tech
1996
Spring, John Wilson, retired president, Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...

Fall, Lucinda Roy
Lucinda Roy
Lucinda Roy is an American-based British novelist, educator and poet.She was born in Battersea, South London, England, to Namba Roy, a Jamaican writer and artist, and Yvonne Roy, an English actor and teacher. She grew up in England and received her B.A. in English from King's College London before...

, Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies, Virginia Tech
1995
Spring, Beverly H. Sgro, secretary of education, Commonwealth of Virginia

Fall, James I. Robertson, Jr.
James I. Robertson, Jr.
Dr. James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., is a noted scholar on the American Civil War and a professor at Virginia Tech.-Early life and academic career:...

, Alumni Distinguished Professor of History, Virginia Tech (fall).
1994
Spring, George F. Allen, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia

Fall, Paul Antonie "Tony" Distler, Alumni Distinguished Professor and director of the Division of Performing Arts, Virginia Tech (fall).
1993
Spring, John M. Ashworth, director, London School of Economics and Political Science

Fall, John Kelly, registrar (provost), University College Dublin (Ireland)
1992
Spring, Jack Nelson, Washington Bureau chief, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

Fall, Samuel D. Proctor, professor emeritus, Rutgers University and pastor emeritus, Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York (fall).
1991
Spring, Shaikh Saud Nasir Al-Sabah, ambassador to Kuwait
Fall, W. Ann Reynolds
W. Ann Reynolds
Wynetka Ann Reynolds is a zoologist and university administrator who has served as provost of the Ohio State University , chancellor of the California State University system , chancellor of the City University of New York , and president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham...

, chancellor, City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
1990
Spring, L. Douglas Wilder, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
Fall, Mark O. Hatfield, U.S. senator
1989, Mary Sue Terry
Mary Sue Terry
Mary Sue Terry is a Democratic politician from Virginia, born September 28, 1947, in Martinsville, Virginia.-Early life:Miss Terry was an active and enthusiastic Democrat as a girl.She was graduated from in Critz, Virginia in 1965...

, attorney general, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1988, David Roselle
David Roselle
David Paul Roselle is an American mathematician and academic administrator who served as the ninth President of the University of Kentucky and the 25th President of the University of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

, president, University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

.
1987, Gerald Baliles, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1986, Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

, astronaut
1985, Alexander F. Giacco, rector, Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and chairman of the board, Hercules Inc.
Hercules Inc.
Hercules, Inc., was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, which was formed in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company. Hercules was spun-off from the DuPont Corporation as a result of U.S. federal government actions in the field of antitrusts...
1984, Charles Robb, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1983, Clifton C. Garvin, Jr., chairman of the board, Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....

Corp. (and Virginia Tech alumnus).
1982, Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. is a retired NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation...

, director, Lyndon B. Johnson Space and Virginia Tech alumnus.
1981, William Edward Lavery
William Edward Lavery
William Edward Lavery was the 12th President of Virginia Tech. He served from January 1, 1975 to December 31, 1987.-References:...

, president, Virginia Tech.
1980, Jean Harris, secretary of human resources, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1979, Eric Severied, CBS News Correspondent.
1978, John N. Dalton
John N. Dalton
John Nichols Dalton was the 63rd Governor of the U.S. state of Virginia from 1978 to 1982. Born in Emporia, Virginia, Dalton also served in both houses of the General Assembly and as Lieutenant Governor. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the...

, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1977, Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...

, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics Sciences.
1976, E. F. Shannon, former president, University of Virginia.
1975, Sam J. Ervin, former N.C. senator.
1974, G. Burke Johnston, C. P. Miles Professor of English, Virginia Tech.
1973, Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...

, former press secretary to President L. B. Johnson.
1972, David Brinkley
David Brinkley
David McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997....

, NBC news correspondent.
1971, Linwood Holton, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1970, T. Marshall Hahn, president, Virginia Tech.
1969, Warren W. Brandt, first president of Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...

and former executive vice president, Virginia Tech.
1968, T. Marshall Hahn, president, Virginia Tech.
1967, Mills E. Godwin, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1966, T. Marshall Hahn, president, Virginia Tech.
1965, Albertis S. Harrison, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1964, J. G. Farrar, president, Rockefeller Foundation.
1963, Mills E. Goodwin, lieutenant governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1962, Colgate W. Darden, former governor, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1961, John M. Devine, commandant of cadets, Virginia Tech.
1960, Albertis S. Harrison, attorney general, Commonwealth of Virginia.
1959, John N. Thomas, professor of systematic theology, Union Theological Seminary

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