Stanford Archives Reference and Research Guide: Commencement addresses
This guide offers an introduction to researching Stanford history using University Archives collection materials and includes instructions for identifying, accessing and working with Special Collections materials.
Commencement addresses
See also the Stanford Report for recent speeches. When available, links to online text and video of speeches are included.
# | Year | Speaker | Occupation | Date | Title of Speech | Full Text | Video |
1st | 1892 | Rev. Myron W. Reed | President, National Charities Association | June 15, 1892 | |||
2nd | 1893 | George E. Howard | Professor of History | May 31, 1893 | "The American University and the American Man" | PDF of 2nd commencement speech | |
3rd | 1894 | John Casper Branner | Professor of Geology | May 30, 1894 | "The Education of the Scientific Man" | ||
4th | 1895 | John M. Stillman | Professor of Chemistry | May 29, 1895 | "Specialization in Education" | PDF of 4th commencement speech | |
5th | 1896 | Melville B. Anderson | Professor of English Literature | May 27, 1896 | "Hamlet: the Transition from the Contemplative to the Active Life" | ||
6th | 1897 | Oliver P. Jenkins | Professor of Physiology and Histology | May 26, 1897 | "he Passing of Plato" | PDF of 6th commencement speech | |
7th | 1898 | Walter Miller | Professor of Classical Philology | May 25, 1898 | "The Old and the New" | PDF of 7th commencement speech | |
8th | 1899 | Fernando Sanford | Professor of Physics | May 24, 1899 | "The Scientific Method and its Limitations" | PDF of 8th commencement speech | |
9th | 1900 | William H. Hudson | Professor of English Literature | May 30, 1900 | "The Culture of Today and the Literature of Tomorrow" | ||
10th | 1901 | George M. Richardson | Professor of Organic Chemistry | May 29, 1901 | "The Gospel of Work" | PDF of 10th commencement speech | |
11th | 1902 | Augustus T. Murray | Professor of Greek | May 28, 1902 | "A Parallel and a Lesson" | ||
12th | 1903 | Ewald Flugel | Professor of English Philology | May 25, 1903 | "Our Anniversary is One of Hope" | ||
13th | 1904 | Orrin Leslie Elliot | Registrar | May 18, 1904 | "The Higher Education and Progress" | ||
15th | 1906 | Benjamin I. Wheeler | President, University of California | Sep 15, 1906 | "Orthography" | PDF of 15th commencement speech | |
16th | 1907 | Harris Weinstock | Sacramento merchant & Trustee, State of California | May 22, 1907 | "The Nation's Greatest Need of the Hour" | PDF of 16th commencement speech | |
17th | 1908 | Ernest Carrol Moore | Superintendent of Schools, Los Angeles | May 20, 1908 | |||
18th | 1909 | James Parker Hall | Dean, University of Chicago Law School | May 19, 1909 | "Business and the Nation" | ||
19th | 1910 | William F. Slocum | President, Colorado College | May 23, 1910 | "The Nation's Guarantee of Personal Rights" | ||
20th | 1911 | Rev. Charles David Williams | Bishop of Michigan | May 22, 1911 | "The New Patriotism and its Appeal to the College Graduate" | PDF of 20th commencement speech | |
21st | 1912 | David P. Barrows | Professor of Political Science, University of California | May 20, 1912 | "Possible Influences of the Panama Canal on our National Characters" | PDF of 21st commencement speech | |
22nd | 1913 | David Starr Jordan | University President | May 19, 1913 | "The Conquest of Europe by America" | PDF of 22nd commencement speech | |
23rd | 1914 | John Casper Branner | University President | May 18, 1914 | |||
24th | 1915 | David Starr Jordan | University Chancellor | May 17, 1915 | "The Visionary in History" | PDF of 24th commencement speech | |
25th | 1916 | David Starr Jordan | University Chancellor | May 22, 1916 | "Twenty-Five Years of Stanford" | PDF of 25th commencement speech | |
26th | 1917 | John M. Stillman | University Vice President | May 21, 1917 | "idealism and National Policy" | PDF of 26th commencement speech | |
27th | 1918 | John L. McNab | U.S. District Attorney of San Francisco | Jun 17, 1918 | "A Call to Arms" | ||
28th | 1919 | Paul Shorey | Professor of Greek, University of Chicago | Jun 16, 1919 | "America First" | PDF of 28th commencement speech | |
29th | 1920 | Stephen S. Wise | American Reform Rabbi and Zionist Leader | Jun 21, 1920 | "The University and the Nation: a Study in Relationships" | ||
30th | 1921 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 20, 1921 | |||
31st | 1922 | Alonzo E. Taylor | Director, Food Research Institute | Jun 19, 1922 | "Obligation of the University to the Student" | ||
32nd | 1923 | Robert A. Millikan | Director, Norman Bridge Laboratory, California Institute of Technology | Jun 19, 1923 | |||
33rd | 1924 | Henry Suzzallo, '99 | President, University of Washington | Jun 23, 1924 | |||
34th | 1925 | Herbert C. Hoover, '95 | U.S. Secretary of Commerce | Jun 22, 1925 | |||
35th | 1926 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 21, 1926 | "The Volunteer" | ||
36th | 1927 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 20, 1927 | "Pacific Neighbors" | ||
37th | 1928 | John H. Finley | Editor, New York Times | Jun 18, 1928 | "Planetary Thinking" | ||
38th | 1929 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 17, 1929 | |||
39th | 1930 | Robert Eckles Swain, '99 | Acting University President | Jun 16, 1930 | |||
40th | 1931 | William W. Campbell | President Emeritus, University of California | Jun 15, 1931 | |||
41st | 1932 | James Thomson Shotwell | Professor of History, Columbia University | Jun 20, 1932 | "Peace" | ||
42nd | 1933 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 19, 1933 | "Is this a new Renaissance?" | PDF of 42nd commencement speech | |
43rd | 1934 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 18, 1934 | "Self Navigation" | ||
44th | 1935 | Herbert C. Hoover, '95 | Former U.S. President | Jun 16, 1935 | |||
45th | 1936 | William F. Durand | Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering | Jun 14, 1936 | "Problems" | ||
46th | 1937 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 13, 1937 | "Coasting" | PDF of 46th commencement speech | |
47th | 1938 | Arthur Howland Young | Consulting Professor of Industrial Relations | ||||
48th | 1939 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | June 18, 1939 | "Human Hopes" | PDF of 48th commencement speech | |
49th | 1940 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | June 16, 1940 | "Wheels" | PDF of 49th commencement speech | |
50th | 1941 | Charles A. Beardsley, '06 | Former President, American Bar Association | ||||
51st | 1941 | Lou Henry Hoover, '98 | Former First Lady | PDF of 51st commencement speech | |||
51st | 1942 | Monroe E. Deutsch | Vice President and Provost, University of California | June 14, 1942 | PDF of 52nd commencement speech | ||
53rd | 1944 | Henry R. Luce | Editor, Time, Life, and Fortune magazines | July 2, 1944 | "The Human Situation" | PDF of 53rd commencement speech | |
54th | 1945 | Isaiah Bowman | President, Johns Hopkins University | ||||
55th | 1946 | Ordway Tread | Editor & Director, Harper & Brothers; Chairman, New York City Board of Higher Education | ||||
56th | 1947 | Lee A. DuBridge | President, California Institute of Technology | ||||
57th | 1948 | O.C. Carmichael | President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching | June 13, 1948 | "The Role of the Educated" | PDF of 57th commencement speech | |
58th | 1949 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | PDF of 58th commencement speech | |||
59th | 1950 | Lester Bowles Pearson | Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canada | PDF of 59th commencement speech | |||
60th | 1951 | Eugene Meyer | Chairman of the Board, Washington Post | ||||
61st | 1952 | Clark Kerr | Chancellor Designate, University of California | PDF of 61st commencement speech | |||
62nd | 1953 | Sir Percy Spender | Australian Ambassador to the United States | PDF of 62nd commencement speech | |||
63rd | 1954 | Robert C. Swain, '28 | Vice President, American Cynamid Co. | June 13, 1954 | "The Human Tortoise and the Scientific Hare" | PDF of 63rd commencement speech | |
64th | 1955 | Dag Hammarskjold | Secretary General, United Nations | June 19, 1955 | "The Nation and the World" | PDF of 64th commencement speech | |
65th | 1956 | N.A.M. Mackenzie | President, University of British Columbia | June 17, 1956 | "A Vision of Greatness" | PDF of 65th commencement speech | |
66th | 1957 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | PDF of 66th commencement speech | |||
67th | 1958 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | June 15, 1958 | PDF of 67th commencement speech | ||
68th | 1959 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38; John W. Gardner, '35, AM '36 | Sterling: University President; Gardner: Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service; Founder, Common Cause; Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | June 14, 1959 | |||
69th | 1960 | Barnaby C. Keeney | President, Brown University | ||||
70th | 1961 | James D. Zellerbach | Former U.S. Ambassador to Italy | PDF of 70th commencement speech | |||
71st | 1962 | Edwin H. Land | President and Director of Research, Polaroid Corp. | June 16, 1962 | PDF of 71st commencement speech | ||
72nd | 1963 | Lauris Norstad | Retired General, U.S. Air Force; President, Owens-Corning | PDF of 72nd commencement speech | |||
73rd | 1964 | Earl Warren | Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court | PDF of 73rd commencement speech | |||
74th | 1965 | David Elliot Bell | Administrator, Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State | June 13, 1965 | PDF of 74th commencement speech | ||
75th | 1966 | Monroe E. Spaght, '29, AM '31, PhD '33 | Managing Director, Royal Dutch Shell International | June 12, 1966 | PDF of 75th commencement speech | ||
76th | 1967 | John Fischer | Editor in Chief, Harper's Magazine | June 18, 1967 | "Four Choices for Young People" | PDF of 76th commencement speech | |
77th | 1968 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | ||||
78th | 1969 | W. Willard Wirtz | Former U.S. Secretary of Labor | June 15, 1969 | PDF of 78th commencement speech | ||
79th | 1970 | Charles H. Percy | Illinois Senator | PDF of 79th commencement speech | |||
80th | 1971 | Eric Sevareid | CBS Washington Correspondent | June 13, 1971 | PDF of 80th commencement speech | ||
81st | 1972 | James Reston | Vice President, New York Times | June 11, 1972 | PDF of 81st commencement speech | ||
82nd | 1973 | John Usher Monro | Director of Freshman Studies, Miles College; Former Dean, Harvard College | PDF of 82nd commencement speech | |||
83rd | 1974 | Archibald Cox | Professor of Law, Harvard; Former Watergate Special Prosecutor | June 16, 1974 | PDF of 83rd commencement speech | ||
84th | 1975 | Daniel P. Moynihan | Professor of Government, Harvard | "Can the System Work?" | |||
85th | 1976 | Carla A. Hills, '55 | U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | PDF of 85th commencement speech | |||
86th | 1977 | John Hope Franklin | Professor of History, University of Chicago | Streaming audio of 86th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2] | |||
87th | 1978 | Donald Kennedy | Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Professor of Biological Sciences | ||||
88th | 1979 | Andrew Young | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | Streaming video of 88th commencement speech | |||
89th | 1980 | Lewis Thomas | President, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center | ||||
90th | 1981 | Warren Christoper, '49 | Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State | Streaming video of 90th commencement speech | |||
91st | 1982 | Sandray Day O'Connor, '50 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | PDF of 91st commencement speech | |||
92nd | 1983 | George P. Shultz | U.S. Secretary of State; Professor of Public Policy | ||||
93rd | 1984 | Richard W. Lyman | President, Rockefeller Foundation | ||||
94th | 1985 | Mario Cuomo | Governor, New York | ||||
95th | 1986 | Ted Koppel, '62 | ABC-TV "Nightline" host | ||||
96th | 1987 | Thomas "Tip" O'Neill | Retired Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | ||||
97th | 1988 | Robert C. Maynard | Editor and President, Oakland Tribune | ||||
98th | 1989 | Garry Trudeau | Cartoonist, Doonesbury | Streaming Video of 98th commencement speech | |||
99th | 1990 | Marion Wright Edelman | President, Children's Defense Fund | Streaming Video of 99th commencement speech | |||
100th | 1991 | John W. Gardner, '35, AM '36 | Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service; Founder, Common Cause; Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | PDF of 100th commencement speech | Streaming video of 100th commencement speech | ||
101st | 1992 | Kirk Varnedoe, AM '70, PhD '72 | Director, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art | June 14, 1992 | PDF of 101st commencement speech | ||
102nd | 1993 | Dianne Feinstein, '55 | United States Senator | PDF of 102nd commencement speech | Streaming Video of 102nd commencement speech | ||
103rd | 1994 | Stephen Carter, '76 | Professor of Law, Yale University | PDF of 103rd commencement speech | Streaming Video of 103rd commencement speech | ||
104th | 1995 | William Perry, '49 | U.S. Secretary of Defense | June 18, 1995 | PDF of 104th commencement speech | Streaming video of 104th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] | |
105th | 1996 | Mae Jemison, '77 | Founder and Director, Jemison Institute for Advanced Technology in Developing Countries at Dartmouth College | June 19, 1996 | PDF of 105th commencement speech | Streaming video of 105th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] | |
106th | 1997 | Stephen Breyer, '59 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | June 18, 1997 | HTML of 106th commencement speech | Streaming video of 106th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] | |
107th | 1998 | Ted Koppel, AM '62 | Anchor of ABC's "Nightline" | June 14, 1998 | HTML of 107th commencement speech | ||
108th | 1999 | Robert Pinsky, AM '67 | Poet | June 13, 1999 | HTML of 108th commencement speech | ||
109th | 2000 | Kofi Annan | Secretary General, United Nations | June 14, 2000 | HTML of 109th commencement speech | ||
110th | 2001 | Carleton (Carly) S. Fiorina, '76 | Chairman and CEO, Hewlett Packard Co. | June 17, 2001 | HTML of 110th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 110th commencement speech | |
111th | 2002 | Condoleeza Rice | National Security Advisor | June 16, 2002 | HTML of 111th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 111th commencement speech | |
112th | 2003 | Alejandro Toledo, AM '72, AM '74, PhD '92 | President of Peru | June 15, 2003 | HTML of 112th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 112th commencement speech | |
113th | 2004 | Sandra Day O'Connor, '50 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | HTML of 113th commencement speech | |||
114th | 2005 | Steve Jobs | Co-Founder and CEO, Apple Inc. | June 12, 2005 | HTML of 114th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 114th commencement speech | |
115th | 2006 | Tom Brokaw (undergraduate) | Anchor, NBC Nightly News | June 18, 2006 | HTML of 115th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 115th commencement speech | |
115th | 2006 | Vartan Gregorian, '58, PhD '64 (graduate) | President of the Carnegie Corporation, former president of the New York Public Library and Brown University | June 17, 2006 | HTML of 115th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 115th commencement speech | |
116th | 2007 | Dana Gioia | Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts | June 17, 2007 | HTML of 116th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 116th commencement | |
117th | 2008 | Oprah Winfrey | Global media leader and philanthropist | June 15, 2008 | HTML of 117th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 117th commencement speech | |
118th | 2009 | Anthony M. Kennedy | Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court | June 14, 2009 | HTML of 118th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 118th commencement speech | |
119th | 2010 | Susan E. Rice, '86 | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | June 13, 2010 | HTML of 119th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 119th commencement speech | |
120th | 2011 | Felipe Calderon Hinojosa | President of Mexico | June 12, 2011 | HTML of 120th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 120th commencement speech | |
121st | 2012 | Cory Booker, '91, AM '92 | Mayor of Newark, NJ | June 17, 2012 | PDF of 121st commencement speech | Streaming Video of 121st commencement speech | |
122nd | 2013 | Michael Bloomberg | Mayor of New York, NY | June 16, 2013 | HTML of 122nd commencement speech | Streaming video of 122nd commencement speech | |
123rd | 2014 | Bill and Melinda Gates | Directors of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | Jun 15, 2014 | HTML of 123rd commencement speech | Streaming video of 123rd commencement speech | |
124th | 2015 | Richard Engel | Chief foreign correspondent for NBC News | Jun 14, 2015 | HTML of 124th commencement speech | Streaming video of 124th commencement speech | |
125th | 2016 | Ken Burns | Documentary filmmaker | Jun 12, 2016 | HTML of 125th commencement speech | Streaming video of 125th commencement speech | |
126th | 2017 | Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar | Assoc. Justic of Supreme Court of California | Jun 18, 2017 | HTML of 126th commencement speech | Streaming video of 126th commencement speech | |
127th | 2018 | Sterling K. Brown, '98 | Actor | Jun 17, 2018 | HTML of 127th commencement speech | Streaming video of 176th commencement speech | |
128th | 2019 | Tim Cook | Chief Executive Officer of Apple | Jun 16, 2019 | HTML of 128th commencement speech | Streaming video of 128th commencement speech | |
129th | 2020 | France A. Córdova | Astrophysicist and Leader in Higher Education and Government | June 11, 2022 (Postponed due to COVID-19) | HTML of 129th commencement speech for undergraduate degrees | Streaming video of 129th commencement speech for undergraduate degrees | |
130th | 2021 - Advanced degrees | Atul Gawande | Public health leader and author | Jun 12, 2021 | HTML of 130th commencement speech for advanced degrees | Streaming video of 130th commencement speech for advanced degrees | |
130th | 2021 - Undergraduate | Issa Rae, '07 | Actor, Writer, Producer | Jun 13, 2021 | HTML of 130th commencement speech for undergraduate degrees | Streaming video of 130th commencement speech for undergraduate degrees | |
131st | 2022 | Reed Hastings, '88 | Founder and CEO, Netflix | Jun 15, 2022 | HTML of 131st commencement speech for undergraduate degrees | Streaming video of 131st commencement speech for undergraduate degrees |
- Last Updated: Feb 4, 2025 2:27 PM
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Subjects: Basic research, Stanford history