The Day’s Events: Thursday, May 30

Honorary degrees, undergraduate speeches, Oprah Winfrey speaks, and more

Events for Thursday, May 30, include: 

  • Gates to Harvard Yard open at 6:45 a.m., and there will be a morning prayer service for graduating seniors at 8 a.m. in Memorial Church.
  • Morning Exercises begin at 9:45 a.m. and include: honorary degree candidates; Latin salutatory; undergraduate and graduate English addresses. The ceremony will be broadcast live on WHRB (audio) and harvard.edu (video) and will end at 11:30 a.m.
  • At 12 noon, there will be various luncheons and diploma awarding ceremonies at the undergraduate Houses, graduate, and professional schools. 
  • At  noon, Harvey Fineberg ’67, M.D. ’71, M.P.P. ’72, Ph.D. ’80, president of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies will speak to Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Dental School degree candidates on the HMS quad.
  • Afternoon Exercises, with addresses by President Drew Faust and guest speaker Oprah Winfrey, will begin at 2:30 p.m. in Tercentenary Theatre; this includes the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association, with the announcement of Overseer and Director election results, and the awarding of Harvard Medals.
  • Harvard School of Public Health’s Commencement ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m. in Kresge courtyard.
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