Mr. Speaker

Michael R. Bloomberg

Entrepreneur (Bloomberg L.P., the financial-information and news company), civic leader (three-time mayor of New York City), and philanthropist (including gifts of $1.1 billion to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins) Michael R. Bloomberg, M.B.A. ’66, will be the principal speaker at the 363rd Commencement, on May 29. Born in Boston and raised in nearby Medford, Bloomberg returned to the area for his business degree—and has supported the Business School with a professorship and a gift for the renovated Baker Library|Bloomberg Center, both named in honor of his father, William Henry Bloomberg. He has spoken out nationally on issues such as gun control and public health; during his commencement address at Stanford last year (“no other university in the world has so profoundly shaped our modern age”), he advocated immigration reform, as a linchpin of economic growth, and same-sex marriage, as a basic civil right. Bloomberg will speak that afternoon, during Harvard Alumni Association’s annual meeting, following the Morning Exercises.

Click here for the May-June 2014 issue table of contents

Related Topics

Related topics

You might also like

Alumni Cheer on Harvard

At Alumni Day, ringing endorsements of Harvard’s fight

The “Obligation to Heal”

Amid distrust of science, Paula Johnson tells medical and dental graduates to be “citizen-physicians.”

Harvard 2025 Commencement Photo Album

A gallery of photographs from the Commencement celebration for the class of 2025

Most popular

Harvard’s Hiring Freeze Continues

University leaders say $1 billion per year is at risk due to federal actions

Harvard Retains Winthrop Name

Committee undecided on whether owning slaves merits denaming

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Explore More From Current Issue

New Harvard Overseers and HAA Directors

Alumni showed increased interest in this year’s elections.

How Harvard Students Handle Political Disagreements

The Undergraduate asks if intellectualism is really on life support.

Harvard Commencement 2025

Harvard passes a test of its values, yet challenges loom.