WHAT: New York University will hold its 173rd Commencement Exercises in Washington Square Park. Some 6,000 graduating seniors and 13,000 guests, faculty, and staff will be on hand for the ceremony.

WHO: NYU President John Sexton and Board of Trustees Chairman Martin Lipton will preside. Shirley Tilghman, the president of Princeton University, will give remarks on behalf of the honorary degree recipients. Other honorees include:

• Louise Bourgeois, sculptor and artist
• Eric Kandel, Nobel-winning neuroscientist and NYU alumnus
• Jaroslav Pelikan, renowned historian
• Bruce Ratner, president and CEO of Forest City Ratner
• Jan Vilcek, NYU Medical School faculty member whose discoveries led to the development of Remicade.

WHEN: Thursday, May 12, 2005, 10:00 am

WHERE: Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village