Class of 2009 Celebrates NYU’s 177th Commencement in Yankee Stadium

      Today marks a triumphant end of one era for the nearly 15,000 members of NYU’s Class of 2009, but it also marks a moment rich with opportunity and potential. So it seems fitting that these graduates will enjoy the distinction of being the first to have their Commencement ceremony held in the brand new home of the New York Yankees, who also recently left behind their bastion of tradition for a bright, new future.
      While Washington Square Park—home to Commencement from 1976-2007—continues to undergo a much-needed renovation, this is the second consecutive year that the Yankees have welcomed NYU on Commencement day. The new park has 4,561 fewer seats than “The House that Ruth Built”—where the Yankees won all of their 26 World Series titles—allowing for increased arm and leg room, along with a scoreboard more than twice the size of its predecessor.
      President John Sexton and Board of Trustees Chairman Martin Lipton will preside over the ceremony, which begins at 11:00 a.m. Graduates join an alumni community of more than 360,000 worldwide.
      Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state and the former U.S. senator from New York, will address the graduates and guests. Clinton will receive a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, at the ceremony.
      This year’s other recipients of honorary doctorates are Albert Fert, the Nobel-winning physicist whose discoveries led to miniaturization of computer hard disks, who will receive a Doctor of Science degree, honoris causa; Jessie Gruman, the nationally recognized health and health research advocate, who will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa; John Patrick Shanley, NYU alumnus, playwright, and winner of a Pulitzer, a Tony, and an Oscar, who will receive a Doctor of Letters degree, honoris causa; and Helen Thomas, journalist, “dean” of the White House press corps, and long-time observer of U.S. presidents, who will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa.
      The 2009 Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City will be presented to Joel I. Klein, the New York City schools chancellor.
      Today’s student speaker is Katherine E. Otto, who graduates from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (see story in box at right). Finalists for the student speaker were Nicole E. Smith, who graduates from the College of Dentistry (see story on Page 3) and Sophie A. Crawford-Brown, who graduates from the College of Arts and Science.
      In keeping with NYU tradition, today’s Commencement proceedings include “The Ceremony of the Torch.” The University torch— designed and fashioned by Tiffany and Company in sterling silver and donated to NYU in 1911—is once again passed from a senior member of the faculty to the youngest undergraduate degree recipient.
      The torch is passed today from Norman Dorsen, counselor to President Sexton, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, and director of the Hays Civil Liberties Memorial Program School of Law, to Tanvir Rahim, who graduates from the College of Arts and Science.