An estimated 2,168 degrees will be presented at today's 148th commencement ceremonies. The undergraduate class of 2004 will graduate 1,161 students in addition to 1,007 from Tufts' graduate schools.
Walter Isaacson, best-selling author and former managing editor of Time Magazine and former CEO of CNN will give the University-wide keynote address. He is the current CEO of the Aspen Institute.
Today's commencement will mark the first time the ceremony will be divided into two phases.
All of Tufts' schools are to participate in Phase I, the all-University ceremony. It will include the academic procession, the awarding of honorary degrees, Isaacson's speech, recognition of faculty emeriti, conferral of degree candidates by school, and the granting of degrees by the Board of Trustees.
Phase II will take place at various locations on campus and will consist of the presentation of diplomas to individual graduates and special activities for the various schools and departments.
The University Commencement Committee decided to implement the new format in response to complaints that the commencement ceremony was too lengthy and unorganized.
Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser told The Tufts Daily in March that the administration had gone to great lengths to ensure that similar departments' ceremonies would not be held at the same time, so that double majors would not have to miss either of their ceremonies.
Phase I will take place on the Academic Quad between Bendetson and Ballou Halls.
Six honorary degrees will be presented at the ceremony. Isaacson will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree. Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong will receive an honorary degree of engineering, and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Richard Lugar, R-Ind., will receive an honorary doctorate of law.
Morehouse College President and former National Science Foundation director Walter Massey will receive an honorary doctorate of science degree, and former University Board of Trustees Chair Nathan Gantcher will receive an honorary doctorate of business administration.
Musician and Tufts graduate Tracy Chapman (J '86) will receive an honorary fine arts degree.
As the winner of this year's Wendell Phillips Award, graduating senior Candace Gomez will be the only student to speak at the commencement ceremony. "My speech will include many different elements," she said. "But it [will] especially highlight the accomplishments of the Class of 2004, the significance of appreciating various cultures, and the importance of each individual in shaping a more just and ethical society."
"I feel very honored to have been chosen as the baccalaureate speaker. I hope that I will play a part in making our commencement a time that my fellow classmates can reflect on with pride," Gomez said.
The number of undergraduates set to walk away from commencement wielding diplomas includes 195 from the School of Engineering and 966 from the College of Liberal Arts. Of those 966 in liberal arts, 816 will receive a Bachelor of Arts and 150 will receive a Bachelor of Science. 50 of those receiving Bachelors of Arts will also receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College of Special Studies.
The Graduate Degree of Arts and Sciences will award an estimated 11 Certificates of Advanced Graduate Studies, 17 Ph.D.s, 109 M.A.s, 23 M.A.T.s, 27 M.F.A.s, four M.P.P.s and nine M.S. degrees. The Graduate School of Engineering will award four Ph.D.s, six M.E.s, 57 M.S.s, and 16 M.S.E.M. degrees.
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy will award 195 M.A.L.D. degrees, 15 M.A. degrees, and 10 Ph.D. degrees on the Fletcher Field.
The School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences will hold their ceremonies in the Gantcher Center. About 166 graduates will receive degrees from the School of Medicine, and 19 will receive degrees from the Sackler School.
The School of Dental Medicine's ceremony will take place on the Residential Quad, and 166 students will receive their D.M.D. degrees and nine will receive a Masters of Science degree.
The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy will award its estimated 66 degrees in the Balch Arena Theater in the Aidekman Arts Center.
The School of Veterinary Medicine will hold a ceremony at its Grafton campus. An estimated 78 degrees will be presented.
