News Release

Tom Brokaw, anchor and managing editor of the "NBC Nightly News," will address seniors graduating from The Johns Hopkins University's schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering at their diploma ceremony at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, in the field south of Garland Hall on the Homewood campus at 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. Both Brokaw and retired Baltimore Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr. will receive honorary degrees of doctor of humane letters. There will be a press section for print and broadcast reporters and photographers stage right [audience left] toward the front of the seating area during both ceremonies. Identification is required.

Earlier that day, university president William R. Brody ceremony at 9:15 a.m. at the same location. There will be three honorary degrees awarded at that event.

Noteworthy speakers at other Johns Hopkins commencement-related events that day -- at various times and locations -- include Donald Henderson, director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who will address School of Medicine graduates; CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who will speak to graduates of the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies; and singer and conductor Bobby McFerrin, who will speak to graduates of the Peabody Conservatory. The ceremonies mark the end of the university's 126th academic year. Details on the university's various ceremonies are listed below.

About the graduating class:

The total number of earned degrees, certificates and diplomas awarded is expected to be about 5,549, as follows: 1,261 bachelor's degrees (including 1,010 seniors graduating from the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering); 3,648 master's degrees; 580 doctoral degrees (114 of which are medical degrees); and 60 certificates and diplomas.

About the ceremonies:

The university as a whole and its eight academic divisions will hold the following commencement events:

University-wide Commencement Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 9:15 a.m. to approximately noon, under a tent south of Garland Hall, Homewood campus. Speaker: William R. Brody, president, The Johns Hopkins University. During this ceremony, all university degrees are conferred by the university president. The only students who receive their diplomas on stage at this time, however, are doctoral students from all divisions. The ceremony also recognizes new members of the Society of Scholars. At this time, honorary degrees of doctor of humane letters will be awarded to Purnell Chopin, scientist and retired president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty member Ranice Winifred Crosby; and Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Mundell.

Arts and Sciences/Engineering Undergraduate Diploma Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 1:45 p.m. under the tent south of Garland Hall, Homewood campus. Speaker: Tom Brokaw, anchor and managing editor of the "NBC Nightly News." During this ceremony, seniors from the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, who officially graduated when degrees were conferred in the morning ceremony, cross the stage to shake hands with the president. Afterwards, they receive their diplomas. The diploma ceremony speaker, Tom Brokaw, was invited by the senior class. He has anchored the weekday "NBC Nightly News" since 1983 and has won broadcasting's most prestigious honors, including the Alfred I. DuPont and George Foster Peabody awards. He also wrote the widely praised The Greatest Generation, an account of the Americans born in the 1920s who came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II. Brokaw's bio is online at www.msnbc.com/onair/bios/t_brokaw.asp.

Both Brokaw and retired Baltimore Oriole and baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. will receive the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters. This will be the first honorary degree for Ripken, the hometown boy and lifelong Oriole who broke baseball's "unbeatable" consecutive games record. Ripken is one of only seven players ever to record 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. Ripken will be honored for his accomplishments both on the field and off; he is well known in Baltimore for his support for important causes. The Kelly and Cal Ripken Jr. Foundation supports The Baltimore Reads Ripken Learning Center and The Kelly G. Ripken Program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which provides thyroid education and patient care. After breaking Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games in 1995, Ripken helped establish the Johns Hopkins ALS Cal Ripken Jr./Lou Gehrig Fund to find a cure for the fatal neuromuscular disease.

The Bloomberg School of Public Health Diploma Award Ceremony. Wednesday, May 22, 2 p.m., Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore. Speaker: Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning health and science journalist and author.

G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering Master's Diploma Award Ceremony. Wednesday, May 22, 7 p.m., under the tent south of Garland Hall, Homewood campus. Speaker: F. Suzanne Jenniches, Northrop Grumman Corp. vice president for communication and electronic systems.

The School of Medicine Diploma Award Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 2:30 p.m. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore. Speaker: Donald Henderson, director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and head of planning for the public health response to bioterrorism, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Diploma Award Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 3 p.m., Constitution Hall, 18th and D Sts., N.W., Washington, D.C. Speaker: Wolf Blitzer, anchor, CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports" and host, "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."

The School of Nursing Diploma Award Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 4 p.m., Turner Auditorium, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Speaker: Linda Cronenwett dean and professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

The Zanvyl Kreiger School of Arts and Sciences Master's Diploma Award Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m., Shriver Hall, Homewood campus. Speaker: Dr. Bernard A. Schwetz, senior research scientist, Food and Drug Administration.

The School of Professional Studies in Business and Education Undergraduate and Graduate Diploma Award Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 7:30 p.m., under the tent south of Garland Hall, Homewood campus Speaker: Cornelius J. "Neil" Behan, former Baltimore County chief of police and New York City chief of patrol.

The Peabody Conservatory Diploma Award Ceremony. Thursday, May 23, 8 p.m., Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, Peabody Institute. Speaker: singer and conductor Bobby McFerrin, who also will receive the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America.

Go to Headlines@HopkinsHome Page