Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

2017 Commencement Speakers To Include Journalists, Media Figures

RANDY STEWART https://blog.stewtopia.com Nate Silver, , speaking at a South by Southwest conference in 2009.
RANDY STEWART/blog.stewtopia.com
Nate Silver, editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, shown speaking at a South by Southwest conference in 2009. Silver is one of 12 commencement speakers for the class of 2017.

Nate Silver, editor-in-chief of statistics blog FiveThirtyEight, and Gregory Gerard Coleman (GSB ’76), president of BuzzFeed, are among the 12 speakers scheduled to address graduates at this year’s commencement ceremonies from May 18 to 21, the university announced today.

The university will hold separate graduation ceremonies for each school, beginning with the McCourt School of Public Policy on May 18 and ending with the Law Center’s ceremony May 21.

University President John J. DeGioia wrote in a statement on the Georgetown website he looks forward to the wisdom these speakers have to impart upon the Class of 2017.

“Commencement is one of the most special moments for our university community each year,” DeGioia wrote. “We are honored to welcome a number of distinguished individuals to our campus this May and we look forward to the ways in which their insights will challenge and inspire each of our graduates as they prepare to leave our Hilltop and make an impact on our world.”

Silver, who will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the university, is scheduled to speak at the School of Continuing Studies commencement ceremony May 19. A statistician and writer best known for analyzing sports and elections, Silver was named one of The World’s 100 Most Influential People by Time in 2009 after he successfully called the outcomes of the 2008 U.S. presidential election in 49 of the 50 states.

Coleman will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the university and is scheduled to address the McDonough School of Business undergraduate commencement ceremony May 20. Coleman was appointed president of BuzzFeed in 2014, after serving as president of The Huffington Post until 2011 and Criteo, a digital marketing company, until 2014.

Coleman received his MBA from New York University, where he currently works as an adjunct professor on digital marketing in the Stern School of Business.

Additional commencement speakers include Sr. Mary Scullion, R.S.M., executive director and president of Project HOME, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and services to chronically homeless men and women, who will address the College on May 20; James H. Shelton III, president of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Education and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, who will address the School of Nursing and Health Studies on May 20; and Washington Post columnist and London School of Economics visiting professor of practice Anne Applebaum, who will address the School of Foreign Service on May 20.

All of the commencement ceremonies will be available for livestreaming at the university commencement website.

View Comments (10)
More to Discover

Comments (10)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • M

    Mike FlynnMay 24, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    Georgetown has a blogger and some other no name as speakers for commencement? Super hero’s of the left such as Obama and Clinton [pick one] apparently cost way too much so get a couple of guy’s who will trash Trump for free? Washington DC is the nations capitol and Georgetown used to have a little prestige. I don’t blame anyone for not wanting to come to a campus where there is a good chance of being treated rudely. These seniors can tell their grandchildren they had the great Nate Silver send them into the real world!

    Reply
  • A

    American ChristianMay 9, 2017 at 11:59 am

    Atleast The Hoya isn’t Very Fake News yet.. but that day is coming.

    At some point, fellow ‘pedes, … .. we must storm the Hilltop and reclaim the Holy Land. It’s time.

    Reply
  • C

    Chicken MadnessMay 8, 2017 at 4:54 pm

    What you talkin bout we literally had Ban Ki Moon 2 years ago…..

    Reply
  • L

    LOLMay 8, 2017 at 8:33 am

    As expected out of Georgetown lately, Fake News is well represented at this years commencement.

    Reply
    • A

      Alt Right HoyaMay 8, 2017 at 5:57 pm

      Hell, fake news is well represented in the pages of the Hoya.

      Reply
  • S

    SFS 2016May 6, 2017 at 11:03 am

    After the disgraceful actions taken by students last year toward the commencement speakers, its only fitting the university had to resort to WaPo journalists and Buzzfeed for commencement speakers. While Cornell and others get the big names, Georgetown students have to be content with people no one in the class has ever heard of or are excited to hear from.

    Reply
    • C

      Casey NolanMay 8, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Other than commenting that the right of students to protest is never “disgraceful,” I will also say that Georgetown never gets big names. We do not pay our speakers, eliminating a lot of options, and the fact that we have four different ceremonies and four different speakers means that we hardly ever get a big name for any one of them. To attribute this year’s speakers to the events of last year’s commencement essentially baseless.

      Reply
      • A

        American ChristianMay 9, 2017 at 1:03 pm

        you mean when the Pro-Illegal Immigration students protested the fact that we had the DHS boss to speak, Jeh Johnson?

        Yeah great reason to protest. Let’s protest against the guy who provides the security and freedom we take for granted.. because after all illegal mexicans and muslims matter more then American Citizens.

        Reply
        • L

          learn your grammarMay 12, 2017 at 11:30 am

          more “than”

          you obviously speak with an air of privilege with a sense of denigration towards Mexicans and Muslims. it’s not a matter of who matters “more” and if that is the base of your argument, it’s quite rudimentary and ignorant.

          Reply
      • M

        Mike FlynnMay 24, 2017 at 6:40 pm

        There is a time and place to protest! When a guest comes to your house and has an opinion you don’t agree with you don’t call him names and act like a spoiled brat which is exactly what many of today’s “protesters” are. Treat people with respect, listen to a different point of view and behave with just a little decorum and class!

        Reply