Commencement Speakers

NOTE: Having a commencement speaker, as we know the ceremony, was not always the custom. Apparently it became the custom at SJU in 1882, 25 years after its 1857 founding.

Year	Guest Speaker	Student Speakers	B.A./B.S. Degrees*
2024	Paul Williams	Jackson May	355
2023	Kurt Vickman	Durran Thompson	332
2022	Abbot John Klassen, OSB & S. Michaela Hedican, OSB	Jack Fogelberg	351
2021	Gen. Paul Nakasone	Simeon Farquharson	347
2020	Eugene McAllister	Owyn Ferguson	391
2019	Mark Vande Hei	Luke Olley	398
2018	Denis McDonough	Steven Bezdichek Pfahning	403
2017	Dan Whalen	Ramond Mitchell	438
2016	Joe Cavanaugh	Paul Knakk	394
2015	Dr. Robert H. Dumonceaux	Luke Newgaard	434
2014	Kathleen Blatz, J.D.	Michael Rogers	428
2013	Rev. Dennis Dease	John Loonan	428
2012	Mr. John McCutcheon	Ty Cox	435
2011	Dr. John Grim	Thomas Loonan	476
2010	Rev. Edwin D. Leahy, O.S.B.	Matthew Beck	446
2009	Dr. Sharon Daloz Parks	Joe Kane	447
2008	Mr. William Green	Thomas Connelly	469
2007	Mr. Bob Abernethy	Paul E. Storm	417
2006	Dr. R. Scott Appleby	Samuel Boggs	390
2005	Mr. Charles M. Denny, Jr.	Andrew Dirksen	448
2004	Mr. Thomas Beaudoin	Michael Marschel	511
2003	Mr. Ray Suarez	James Mulrooney	424
2002	The Honorable Mark Kennedy	Charles Berendes	414
2001	Fred de Sam Lazaro	Joseph Tinguely	441
2000	Rev. William J. Byron, S.J.	Kevin Clancy	383
1999	Prof. Michael Perry	Michael Dirksen	408
1998	Dr. Evan Maurer	Lance Bodeen	363
1997	The Honorable Guido Calabresi	Philip Steger	338
1997 (December)	Dr. Charles Bobertz		49
1996	Mr. Steven Rothschild	Anthony Amelse	305
1996 (December)	Ms. Betty Wolterman		56
1995	Mr. Stephen Sommers	Joseph Flock	286
1995 (December)	Mr. David Lyndgaard		59
1994	The Honorable Alan C. Page	Ross Drever	306
1994 (December)	Dr. Joseph Farry		72
1993	Mr. Colman McCarthy		356
1993 (December)	Rev. Timothy Backous, O.S.B.		57
1992	Governor George A. Sinner	Todd Boss and Denis McDonough	445
1991	Rev. Hilary D. Thimmesh, O.S.B.	Christopher P. Diffley	434
1990	Ambassador Edward J. Perkins	Scott C. LaBarre	405
1989	Mr. William F. Buckley, Jr.	Michael A. Holscher	413
1988	Mr. Paul D. Schurke	Michael J. Cronin	388
1987	Ms. Carolyn Forche	Anthony Gabriel Amon	424
1986	Rev. David Burrell, C.S.C	Frederick William Stein	415
1985	Dr. Esther de Waal	Aaron H. Franta	441
1984	Mr. Garrison Keillor	John P. Keane	397
1983	Senator David Durenberger	Paul R. Linde	407
1982 (audio)	Mr. Jon Hassler	Robert E. Culligan	400
1981	Dr. Harlan Cleveland		411
1980	Dr. Mortimer J. Adler		342
1979	Mr. Thomas F. Roeser
1978	Rev. Hilary D. Thimmesh, O.S.B.
1977	The Honorable Sam Ervin, Jr.
1976	Mr. Russell Baker
1975	Senator Hubert H. Humphrey
1974	Dr. Robert H. Dumonceaux
1973	Prof. Norman James
1972	Rev. John Howard, O.S.B.
1971	Dr. Dana L. Farnsworth, M.D.
1970	Rev. Andrew J. Young
1969	The Right Honorable Lord Caradon
1968	Dr. Eugene C. Blake
1967	Lady Barbara Ward Jackson
1966	Dr. Jaroslav J. Pelikan
1965	Rev. John Courtney Murray, S.J.
1964	Senator Eugene J. McCarthy
1963	The Most Reverend Paul Leonard Hagarty, O.S.B.
1962	Mr. Gerard E. Sherry
1961	Mr. Philip J. Scharper
1960	The Most Reverend Peter W. Bartholome
1959	Mr. John Cogley
1958	Dr. David A. Boyd, Jr., M.D.
1957	The Most Reverend Leo F. Dworschak
1956	The Most Reverend Archbishop John Gregory Murray
1955	Sister Madeleva, C.S.C.
1954	Rev. Philip Hughes	Waldemar Wenner
1953	The Honorable Eugene J. McCarthy	John Dunn
1952	Dr. Helen C. White	Bertran Hartinger
1951	Rev. Hans A. Reinhold	Dale M. Sauve
1950	Dr. Donald J. Cowling	Gerald Scherer
1949	The Most Reverend Francis Schenk	Will Theodore Gimenez
1948	Dr. Patrick A. Crowley	John E. Simonett
1947	Dr. Laurence M. Gould	Heinz B. Arnold
1946	Rev. Wilfred Mallon, S.J.	Robert Hovda
1945	Rev. J. Timothy Gannon	Philip Wooby
1944	Prof. James J. Doland	Donald M. Berg
1943	The Honorable Lawrence M. Hall	Edward William Arth
1942	The Most Reverend Peter W. Bartholome	Donald H. Norman
1941	Rev. James H. Moynihan	Bernard W. Lorenz
1940	Dr. Louis J.A. Mercier	Philip D. Raths
1939	The Most Reverend Joseph F. Busch	Charles H. Hinz
1938	Dr. Mortimer J. Adler	Austin M. McCarthy
1937	Dr. Martin Ruud	Emerson Hynes
1936	Dr. Jerome G. Kirwin	Edmund Piotrowsk i
1935	Mr. John J. Courtney	James C. Coyne
1934	Dr. Richard E. Scammon	Mathias A. Himsl
1933	Dr. William O’Brien, M.D.	John J. Zaic
1932	The Most Reverend Joseph F. Busch	Edward J. Hennessy
1931	Rev. Leo Keaveny	Fred Hughes
1930	Rev. Philip H. Kiley	Aloys V. Himsl
1929	The Most Reverend Joseph F. Busch	Stephen B. Humphrey
1928	Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B.	Norvell Callaghan
1927	The Most Reverend Joseph F. Busch
1926	The Most Reverend Joseph F. Busch
1925	Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B.
1924	The Honorable James Quigley
1923	James A. Garrity
1922	Charles E. Vasaly
1921	John Willis
1920	Rt. Rev. Joseph Busch, D.D.
1917	Most Rev. John Bonzano, D.D.
1914	Joseph Janousek, 1902
1912	John Willis
1910	Bishop Patrick Heffren, 1878
1909	Rev. George A. Arctander, 1888
1908	Rev. Daniel Lynch, 1886
1906	William Markoe, 1869
1905	John Ahmann, 1877
1904	Rev. L. J. Vaughan
1903	William Markoe, 1869
1898	Bishop Trobec
1895	Bishop Marty
1894	Governor Knute Nelson
1892	Judge D.B. Searle
1891	Hon. Frank E. Searle
1885	Hon. H.C. Waite
1884	J.W. Arctander
1882	Hon. H.C. Waite

*Statistics source: Registrar’s Annual Report (total degrees conferred for that academic year)