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Commencement Speakers at Skidmore (1937 to present)
| 1937 | Henry T. Moore, second president of Skidmore College, doctor of laws | |
| 1938 | None given | |
| 1939 | None given | |
| 1940 | Myral M. Sutherland, Mary McClellan Hospital superintendent, master of letters | |
| 1941 | Caroline Beach Slade, social worker, women's and children's advocate, novelist, master of letters | |
| 1942 | Ada Louise Comstock, Radcliffe College president, doctor of laws | |
| 1943 | Hazel Stiebeling '15, international leader in nutrition research, doctor of laws George Dinsmore Stoddard, authority on child development, New York State commissioner of education, doctor of laws | |
| 1944 | Helen McKinstry, physical-education pioneer, president of Russell Sage College, doctor of laws | |
| 1945 | None given | |
| 1946 | Sarah Gibson Blanding, Vassar College president, doctor of laws | |
| 1947 | Elizabeth Ames, executive director of Yaddo artist's retreat, doctor of letters Mary Donlon, chair of New York State Workmen's Compensation Board, doctor of laws | |
| 1948 | Elsie Bond, administrator with State Charities Aid Association, doctor of laws Pauline Eggleston Mandigo, president of Phoenix News Bureau, doctor of letters | |
| 1949 | Esther Lucile Brown, director of Studies in the Professions at Russell Sage Foundation, doctor of laws | |
| 1950 | Louise Pearce, Women's Medical College president, doctor of laws Helene Scherff Taylor '22, librarian: master of letters, | |
| 1951 | Margaret Bridgman, Skidmore dean, nursing-education consultant, doctor of letters Irene Ward McClellan, Skidmore nursing program benefactor, doctor of letters | |
| 1952 | Katherine Gillette Blyley, Keuka College president, former member of Skidmore English faculty, doctor of laws Barbara Bliss Southerland '30, founder, teacher, and principal of Union School, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, master of letters | |
| 1953 | Kathryn Starbuck, practitioner and teacher of law, public-affairs activist, secretary of Skidmore College, doctor of laws | |
| 1954 | None given | |
| 1955 | Margaret Clapp, Wellesley College president, doctor of laws | |
| 1956 | Lillian Moller Gilbreth, industrial engineer, time-motion researcher, mother of 12, doctor of laws James Hazen Hyde, founder of the Fédération de L'Alliance Française, doctor of laws | |
| 1957 | Josephine Young Case, poet, novelist, teacher, Skidmore trustee, doctor of letters Marie Blain Moore, Skidmore first lady, master of letters | |
| 1958 | Margaret Mead, anthropologist and ethnologist, doctor of letters | |
| 1959 | Leona Baumgartner, public-health advocate, first woman to serve as New York City's Commissioner of Health, doctor of laws | |
| 1960 | None given | |
| 1961 | None given | |
| 1962 | Doris Spector Rome '47, physician, director of cytology laboratory at Albany Medical Center, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1963 | Vera Micheles Dean, authority on international development, research director of Foreign Policy Institute, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1964 | Margaret Fonde Jonsson, Dallas civic leader and first lady, Skidmore benefactor, master of letters Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Senator from Maine, first woman elected to both branches of Congress, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1965 | Esther Raushenbush, Sarah Lawrence College president-elect, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1966 | Richard Eberhart, poet and professor of English, founder of Poet's Theatre, doctor of letters Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture and design critic, "lover of cities", doctor of humane letters | |
| 1967 | Jacqueline Grennan, teacher, former Sister of Loretto, president of Missouri's Webster College, doctor of laws Frances Steloff, founder of Gotham Book Mart in New York City, endower of Skidmore lecture series, doctor of humane letters Frank Sullivan, humorist, New Yorker columnist, author, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1968 | George Boyd, Skidmore trustee, principal donor of Bolton Hall, doctor of humane letters Edward Brooke, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, doctor of laws Agnes Gelinas, Skidmore professor of nursing, doctor of humane letters Helen Filene Ladd '22, Skidmore philanthropist, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1969 | Helen Frankenthaler, New York City abstract painter, doctor of humane letters Ruth G. Weintraub, political scientist, early advocate of graduate education for women, doctor of laws Roger L. Stevens, real estate magnate, producer of Broadway plays, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1970 | Melissa Hayden, New York City Ballet soloist, ballet teacher, doctor of letters Charles E. Goodell, U.S. Senator from New York, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1971 | Katherine Scranton Rosendaal, Skidmore trustee, civic leader at local, state, and national levels, doctor of humane letters Violette Verdy, French-born New York City Ballet soloist, doctor of humane letters Edward Villella, New York City Ballet soloist, choreographer, doctor of letters | |
| 1972 | E. Alice Moshier '22, Skidmore faculty member, doctor of humane letters Everett V. Stonequist, Skidmore sociologist, author, housing activist, doctor of laws Constance Eberhardt Cook lawyer, crusader for equal rights, New York State legislator, doctor of laws | |
| 1973 | Dr. Aileen Ward, English professor and John Keats biographer, doctor of letters Catherine Mackin, newspaper and television journalist, master of letters | |
| 1974 | Avery R. Fisher, musician and philanthropist, doctor of humane letters Harold C. Martin, literary scholar, president of Union College, doctor of letters Mary Parkman Peabody, civil rights activist (mother of Marietta Tree, grandmother of Frances FitzGerald, doctor of laws Marietta Peabody Tree, former ambassador to the United Nations, doctor of laws Frances FitzGerald, Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction writer, doctor of letters | |
| 1975 | Charlotte W. Fahey, Skidmore chemistry professor, doctor of humane letters Helen Hayes, actress, doctor of letters Sabra J. Hook, Skidmore biology professor, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1976 | Dr. Carl Sagan, astronomer, astrophysicist, author, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1977 | F. Donald Myers, educator, superintendent of Saratoga-Warren Counties Board of cooperative Education Services, doctor of laws Ewald B. Nyquist, commissioner of education and president of the University of the State of New York, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1978 | Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator from New York, doctor of laws | |
| 1979 | George I. Davis, insurance executive, 25-year Skidmore trustee, doctor of letters Catherine Filene Shouse, civic and cultural leader, creator of Wolf Trap Farm Park for the performing arts, doctor of humane letters Joseph H. Hirshhorn, financier, art connoisseur, doctor of humane letters Anne Wexler '51, political activist, assistant to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, doctor of laws | |
| 1980 | Arnold Bernhard, investment analyst, Skidmore trustee and benefactor, doctor of humane letters F. William Harder, banker, Skidmore parent, trustee, and benefactor, doctor of laws Elizabeth Holtzman, U.S. Representative from New York, doctor of laws | |
| 1981 | John Cheever, writer of short stories and novels, doctor of letters Nell Nugent '60, Broadway producer, doctor of humane letters Florence Howe, professor, founder of National Women's Studies Association, doctor of letters Benjamin L. Hooks, director of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, doctor of laws | |
| 1982 | John J. Martin, author, New York Times dance editor and critic, doctor of humane letters Dorothy Dehner '52, painter and sculptor, doctor of humane letters Virginia Weiffenbach Kettering, Dayton, Ohio, civic and cultural leader, health-care philanthropist, doctor of laws Henry D. Paley, educator, president of Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities of New York State, doctor of laws | |
| 1983 | Donald E. Reutershan, insurance executive and Skidmore trustee, doctor of laws Delbert C. Staley, chair and CEO of New York Telephone Company, doctor of laws Gloria Wasserman Sachs '47, designer of women's clothing, doctor of letters James C. Cooney, chief of security, master of letters David McCullough, social historian and author, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1984 | Sophie Maslow, Martha Graham-trained modern dancer, choreographer, doctor of humane letters Lewis A. Swyer, Albany businessman and civic leader, president of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, doctor of laws Louise Beinetti Wise '40, Skidmore volunteer, trustee, and former administrator, doctor of humane letters M. Elizabeth Peters Tidball, physiology researcher, advocate for women in the sciences, doctor of humane letters John Kemeny, Hungarian-born mathematician-philosopher, co-author of Basic computer language, professor and president of Dartmouth College, doctor of humane letters George Ladd Jr., director and president of Filene Foundation, Skidmore benefactor, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1985 | Otto Whittmann, museum director, doctor of humane letters Miriam J. Benkovitz, critic and biographer, Skidmore English professor, doctor of letters Denis B. Kemball-Cook, oil company executive, Skidmore trustee, doctor of laws | |
| 1986 | Charlayne Hunter Gault, print journalist, television correspondent, doctor of laws David McCord, writer of children's verse, Harvard administrator, doctor of letters Hannelore Hahn, author, founder of International Women's Writing Guild, doctor of letters George H. Colton, businessman, Dartmouth administrator-fundraiser, Skidmore trustee, doctor of laws | |
| 1987 | Richard Wilbur, poet, essayist, translator, editor, doctor of humane letters Lena Rose Spencer, founder of Caffe Lena folk-music coffeehouse in Saratoga Springs, doctor of humane letters William Manchester, journalist, historian, teacher, author, doctor of letters Joseph C. Palamountain, Jr., political scientist, fourth president of Skidmore College, doctor of laws | |
| 1988 | Dolores E. Cross, educator, and financial-aid administrator, doctor of letters Twyla Tharp, dancer and choreographer, doctor of humane letters Arthur Miller, playwright, doctor of letters David Riesman, sociologist and author, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1989 | Nancy S. Graves, sculptor, painter, printmaker, film producer and stage designer, doctor of humane letters Frank H. Rhodes, geologist, proponent of liberal arts, president of Cornell University, doctor of laws | |
| 1990 | Vartan Gregorian, Brown University president, doctor of laws Wilma Stein Tisch '48, philanthropist, doctor of humane letters Milton J. Hinton, jazz bassist, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1991 | James E. McCabe, corporate executive, Skidmore administrator and trustee, doctor of laws John S. Morris, minister, Union College president, Skidmore trustee, doctor of letters Courtney Sale Ross '70, art curator, interior designer, filmmaker, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1992 | Robert D. Ballard, explorer, geologist, oceanographer, engineer, doctor of laws Bette Bao Lord, author, civic leader, expert on the Chinese-American experience, doctor of letters Helen A. Thomas, Washington correspondent for the United Press International, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1993 | Charles T. Close, portrait painter, doctor of humane letters Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, educator and sociologist, doctor of laws Gordon Parks, photographer and filmmaker, doctor of letters Maya Angelou, poet and civil-rights activist, doctor of letters | |
| 1994 | Ruby Puryear Hearn '60, biophysicist, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation vice president, doctor of laws Walter J. Turnbull, founder and executive director of Boys Choir of Harlem, doctor of humane letters Laurence Tisch, chair of the board of CBS, Inc., philanthropist, Skidmore benefactor, doctor of laws | |
| 1995 | Johnnetta B. Cole, teacher, president of Spelman College, doctor of laws Judith Pick Eissner '64, 24-year member of Skidmore board of trustees, doctor of humane letters Paul Taylor, dancer, choreographer, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1996 | Marian Wright Edelman, attorney, founder of Children's Defense Fund, doctor of laws Charles Kuralt, essayist, journalist, originator of TV feature "On the Road," doctor of humane letters Donna Shalala (non-commencement), professor, college president, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, doctor of laws | |
| 1997 | Jacqueline K. Barton, DNA researcher, professor at California Institute of Technology, doctor of laws Peter S. Lynch, author, former portfolio manager of the Magellan Fund, doctor of laws Anne Tonnesen Palamountain, civic leader, former Skidmore first lady, originator of annual polo benefit for scholarships, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1998 | Helen L. Porter, Skidmore first lady, restorer and historian of Scribner House, bachelor of arts Myles A. Cane, attorney, venture-capital investor, chair of Skidmore board of trustees, octor of laws David H. Porter, classicist, and musician, fifth president of Skidmore College, doctor of letters Susan Kettering Williamson '59, philanthropist, 26-year member of Skidmore board of trustees, doctor of humane letters | |
| 1999 | Kitty Carlisle Hart, actress, singer, and chair emerita of New York State Council on the Arts, doctor of letters David Hyde Pierce, actor, Saratoga Springs native, doctor of humane letters Arthur Zankel, investment-business leader, Skidmore trustee and benefactor, doctor of laws | |
| 2000 | Trisha Brown, dancer and choreographer, doctor of humane letters Guido Calabresi, Judge of the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, doctor of laws W. Richard West, Director, Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, doctor of letters Oscar Tang, philanthropist, investment banker, Skidmore trustee, doctor of humane letters | |
| 2001 | Joseph L. Bruno '52, majority leader of NYS senate, doctor of laws Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize winning author, doctor of letters Julianne Cartwright Traylor '68, human rights educator and diplomat, doctor of humane letters | |
| 2002 | Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker and historian, doctor of letters Arline M. Fisch '52, noted jewelry maker and craft artist, doctor of humane letters Harold Hongju Koh, scholar and professor of international law, former Asst. Secretary of State, doctor of laws Sara Lee Lubin Schupf '62, philanthropist and leader in caused for women in science, Skidmore trustee, doctor of laws | |
| 2003 | Joan Layng Dayton '63, chair, Skidmore board of trustees, leader and fundraiser, doctor of humane letters Ellen V. Futter, president, American Museum of Natural History, former president of Barnard College, doctor of laws Anne Deavere Smith, actor, playwright, author, and university professor, doctor of letters | |
| 2004 | David Halberstam, historian, biographer, journalist, doctor of humane letters Bruce Lundvall, recording executive, involved in Skidmore Summer Jazz Institute, doctor of humane letters Toshiko Takaezu, world renowned ceramists, faculty of Skidmore's Summer SIX art program, doctor of humane letters | |
| 2005 | Carolyn Patty Blum PS '05, authority in the areas of refugee and human rights laws, doctor of laws Phil Ramone PS '05, recording industry producer, doctor of humane letters Tim Russert, NBC Bureau chief and moderator of Meet the Press, political analyst, doctor of humane letters | |
| 2006 | Douglas Greenberg PS '06, Professor of History, University of Southern California, and Executive Director of the university's Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, doctor of humane letters Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey and past President of Drew University, doctor of laws Arthur Mitchell, Founder and Artistic Director of the Dance Theater of Harlem, doctor of humane letters | |
| 2007 | Tom Brokaw, NBC News Special Correspondent and formerly the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News.” Linda Greenhouse, New York Times Supreme Court Correspondent since 1978. Nora Naranjo-Morse, distinguished sculptor, writer, and producer of films that look at the continuing social changes within the Pueblo culture. |
