Class of 2004 will take center stage on May 23
by Marjorie Howard

Members of the Class of 2004 will end their academic careers at Tufts on May 23 when they receive their diplomas during the university’s 148th Commencement.

© Mark Morelli

Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute, will deliver the main commencement address when ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. on the academic quad between Ballou and Bendetson halls on the Medford/Somerville campus. Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine and former chairman and CEO of CNN, will be awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. He is the author of the best-selling biography Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (Simon & Schuster, 2003).

Tufts will award five other honorary degrees at Commencement to Neil Armstrong, the Apollo astronaut who was the first person to walk on the moon; Tracy Chapman, J86, the Grammy–award winning musician; Nathan Gantcher, A62, immediate past chair of the Tufts University Board of Trustees; Sen. Richard G. Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Walter Massey, president of Morehouse College and former director of the National Science Foundation.

© Mark Morelli

Following Isaacson’s commencement address and the awarding of the honorary degrees, separate ceremonies will be held at each of Tufts’ seven schools. For the first time, undergraduates in Arts & Sciences and Engineering will receive their diplomas at smaller, more personal ceremonies instead of at one large gathering. Students receiving degrees from the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences will be awarded their diplomas at the A&S departmental ceremony for their specific discipline. Students graduating from the School of Engineering will receive their diplomas in a ceremony in Cousens Gymnasium, starting at 11:30 a.m.

The locations for the school ceremonies are:

School of Dental Medicine: Carmichael Quad, 11:30 a.m.

School of Engineering: Cousens Gymnasium, 11:30 a.m.

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy: Fletcher Field, 11:30 a.m.

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy: Balch Arena Theater, Aidekman Arts Center, 11:30 a.m.

School of Medicine/Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences: Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center, 11:30 a.m.

School of Veterinary Medicine: Grafton campus, 2 p.m.

School of Arts & Sciences disciplines:

American Studies: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Pearson Hall, Room 104.

Archeology: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Pearson Hall, Room 106.

Architecture: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Art History: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Asian Studies: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Barnum 008.

Biochemistry: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Biology: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Boston School of Occupational Therapy: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Braker Hall, Room 1, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Chemistry: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

© Mark Morelli

Child Development: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Academic Quad between Ballou and Bendetson halls.

Classics: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Pearson Hall, Room 106.

College of Special Studies: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Pearson Hall, Room 104, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Comparative Religion: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Granoff Family Hillel Center.

Computer Science: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Center.

Drama and Dance: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Goddard Chapel.

Economics: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library,
followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Academic Quad between Ballou and Bendetson halls.

Education: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Barnum 008, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

English: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Granoff Family Hillel Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Environmental Studies: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

French: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Barnum 008.

Geology: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

German: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m.,
Barnum 008.

History: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Granoff Family Hillel Center.

International Letters and Visual Studies: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Barnum 008.

International Relations: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Academic Quad between Ballou and Bendetson halls, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Judaic Studies: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Barnum 008.

Mathematics: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Center.

Music: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Goddard Chapel.

Peace and Justice Studies: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Goddard Chapel, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

© Mark Morelli

Philosophy: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center.

Physics: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Plan of Study: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Pearson Hall, Room 104.

Political Science: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Academic Quad between Ballou and Bendetson halls, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Psychology: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center.

Russian: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Barnum 008.

Sociology/Anthropology: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Goddard Chapel, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

Spanish: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 1:30–3 p.m., Barnum 008.

Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning: 11:30 a.m. lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library, followed by ceremony, 4–5 p.m., Balch Arena Theater, Aidekman Arts Center.

Women’s Studies: 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Granoff Family Hillel Center, followed by lunch on the lawn adjacent to Tisch Library.

More information about Commencement can be found at http://commencement.tufts.edu.