The following is a list of keynote speakers at the commencement of Fordham University, 1941–present.
Year Speaker(s) Notes 1941 Bp. J. Francis McIntyre 1942 Rev. Robert Gannon President of Fordham 1943 Rev. Robert Gannon President of Fordham 1944 Rev. Robert Gannon President of Fordham 1945 Maj. Gen. Sir Walter Maxwell Scott 1946 Gov. Thomas Dewey President Truman also received an honorary degree and gave an address, but this was not at June commencement; it was in May. 1947 Msgr. Ferdinand Vandry Director of Laval University 1948 Rev. Robert Gannon President of Fordham 1949 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1950 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1951 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1952 Msgr. John Middleton Education secretary, Archdioscese of New York 1953 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1954 Robert D. Murphy Deputy under secretary of state 1955 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1956 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1957 Rev. Laurence McGinley President of Fordham 1958 Gov. W. Averell Harriman Governor of New York 1959 Richard Cardinal Cushing Archbishop of Boston 1960 Dr. Charles H. Malik President of United Nations General Assembly 1961 Joseph W. McGovern Fordham law professor and member of NYS Board of Regents 1962 Teodoro Moscoso Coordinator of the Alliance for Progress 1963 Sargent Shriver First director of the Peace Corps 1964 Francis Cardinal Spellman Archbishop of New York 1965 Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey Vice President of the United States 1966 Rev. Vincent T O'Keefe President of Fordham 1967 Sen. Robert F. Kennedy Former attorney general and United States senator 1968 Leo McGlaughlin Eulogy and mass for Robert F. Kennedy 1969 Sen. Ted Kennedy Former United States senator 1970 Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Senator from New York 1971 James Hester President of New York University 1972 Kurt Waldheim United Nations secretary general and former Wehrmacht spy 1973 Dr. Ernest Boyer Chancellor of State University of New York 1974 Gov. Malcolm Wilson Governor of New York 1975 Hon. William Hughes Mulligan Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 1976 Gov. Hugh Carey Governor of New York 1977 Thomas A. Murphy Chairman of General Motors 1978 Alan Alda Actor 1979 Zbigniew Brzezinski National Security advisor 1980 Sec. Patricia Harris United States secretary of Health and Human Services 1981 Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns Archbishop of São Paulo 1982 Seamus Heaney Irish poet 1983 Felix G. Rohatyn Investment banker and diplomat 1984 Rev. James Finlay Former president of Fordham 1985 Gov. Mario Cuomo Governor of New York 1986 Robert Hayes Founder of Coalition for the Homeless 1987 Sen. Al D'Amato US Senator from New York 1988 Charles Osgood Radio and television commentator and writer 1989 Timothy Healy, S.J. Former president of Georgetown University 1990 William P. Ford, J.D. Lawyer and bond trader 1991 Marian Wright Edelman Children's rights activist 1992 Rep. Dr. John Brademas US Congressman from Indiana 1993 Peter Steinfels Journalist specializing in religious topics 1994 Jonathan Kozol Writer best known for his works on American public education 1995 Mary Robinson President of Ireland 1996 Rev. Joseph O'Hare Jesuit priest, civic leader, and Fordham president 1997 Mary Higgins Clark Author of suspense novels 1998 Hon. Joseph McLaughlin Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 1999 George Mitchell; David Copperfield Former US Senator from Maine; magician 2000 Vin Scully Sportscaster 2001 Bill Cosby Comedian and actor 2002 Gerald Levin Mass-media businessman 2003 Ted Koppel Broadcast journalist 2004 Tim Russert Television journalist and lawyer 2005 John Sexton, J.D. Lawyer and former president of New York University 2006 Chris Matthews Political commentator, talk show host, and author 2007 Willie Randolph Major League Baseball player 2008 Charlie Rose Television journalist and talk show host 2009 Tom Brokaw, Michael Bloomberg Journalist and author, New York City mayor 2010 Mary McAleese President of Ireland 2011 Brian Williams NBC News journalist 2012 John O. Brennan Former director of the Central Intelligence Agency 2013 Richard Engel NBC News chief foreign correspondent 2014 Tino Martinez Professional baseball player 2015 Lordina Dramani Mahama First Lady of Ghana 2016 David J. Skorton, M.D. Physician, academic, and CEO of the Smithsonian Institution 2017 Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, Sen. Chuck Schumer Salesian and cardinal of the Catholic Church from Honduras; New York state senator 2018Dennis Walcott President & CEO of the Queens Library and former New York City schools chancellor 2019Tim Shriver Disability rights activist and chairman of the Special Olympics 2020Rev. James J. MartinJesuit priest and author2021Adm. Michelle HowardFormer Vice Chief of Naval Operations2022Calvin O. ButtsAmerican pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church2023Stevie WonderSinger-songwriter, musician, and record producer2024Joseph P. Kennedy IIIUnited States special envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs2025Regina HallActress2026Hoda KotbJournalist, author, and co-anchor of Today
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