Love

Post Date: June 8, 2006

Dean Elena Kagan ‘86 speaks to HLS grads

Harvard University’s 356th annual Commencement festivities came to a close yesterday. The Harvard Law School conferred 742 total degrees upon graduates, including 574 J.D.’s, 154 LL.M.’s, and 14 S.J.D’s on Thursday, June 7.

Dean Elena Kagan ’86 offered words of encouragement to the graduates before handing out their diplomas, urging them to always stand up for the rule of law.

“In each of your spheres of life, and at every level of your responsibility, you will face choices…between expedience and principle,” Kagan said in her address to the graduates. “The Harvard Law School class of 2007 will wield more power, have more influence, and alter more lives more profoundly than any class of law students graduating this year. What is a hope and an expectation is that you will define these things – law and lawyering – in the right way.”

A webcast of Harvard Law School’s Commencement Ceremony is available here. Real Player required.

Former Harvard student and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates spoke at the university-wide afternoon exercises. During his remarks, he spoke about the inequalities in the world and urged the graduates to develop a more creative capitalism to fight poverty.

Harvard President Derek Bok ’54 also addressed the University’s graduates, marking his last occasion to speak as President before president-elect Drew Gilpin Faust takes office on July 1. A webcast of the Afternoon Exercises, including both Gates’ and Bok’s speeches, is available here. Real Player required.

On Wednesday, the class of 2007 presented Clinical Professor Bob Bordone ’97 with the prestigious Sacks-Freund Teaching Award for his dedication to his students. Doralean Cox received the Suzanne Richardson Staff Award for her contribution to student life at HLS.

“When it comes to telling your story, there are many eligible ghost-writers, but there is only one legitimate author, and that person is you,” Bordone said in his acceptance speech. “When developing your storyline, be sure that it is driven by your most deeply held values, ideals, and passions.”

A webcast of the Class Day exercises are available here. Real Player required.

The Honorable Guido Calabresi, former dean of Yale Law School and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was the Class Day speaker. During his speech, Calabresi told stories about his experiences clerking for Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black and about his time as dean at Yale.

A webcast of Calabresi’s remarks are available here. Real Player required.

昨天，我们法学院毕业典礼，忙了一天。这次毕业典礼可不一样，我们迎来了一位重量级的校友，那就是微软主席比尔·盖茨，我也总算有幸一睹我心目中偶像真容。

盖茨于1973年进入哈佛大学，于1975年中途退学，之后自己创建了微软公司，成为全世界最富有的人。

盖茨51岁终获哈佛大学荣誉法学博士学位