Beloit College Commencements
July 9, 1851
Oration - "The Man of Feeling"
by S.D. Peet
Oration - "The Downfall of Louis Phillipe"
by W.C. Hooker
Valedictory Address - "To Live Is To Act"
by Joseph Collie
Oration - "The Age We Live In"
by Norman Densmore of the Normal and English Departments
Oration - "The Progress of True Principle"
by Harlan M. Page of the Missionary Society
1852
No commencement took place.
July 13, 1853
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Henry M. Lilly
Valedictory Address - "Eccentricity of the Mind, not True Intellectual Greatness"
by Horace White
Oration - "Modern Skepticism"
by James W. Strong of the Prepatory and Normal Departments
Oration - "The True Scholar's Greatness"
by Henry L. Marsh of the Archaean Society
July 12, 1854
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Harlan M. Page
Valedictory Address - "Intellect, the True Manifestation of True Manhood"
by James A. Brewster
July 11, 1855
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Moses Strong Hinman
Valedictory Address - "Triumphs Unattained"
by Alexander Kerr
July 9, 1856
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by David Owen
Valedictory Address - "The Thinker"
by Peter Mc Vicar
Oration - "Principle and Feeling"
by Francis W. Case of the Class of 1855, Whitewater (excused from speaking)
July 8, 1857
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Jacob Baay
Valedictory Address - "The Mission of the American Republic"
by William A. Montgomery
July 14, 1858 Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Daniel Densmore
Valedictory Address - "Patriotism of the Classical Scholar"
by James W. Strong
July 13, 1859
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Oliver A. Willard
Valedictory Address - "The Guarantee of a Successful Life"
by Charles C. Kimball
July 11, 1860
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Dexter Selwyn Clark
Valedictory Address - "The Contribution of Christianity to the Fine Arts"
by Charles Waldron Buckley
July 10, 1861
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Edwin Ruthven Heath
Valedictory Address - "The Influence of Historic Studies in Promoting the Spirit of Reform"
by Russell Melzo Keyes
July 9, 1862
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by William Azariah Willis
Valedictory Address - "Civilization and Nationality"
by Henry Sayre Osborne
July 8, 1863
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Lewis Olson Thompson
Valedictory Address - "Are We Verging towards Barbarism?"
by Henry Cary Dickinson
1864
No commencement took place due to the Civil War.
July 12, 1865
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Salmon Merritt Allen
Valedictory Address - "The Value of Conservation Principles"
by John Lloyd Talyor
July 11, 1866
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by William Fisk Brown
Valedictory Address - "A Man and Therefore a Scholar"
by George Sparhawk Bascom
July 10, 1867
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Henry Dwight Porter
Valedictory Address - "The Importance of Preparation"
by Arthur Henderson Smith
July 18, 1868
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by James Kellogg Kilbourn
Valedictory Address - "Life and its Relations"
by Lesley S. Swezey
July 14, 1869
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by John W. Baird
Valedictory Address - "The Model Skeptic"
by James D. Eaton
July 13, 1870
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Charles W. Merrill
Valedictory Address - "Materialism our Present Danger"
by Charles B. Curtis
July 12, 1871
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Allison D. Adams
Valedictory Address - "Education and the Sensibilities"
by Thomas D. Christie
July 10, 1872
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Joseph H. Chamberlin
Valedictory Address - "Art and American Character"
by Edward D. Eaton
July 2, 1873
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Goodwin D. Swezey
Valedictory Address - "The Roman Peace"
by Willis C. Dewey
July 1, 1874
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Thomas L. Smedes
Valedictory Address - "The Empire and the Vatican"
by William C. Stevens
June 30, 1875
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by John H. Mills
Valedictory Address - "The Limits of the Rights of Conscience"
by Henry V. Van Pelt
Alumni Poem - "Seeming and Being"
by Samuel T. Kidder of the Class of 1873
Alumni Oration - "Men of the Right Sort"
by James W. Bass of the Class of 1867
June 28, 1876
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Robert B. Riggs
Valedictory Address - "A Lesson from Dante"
by J. Franklin Horne
June 27, 1877
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by David W. Mackay
Valedictory Address - "Law as a Schoolmaster"
by Robert F. Pettibone
July 3, 1878
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by George M. Herrick
Valedictory Address - "Happiness, the Aim of Life"
by Charles S. Bacon
July 12, 1879
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by Arthur D. Johnson
Valedictory Address - "The Evil of Absolutism in France"
by William S. Jeffris
June 30, 1880
Salutatory Poem - "Victuri Salutamus"
by T.L. Wright, Jr.
Valedictory Address - "The Value of National Precedents"
by F.C. Porter
June 29, 1881
Salutatory Poem -
by Harold C. Chapin
Valedictory Address - "Conflict the Law of Progress"
by Rollin D. Salisbury
July 10, 1882
Salutatory Poem
by Edward H. Bergen Valedictory Address - "Truth for its Own Sake"
by Horace S. Fiske
June 27, 1883
Salutatory Oration in Latin
by George B. Haldeman
Valedictory Address - "Gallicism in America"
by James Simmons (Junior)
July 2, 1884
Salutatory Poem
by Frank F. Lewis
July 1, 1885
Salutatory Oration in Latin and Oration - "Suffrage"
by W.W. Lloyd
Valedictory Address - "Time as a Factory in the Solution of the Labor Problem"
by R.C. Chapin
June 30, 1886
Salutatory Oration
by Charles W. Emerson
Valedictory Address - "The Genius of our Occidental Civilization"
by Edward C. Ritsher
June 23, 1887
Valedictory Address - "The Independence of the Representative"
by Walter S. Haven
June 21, 1888
Valedictory Address - "Religion not Merely Defensive"
by J.A. Lyman
June 20, 1889
Salutatory
by Henry M. Richardson
Valedictory Address - "The Model Lawgiver"
by Henry B. Kummel
June 25, 1890
Salutatory
by Samuel M. Smith
Valedictory Address - "The Unity of Races"
by Alexander E. Matheson
June 24, 1891
Salutatory
by Albert W. Whitney
Valedictory Address - "The International Court"
by Lincoln B. Smith
June 22, 1892
Salutatory - "Fanaticism and Progress"
by Ernest L. Brown
Valedictory Address - "The Trend of Social Progress"
by W. Albert Whitcomb
June 21, 1893
Salutatory - "Imagination in Science"
by Sanford R. Catlin
Valedictory Address - "The Practical Man"
by Walter M. Short
June 21, 1894
Salutatory - "Poetry the Universal Guide to Truth"
by Schuyler R. Meyers
Valedictory Address - "The Loneliness of the Scholar"
by Fred Staff
June 19, 1895
Salutatory - "The Reason for Philosophy"
by Elmer C. Griffith
Valedictory Address - "The Victory of the Ages"
by Robert J. Eddy
June 24, 1896
Salutatory - "Individual Response to History"
by Guy F. Loomis
Valedictory Address - "The Orient in the Philosophy of History"
by Charles B. Olds
June 23, 1897
Salutatory - "The Ideal Citizen"
by Herman S. Blanchard
Valedictory Address - "The Seer in National Life"
by William Benson
Anniversary Ode - "The Four Horizons"
by Theodore L. Wright of the Class of 1880
Anniversary Address
by Horace White of the Class of 1853
June 22, 1898
Salutatory - "The Relation of Science to Religion"
by Charles D. Rosa
Valedictory Address - "The Man Who Laughs"
by Charles F.E. Read
June 21, 1899
Salutatory - "Two Messages"
by S. Mabel Nichols
Valedictory Address - "Ether"
by Edwin P. Adams
June 20, 1900
Salutatory - "The German Colossus"
by Robert J. Teall
Valedictory Address - "The Irishman in Parliament"
by Henry R. Mussey
June 19, 1901
Salutatory - "Optimism and Evolution"
by Erville B. Woods
Valedictory Address - "The God of the Hebrew"
by Lillian L. Dudley
June 18, 1902
Address - "The Moral Function of Scientific Study"
by Thomas C. Chamberlin, Ph.D., LL.D., of the Class of 1866
June 24, 1903
Several student speakers
June 22, 1904
Several student speakers
June 21, 1905
Several student speakers
June 20, 1906
Several student speakers
June 19, 1907
Several student speakers
June 17, 1908
Several student speakers
June 23, 1908
Several student speakers
June 21, 1910
Address - "The Spiritual Value of Culture"
by Dr. Samuel Parkes Cadman
June 20, 1911
Phi Beta Kappa Oration - "The Birthright of the American"
by Dr. Edward A. Grosvenor
President of the United Societies of the Phi Beta Kappa
June 18, 1912
Phi Beta Kappa Oration - "The New Equipment"
by John Merle Coulter, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago
June 18, 1913
Phi Beta Kappa Oration - "The World is New"
by George Burton Adams, Ph.D., Litt.D.
Professor of History at Yale University
June 24, 1914
Phi Beta Kappa Oration - "What is it to be a Person?"
by Dr. William T. McElveen, Evanston
June 21, 1915
Phi Beta Kappa Address
by Mr. Henry M. Hyde of the Class of 1888 of the Chicago Tribune
June 14, 1916
Phi Beta Kappa Address
by Frank Wakeley Gunsaulus, D.D., LL.D.
President of Armour Institute of Technology
June 17, 1917
Phi Beta Kappa Address
by the Reverend John Gardner, D.D.
Pastor of the New England Congregational Church, Chicago
June 11, 1918
Address
by the Reverend Charles Reynolds Brown, D.D., LL.D.
Dean of the School of Religion, Yale University
June 24, 1919
Address
by Justice William Renwick Riddell of the Supreme Court of Ontario, Canada
June 22, 1920
Address
by Frank Wakeley Gunsaulus, D.D., LL.D.
President of Armour Institute of Technology
June 21, 1921
Address - "A Super-Test"
by Gottfried Emanuel, M.A.
Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures, University of North Dakota
June 21, 1922
Address
by Reverend Edward Dwight Eaton, D.D., LL.D.
President Emeritus of Beloit College
June 19, 1923
Address
by the Honorable William Henry McMaster of the Class of 1899
Governor of South Dakota
June 16, 1924
Address - "The Next Step in Education"
by Boyd Henry Bode, Ph.D.
Professor of Education, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
June 22, 1925
Address - "Building Happiness"
by Professor Thomas Wesley Graham, D.D.
Dean of the Graduate School of Theology of Oberlin College
June 14, 1926
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend William Reese Dixon of the Class of 1896 Commencement Address
by the Reverend John Haynes Holmes
Minister of the First Community Church of New York
June 13, 1927
Commencement Address - "The Creative Life"
by the Reverend Ernest Fremont Tittle
Minister of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Evanston, Illinois
June 18, 1928
Commencement Address
by the Reverend Oscar Edward Maurer
Minister of the First Church of Christ in New Haven, Connecticut
June 17, 1929
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Arthur Henry Armstrong of the Class of 1889
Commencement Address
by the Reverend James A. Blaisdell, D.D., LL.D., of the Class of 1889
President of Claremont College
June 16, 1930
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Frank Jay Scribner, A.B., B.D.
Pastor of the First Congregational Church, Janesville, Wisconsin
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Stanley Kuhl Hornbeck, Ph.D.
Chief of the Far Eastern Division of the State Department
June 15, 1931
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Wilson Denney, B.A., B.D.
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Florence Ellinwood Allen, LL.B.
Supreme Court Justice of Ohio
June 13, 1932
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Frank Jay Scribner, A.B., B.D.
Pastor of the First Congregational Church, Janesville, Wisconsin
Commencement Address
by the Reverend McIlyar Hamilton Lichliter, LL.D.
Pastor of the First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio
June 11, 1933
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend T. B. Lathrop, M.A., D.D., of the Class of 1902
Pastor of the Grace Congregational Church, Framingham, Massachusetts
Commencement Address
by George Lincoln Hendrickson, L.H.D., LL.D., of the Class of 1887
Professor of Latin and Greek Literature at Yale University
June 18, 1934
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Elmer E. Voelkel, B.A., B.D.
Pastor of the First Congregational Church, Beloit
Commencement Address
by Melvin Amos Brannon, Ph.D., LL.D.
President of Beloit College from 1917 to 1924
Student Addresses
Anna Frances Armstrong - "The Obligation of Science"
Edgar Marquess Branch - "Method, Spirit, and Content"
June 17, 1935
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Arthur E. Westenberg, B.A., B.D., of the Class of 1904
Pastor of the Pilgrim Congregational Church, Superior, Wisconsin
Commencement Address - "After Thirty Years"
by Franklyn Bliss Snyder, Ph.D., of the Class of 1905
Dean of the Graduate School of Northwestern University
Student Addresses
Barbara Christine Alderman - "A Challenge to Education"
Edward Philbrook Clancy - "The Method of Modern Science"
June 15, 1936
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Von O. Vogt, M.A., D.D., L.H.D., of the Class of 1901
Pastor of the First Unitarian Church, Chicago
Commencement Address
by Charles Whitney Gilkey, D.D.
Dean of the University of Chicago Chapel
Student Addresses
Catherine Lucille Mitchell - "Mathematics and Human Progress"
Harold Gustav Johnson - "Chemistry in This Modern World"
June 14, 1937
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Herbert A. Studebaker, M.A.
Pastor of the Second Congregational Church, Beloit
Commencement Address
by Lloyd Kirkham Garrison, B.A., LL.B.
Dean of the Law School, University of Wisconsin
Student Addresses
Jean Pence - "The Practical Dreamer"
Arthur Rudolph Curtis - "The Grass Roots of Democracy"
June 13, 1938
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Ralph G. Coonradt, B.A., B.D., of the Class of 1908
Missionary, The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, China
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Edward R. Burke, B.A., LL.B., of the Class of 1906
United States Senator from Nebraska
Student Addresses
Eillen Jane Crawford - "Descent From the Clouds"
William Donald Knight - "The Lessons Learned At College"
June 12, 1939
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Theodore R. Faville, B.A., D.D., of the Class of 1904
Superintendent of the Wisconsin Congregational Conference
Commencement Address
by Gordon Jennings Laing, Ph.D., Litt.D., LL.D.
Professor Emeritus of Latin, University of Chicago
Student Addresses
Priscilla Jane Wolcott - "The Envy of Less Happier Lands"
Robert Henry Irrmann - "The Liberal Arts as Preparation for Living"
June 17, 1940
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Frank Hobart Millett, B.A., of the Class of 1909
Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Eaton, Illinois
Commencement Address
by Charles Clayton Morrison, B.A., D.D., Litt.D., LL.D.
Editor of "The Christian Century"
Student Addresses
Charlotte Maude Brenneman - "Learning for Living"
Louis Adelbert Toepfer - "Hello, World"
June 16, 1941
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Marvin R. Brandt, B.D., of the Class of 1910
Superintendent of the Congregational Conference of North Dakota
Commencement Address
by Lloyd Crow Stark, B.S., LL.D.
Former Governor of Missouri
Student Addresses
Jean Lenore Coffman - "Intellectual Maturity"
John Louis Biester - "For Tomorrow"
May 25, 1942
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Ernest L. Benson, M.A., B.D., of the Class of 1899
Commencement Address
by Alan Valentine, M.A., LL.D., L.H.D., Litt.D.
President of the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
Student Addresses
Joyce Eleanor Koenan - "Not Pity, But Godspeed"
Philip Edwin Nethercut - "Our Responsibility as College Graduates"
May 24, 1943
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend James Benson, Ph.B., of the Class of 1893
Commencement Address
by Leverett S. Lyon, Ph.D., LL.B., of the Class of 1910
Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Association of Commerce
Student Addresses
Lenore Jean Petchaft - "Science and Humanism"
Elmer Daniel Sandberg - "The Vision Imperative"
May 22, 1944
Invocation and Response
by the Reverend Marvin R. Brandt, B.D., of the Class of 1910
Superintendent of the Congregational Conference of North Dakota
Commencement Address - "Some Obstacles in the Path of Liberal Education"
by Anton Julius Carlson, Ph.D., M.D., LL.D., Sc.D.
Emeritus Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor of Physiology,
University of Chicago
Student Addresses
Lillian Clara Angliker - "Science and Human Problems"
Stephen Dal Nogare - "The Fifth Estate"
June 11, 1945
Invocation and Response
by John Pitt Deane, B.D., M.A., D.D.
Professor Emeritus of Biblical Literature on the Carnegie Foundation
Commencement Address - "Let There Be Light"
by Professor George Carpenter Clancy, M.A.
Professor of English on the Sage Foundation, Beloit College
Student Addresses
Mary Lucy Shaffer - "Retrospect and Prospect"
Roger Dean Sward - "Science and Peace"
June 9, 1946
Invocation
by the Reverend Stanley B. Crosland, B.D., M.A.
Pastor of the First Congregational Church
Commencement Address - "Idea and Atmosphere"
by the Reverend Doctor Arthur Cushman McGiffert, B.D., M.A., D.D.
President of the Chicago Theological Seminary
Student Addresses
Nancy Lee Miller, President of the Associated Students - "The College Diploma Quivers in the Contemporary Wind"
Everett T. Alcan, Jr., President of the Senior Class - "Science is a Liberal Art"
June 15, 1947
Invocation
by the Reverend Wilfrid A. Rowell, B.A., B.D., D.D., of the Class of 1899
Member of the Board of Trustees
Commencement Address - "History in a Challenged Democracy"
by Robert Kimball Richardson, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Chairman of the Department of History, Centennial Historian, Beloit College
Student Addresses
Jean Ruth Anderson - "Then Boast No More Your Mighty Deeds"
Elmer Davies Barraclough - "The Young Man's Answer"
June 11, 1948
Invocation
by the Reverend Wilfrid A. Rowell, B.A., B.D., D.D., of the Class of 1899
Member of the Board of Trustees
Commencement Address
by Franklyn Bliss Snyder, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., of the Class of 1905
President of Northwestern University
Student Addresses
Joan Lois Dreyfus - "Challenge for the Future"
Peter Charles Kostantacos - "Beloit in Retrospect"
June 15, 1949
Invocation
by the Reverend Wilfrid A. Rowell, B.A., B.D., D.D., of the Class of 1899
Member of the Board of Trustees and Acting Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Living Together in an Age of Science"
by Kirtley F. Mather, Ph.D., Sc.D., Litt.D., L.H.D.
Professor of Geology at Harvard University
Student Addresses
Betty Marie Lehmkuhl - "That Untraveled World"
William Cortlandt Sayres - "A Speech I've Never Heard"
June 11, 1950
Invocation
by the Reverend Merlin W. Ennis, B.A., B.D., D.D., of the Class of 1900
Commecement Address - "The World of Friction"
by Carey Croneis, Ph.D., LL.D., D.Sc., D.Eng.
President of Beloit College
Student Addresses
Margaret Joan Lindemer - "Three Measurements of Success"
Bard Revere Clow - "The Great Gamble"
June 10, 1951
Invocation
by the Reverend Stanley B. Crosland, B.D., M.A., B.A.
Minister of the First Congregational Church, Beloit, Wisconsin
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Walter J. Kohler, Jr.
Governor of the State of Wisconsin
Student Addresses
Veronica Mae Bunk - "Rehearsal's End"
John Charles Gibson - "Twenty-One and A-1"
June 8, 1952
Invocation
by the Reverend Ernest L. Benson, B.D., M.A., of the Class of 1892
Commencement Address - "The Humanities"
by Lawrence Alpheus Kimpton, Ph.D.
Chancellor of the University of Chicago
Student Addresses
Sylvia Ann Gutensohn - "The Master Key"
J. Harry Jones, Jr. - "Not a Whimper, But a Smile"
June 7, 1953
Invocation
by the Reverend James Benson, Ph.B., of the Class of 1893
Commencement Address - "What Use is a Bachelor's Degree?"
by Laird Bell, A.B., J.D.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago and Carleton College
Student Addresses
Norman Mowry Albright - "No Sure Cure"
Carolyn Mae Potshke - "Worth Whiling Our Time Away"
June 6, 1954
Invocation
by the Reverend Wilfrid Asa Rowell, B.A., B.D., D.D., of the Class of 1899
Chaplain Emeritus
Commencement Address - "The Profession of Leadership"
by Miller Upton, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
President-elect of Beloit College
Student Addresses
Caroline Jane Hay - "The Best is Yet to Be"
Robert Malcolm Royalty - "From Here to Where?"
June 5, 1955
Invocation
by the Reverend Marvin R. Brandt, B.A., B.D., D.D., of the Class of 1910
Commencement Address - "A Beloit Tradition"
by Holman D. Pettibone, B.A., LL.B., of the Class of 1911
Retiring Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Student Addresses
Audrey J. Stier - "Qualifications for Membership"
Joel P. Smith - "Lieben and Lernen"
June 10, 1956
Invocation
by the Reverend A.D. Beittel, A.B., A.M., B.D., Ph.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "The Requisites of a Genuine Education"
by Leland H. Carlson, B.A., Th.D., B.D., Ph.D., of the Class of 1931
President of Rockford College
Student Addresses
Deborah R. Cassling - "Light Housekeeping"
W. David Cuddiback - "Responsibility - an Ethic"
June 9, 1957
Invocation
by the Reverend A.D. Beitell, A.B., A.M., B.D., Ph.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Wilson and Palomar"
by John Anson Ford, LL.D., H.H.D., of the Class of 1907
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County
Student Addresses
Molly K. O'Rourke - "Standard Stuff"
Edward C. Hoerr - "An Ear to the Wall"
June 8, 1958
Invocation
by the Reverend A.D. Beitell, A.B., A.M., B.D., Ph.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Trustees of Opportunity"
by Landrum R. Bolling, A.B., M.A.
President of Earlham College
Student Addresses
Barbara A. Rakow - "Creativity as a Challenge"
Philip E. Thompson - "For Years"
June 7, 1959
Invocation
by the Reverend A.D. Beitell, A.B., A.M., B.D., Ph.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "The Prospect at Noon"
by Leslie Raffrath, A.B., L.H.D.
President of the Johnson Foundation
Student Addresses
Kathleen R. Cormany - "We the Beneficiaries"
James W. Evans - "The Echo of Years To Be"
June 5, 1960
Invocation
by the Reverend A.D. Beitell, A.B., A.M., B.D., Ph.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Student Addresses
Sally A. Stodolas - "June Five - What Does It Mean To You?"
Harry L. Hamilton, Jr. - "Idealism For a Practical World"
June 11, 1961
Student Addresses
Susan Cavins - "In Acceptance"
Frank K. Mitchell - "The Commencement of Understanding"
June 3, 1962
Student Addresses
Arleen J. Johanson - "Commencement: Competition and Competence"
Eugene W. Zeltman - "What Reputation?"
June 9, 1963
Student Addresses
Gail E. Engels - "The Interlude"
Allan R. Barta - "Beloit Imprint"
June 7, 1964
Student Addresses
Kristi Oddsen - "Restless are the Sails"
Kevin J. Hargreaves - "The Importance of Integrity"
April 24, 1965
Invocation
by the Reverend Anderson D. Clark, B.A., B.D., D.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Modern Science and the Liberal Arts College"
by Frank Evans Meyers, A.B., M.S., Ph.D.
Associate Director, Argonne National Laboratory
April 25, 1966
Invocation
by the Reverend Anderson D. Clark, B.A., B.D., D.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Federal Cooperation in Higher Education"
by the Honorable Gaylord Anton Nelson, B.A., LL.B.
United States Senator from Wisconsin
Student Address
Elliott K. Anderson - "One View of a Commencement"
April 24, 1967
Invocation
by the Reverend Anderson D. Clark, B.A., B.D., D.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "International Education: The Prospect and the Promise"
by the Honorable John Brademas, B.A., D.Phil.
Member of Congress, Third District, Indiana
Student Address
John R. Pasquin
April 22, 1968
Invocation
by the Reverend Anderson D. Clark, B.A., B.D., D.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address
by Robben W. Fleming, of the Class of 1938
President of the University of Michigan
Student Address
Gregg E. Robinson
April 21, 1969
Invocation
by the Reverend Gustav C. Nelson, B.D., Th.D.
President of the Beloit Area Council of Churches
Student Address
Michael D. Young
April 20, 1970
Invocation
by the Reverend Joseph Reed Washington, Jr., B.A., B.D., Th.D., D.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "The Practice of Idealism"
by Joel Pritchard Smith, B.A., J.D., of the Class of 1955
President of Denison College
Student Address
Stewart F. Taylor, Jr.
April 19, 1971
Invocation
by the Reverend Max A. Tudor, B.A., B.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "The Federal Octopus: The Challenge to Reform"
by the Honorable Edith Green, B.S., L.H.D., LL.D.
Chairman, Special Subcommittee on Education of the Education and Labor Committee
United States House of Representatives
Student Address
David J. Matthews
April 24, 1972
Invocation
by the Reverend Max A. Tudor, B.A., B.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Introspection"
by Robert H. Irrmann, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Professor of History, Beloit College
Student Address
Bertram P. Minkin
April 21, 1973
Invocation
by the Reverend Max A. Tudor, B.A., B.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address - "Tenth Term"
by Frank C. Hildebrand, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Vice President, General Mills, Inc.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Beloit College
Student Address
Charles G. Stangor
April 20, 1974
Invocation
by the Reverend Max A. Tudor, B.A., B.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address
by James A. Duffy, of the Class of 1949
President, ABC Television Network
Student Address
Margaret Robinson
April 19, 1975
Invocation
by the Reverend Max A. Tudor, B.A., B.D.
Dean of the Chapel
Commencement Address
by Robert Northshield
Executive Producer, NBC News
Student Address
Richard F. Silber
April 24, 1976
Invocation
by the Reverend Chad Walsh, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt.
Professor of English
Commencement Address - "Mistaken Identities"
by Miller Upton, B.B.A., M.B.A., Ph.D., LL.D., L.H.D.
President of Beloit College, 1954-1975
Student Address
Philinda J. Coleman - "Liberation Through Knowledge"
April 23, 1977
Invocation
by Kenneth S. Waterman, of the Class of 1950
Pastor, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Janesville
Commencement Address
by Patricia Albjerg Graham, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Professor of Education, Harvard University
Dean of the Radcliffe Institute
Trustee of Beloit College
Student Address
Mark McCain
April 21, 1978
Invocation
by Allan Patriquin
Associate Professor, Department of Classical and Religious Studies
Commencement Address
by Ernest L. Boyer
United States Commissioner of Education
Student Address
Jonathan Pred
May 6, 1979
Invocation
by Allan Patriquin
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Nancy Landon Kassebaum
United States Senator, Kansas
Student Address
Elizabeth Goldstein
May 11, 1980
Invocation
by Allan Patriquin
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Commencement Address
by Betty Williams
1977 Nobel Prize Winner
Student Address
Leo Hylan
May 16, 1981
Invocation
by the Reverend Doctor Allan Patriquin
Professor of Religion
Commencement Address
by Joan Adams Mondale
Student Address
Sue Vetler
May 16, 1982
Invocation
by G. Douglas Nicoll
Professor of History
Commencement Address - "A View from the Bench"
by the Honorable Shirley S. Abrahamson
Justice of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin
Student Address
Gabrielle DiLorenzo - "Staying Power"
May 15, 1983
Invocation
by the Reverend G. Douglas Nicoll
Professor of History
Commencement Address - "I've Seen the Past - and it Works"
by the Honorable Henry S. Reuss
Former Representative from Wisconsin, United States House of Representatives
Student Addresses
Christopher J. Momenee - "Equipped for Truth"
Virginia M. Newman - "Retrospect and Prospect"
May 13, 1984
Invocation
by Hans Betz, Ph.D.
Professor of the Divinity School and Division of the Humanities
University of Chicago
Commencement Address - "Young Idealism"
by Robert Coles, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities
Harvard Medical School
Student Address
Laura Kerr - "From Emma Goldman's Anarchism: An Epilogue to the Beloit Experience"
May 12, 1985
Invocation
by the Reverend G. Douglas Nicoll, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Professor of History
Commencement Address - "The Noah Principle"
by Willard C. Mackey, Jr. B.A., of the Class of 1947
Chairman, McCann-Erickson Worldwide
Student Address
Nancy Yasim - "We're Dancing Out of Here"
May 11, 1986
Invocation
by the Reverend Margaret Shepherd
Congregational United Church of Christ, Sparta, Wisconsin
Commencement Address - "On Communication and Caring"
by James E. Duffy, B.A., of the Class of 1949
President, Communications, ABC Broadcasting Group
Student Address
Adrianne Marie Krstansky - "Reflections"
May 10, 1987
Invocation
by John A. Redhead, Jr., A.B., B.D., Th.D., D.D.
Presbyterian Pastor, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commencement Address - "Too Soon To Tell"
by Calvin M. Trillin, B.A.
Staff Writer, The New Yorker
Student Address
Gary Benson - "Average Isn't Average"
May 14, 1988
Invocation
by the Reverend J. Mark Thomas, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D.
College Chaplain
Commencement Address - "Education and the Loss of Honor"
by Garry Wills, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Litt.D.
Henry R. Luce Professor of American Culture and Public Policy,
Northwestern University
Author and Political Essayist
Student Address
Jane Norton Tyrnell - "Twelve Different Ways of Cracking a Walnut of Something to do with Madness"
May 13, 1989
Invocation
by Marshall G. Lamberton, of the Class of 1989
Commencement Address - "Toward a Fairer Society"
by Robert H. Atwell, B.A., M.A.
President, American Council on Education
Student Address
Todd A. Hansen - "Just The Questions That Matter"
May 13, 1990
Invocation
by G. Douglas Nicoll, B.A., S.T.B., Ph.D.
Professor of History
Commencement Address - "New Dimensions in Foreign Policy"
by Edward J. Perkins, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Directory General, United States Foreign Service
Student Address
John Swanson - "An Immoral Chat About College"
May 12, 1991
Invocation
by Allan Armstrong-Patriquin, A.B., M.Div., Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman of Philosophy and Religion
Commencement Address - Perspectives on a New World Order
by the Reverend Joseph Echols Lowery, B.A., B.D., D.D., LL.D.
President, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Student Address
Anne Roche - "We"
May 10, 1992
Invocation
by Reverend Richard E. Hotchkin
First Congregational Church
Commencement Address
by Teresa Heinz
Vice Chair of the Environmental Defense Fund
Chair of the Howard Heinz Endowment
Student Address
Rebecca Lowman - "1-800-KARAOKE"
May 16, 1993
Invocation
by Father William R. Connell
St. Jude Catholic Church
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Les Aspin
Secretary of Defense and Beloit College Trustee
Student Address
John Chapman Christensen - "Monster in the Mirror"
May 15, 1994
Invocation
by Tanvir A. Jaffrey
Muslim Community Center of Greater Rockford
Commencement Address
by Parker G. Marden, A.B., A.M., Ph.D.
Dean of Beloit College
Student Address
Eric McHenrey - "A Beloit Thing To Do"
May 14, 1995
Invocation
by the Rev. Louise Armstrong-Patriquin, Interim Minister
First Congregational Church, Janesville, Wisconsin
Commencement Address
by Dr. Yuri N. Afanasyev
Russian State University for the Humanities
(Translator: Professor Donna S. Oliver, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
Student Addresses - "Voices of Beloit"
Sean B. Bina
Jodie M. Bultman
Gaoussou M. Diarra
Amelia G. Frame
Mary A. Girard
Joshua N. Rosen
May 12, 1996
Invocation
by Rev. Philip C. Brown, B.A., M.Div., S.T.M., D.Min.
Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of Milwaukee
Commencement Address - "Stars to Steer By"
by David McCullough, historian and biographer
Student Addresses
Janet R. Murray
Kirk L. Owens
Victoria S. Selkowe
May 11, 1997
Invocation
by Dr. Robert Parsonage, B.A., B.D., Th.M., Ph.D.
President, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin
Commencement Address
by Mark D. Gearan
Director, Peace Corps
Student Addresses
Erin E. Fitch
Mary C. Hughes-Greer
May 10, 1998
Invocation
by Rev. Constance H. Stewart, Interim Co-Pastor
United Protestant Church, Grays Lake, Illinois
(Clergy of United Church of Christ)
Commencement Address
by Mario G. Obledo, B.S., J.D.
President, California Coalition of Hispanic Organizations
Student Addresses
Christina Pope
Kenneth Applebaum
Bradley Shuman
Hannah Wallach
May 16, 1999
Invocation
by Rev. Randall Henderson
Yelm United Methodist Church, Yelm, Washington
Commencement Address
by Marca Bristo
Chair, National Council on Disability
Student Address
Joel Reamer - "The Best Years of Our Lives Are Now Over"
May 14, 2000
Invocation
by Jimmy Creech
Raleigh, North Carolina
Commencement Address - "The Arts in Liberal Arts"
by Marion K. Stocking
Emerita professor of English
Student Address
Robert M. Alstrum Aceredo - "The Big Singalong"
May 13, 2001
Invocation
by Rev. Lois Fritze-Tietz
Blain United Methodist Church, Blaine, Minnesota
Commencement Address
by George Langford
Ernest Everett Just Professor of Natural Sciences
Dartmouth College
Student Address
Matthew R. Anderson
May 12, 2002
Invocation
by Rev. Joyce M. Emery
Presbyterian Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Commencement Address
by the Honorable Russell D. Feingold
United States Senator
Student Address - "Call Now and We'll Throw in a Free Boxed Lunch from Commons"
Emaline Gray and Brian O'Grady
May 11, 2003
Invocation
by Debra Mubashshir, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Commencement Address
by Daniel T. Barry, M.D., Ph.D.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Student Address - "A Collection of Memories"
Damian G. Harrell
May 16, 2004
Invocation
by Natalie Gummer, B.A., A.M., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Mouat Junior Prof. of International Studies
Commencement Address
by Jim Lehrer
Executive Editor and Anchor, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Student Address
Sellus Bessinger
Daniel Smith
May 15, 2005
Invocation
by William Conover, A.B., M.Div.
Director of Spiritual Life Program
Commencement Address - "International Justice in a Global World"
by Belgian Senateur Alain Destexhe
Student Address
Brian Gallagher
May 14, 2006
Invocation
by Rev. Michael J. Ramsdail '06
Commencement Address - "In the Footsteps of Roy Chapman Andrews: Exploration in a Modern World"
by Michael J. Novacek
Student Address - "A Culmination of Observations"
Robert J. Sjoberg III
Scott G. Weber
May 13, 2007
Invocation
by William Conover, A.B., M.Div.
Director of Spiritual Life Program
Commencement Address - "America in the 21st Century"
by Bruce Alberts, A.B., Ph.D.
Student Address
Alexander D. Chiquoine
May 11, 2008
Invocation
by William Conover, A.B., M.Div.
Director of Spiritual Life Program
Commencement Address
by Dana Gioia, B.A., M.B.A., M.A.
Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Student Address
Christopher Lowry
May 17, 2009
Invocation
by William Conover, A.B., M.Div.
Director of Spiritual Life Program
Commencement Address
by James E. Doyle
Governor, State of Wisconsin
Student Address
Katherine Phelps
May 9, 2010
Commencement Address
by David Axelrod
Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
Student Address
Eric T. Dunford
May 15, 2011
Commencement Address
by Justice Richard J. Goldstone
Student Address
Benjamin Pascoe
May 13, 2012
Commencement Address
by Michael D. Young'69
Student Address - "Beloiters Beloiting Beloit"
Ian Hedges
Mashail Malik