Tutu named Commencement speaker

Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu will speak at Penn's 247th Commencement ceremony this May, University officials confirmed yesterday.

"We are so excited about it," University President Judith Rodin said. "He's a marvelous leader, and we're thrilled to be able to have him and honor him."

Lavinia Browne, Tutu's personal assistant in South Africa, said yesterday that Tutu had received and accepted Penn's invitation to speak, but she had no other details.

According to Rodin, Tutu was initially suggested as a possible speaker last year during a student advisory committee meeting. A number of other groups, including the University Council and the honorary degrees committee, also added their input. University Secretary Leslie Kruhly said Rodin made the final decision to invite Tutu to speak.

"He had been someone who students were very desirous of getting for a Commencement speaker," said University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman, noting that Tutu is "known to be a very witty and passionate speaker."

"It took a while to be able to make it happen, but we are thrilled that it is the case," Rodin said.

Born in 1931, Tutu has been a committed champion of human rights for decades. He was a leader in the opposition to apartheid in his native South Africa, and he received the Nobel Prize in 1984 for his efforts.

Tutu's career in the South African Anglican Church was historic. In the 1970s, he became the first black dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, and began as the first black general secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1978. In 1986, he became head of the country's Anglican church as the first black Archbishop of Cape Town.

Following Commencement, Tutu will also deliver a "broad public address" in Philadelphia in association with the Foreign Affairs Council, Rodin said.

Before coming to Philadelphia, Tutu will spend the spring at the University of North Florida. According to a press release from that institution, Tutu will teach "three non-credit mini-courses" entitled "The Struggle Against Apartheid."

Although Tutu will deliver the main Commencement address, the University's individual schools will also select their own speakers through a separate process.

Administrators said they are confident that students will react positively to the choice.

"I would imagine that many people are going to be very pleased because he should be a very interesting speaker," Holtzman said. "He has the potential to be very inspiring for students and parents and just everybody."

Senior Class President Billy Moore, who was on the student advisory committee and learned of the selection of Tutu yesterday, applauded the choice, noting Tutu's humanitarian record.

"I think it's great for the University to have such a distinguished international figure speak to... the graduating senior class, someone who has worked his entire life toward recognizing peace both in his country and around the world," Moore said.

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