Many Notables Speak at Harvard's Schools

Harvard once again marks Commencement with reflections by an international array of notables, who were scheduled to speak on various schoolsÕ Class Days as well as on Commencement Day.

Elizabeth Dole, president of the American Red Cross, gave the Class Day talk at the Kennedy School of GovernmentÕs ARCO Forum yesterday afternoon. Dole has launched a state-of-the-art blood system, led aggressive fundraising efforts to assist victims of domestic disasters, and raised almost $600 million for relief initiatives and other vital services. Over the course of her career, Dole has served a number of U.S. presidents.

At the Law School yesterday, former U.S. attorney general Elliot L. Richardson Õ41, LLB Õ47, LLD (hon.) Õ71, spoke at Class Day ceremonies. While serving as attorney general under Richard Nixon, Richardson was ordered by the president to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and then resigned. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event, known as the ÒSaturday Night Massacre.Ó A former lieutenant governor and attorney general of Massachusetts, and former member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, Richardson is the author of two books, The Creative Balance (1976) and Reflections of a Radical Moderate (1996).

At the Business School, the Class Day speaker was Robert E. Rubin, secretary of the treasury. Before being appointed secretary in l995, Rubin served as assistant to the president for economic policy and directed the activities of the National Economic Council.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is the featured speaker at the Medical and Dental School Class Day. Clinton, author of It Takes a Village, and Other Lessons Children Teach Us, is the recipient of many humanitarian awards. Clinton has long been an advocate for the interests of children and families. Upon taking office in l993, President Clinton made health care reform one of his highest priorities and asked the first lady to chair the Task Force on National Health Care Reform.

At the Graduate School of EducationÕs pre-Commencement ceremonies yesterday, the faculty speaker was Charles Willie, Charles William Eliot Professor of Education. Also addressing the gathering was Donald Moore, EdD Õ71, founder and executive director of Designs for Change, a nonprofit school reform organization based in Chicago.

At the School of Public Health, Ingar Brueggemann, secretary general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, speaks on

ÒSexual and Reproductive Rights Ñ Human RightsÓ at the SchoolÕs Commencement ceremony today. Brueggemann served for many years as social scientist in the World Health Organization (WHO) and as secretary of WHOÕs major policymaking body.

At the Divinity School on Alumni/ae Day yesterday, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Diana L. Eck spoke on the ÒChanging Face of Religion in America.Ó Eck is chair of the Committee on the Study of Religion in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, as well as a member of the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies and the Faculty of Divinity.

Ñ Roberta Gordon