ASU has had a select number of commencement speakers throughout the years. Here is a list of past speakers and their accomplishments.
Spring 2006
Dr. Frank Rhodes, former president of Cornell University
Dr. Frank H.T. Rhodes graduated from the University of Birmingham in England and has earned four degrees. As the former president at Cornell University, Rhodes is known for his efforts in increasing diversity at the school.
While he was president, the minority percentage of students increased from 8 percent in 1977 to 28 percent in 1994. Research funding grew as well, from $88 million in 1977 to more than $300 million in 1993, in four main efforts that included Asian studies, supercomputing, biotechnology, and nanofabrication.
In addition to his efforts at Cornell, Rhodes has made national contributions in education.
President Ronald Regan appointed him a member of the National Science Board, and President George H.W. Bush appointed him a member of the President’s Educational Policy Advisory Committee.
Rhodes holds 35 honorary degrees, including one from ASU.
Spring 2004
Lawrence Douglas Wilder, former governor of Virginia
Lawrence Douglas Wilder grew up in Virginia and attended racially segregated public schools in Richmond, Va., and later studied chemistry at Virginia Union University.
After he graduated, Wilder joined the United States Army and served in the Korean War, where he earned a Bronze Star for heroism.
After the war, Wilder went back to college to study law and graduated from the Howard University Law School in 1959 and established his own law firm, Wilder, Gregory, and Associates.
In 1969, Wilder entered the world of politics in the Virginia State Senate.
He was elected Governor of Virginia in 1990 as the first African American governor in the nation. As the Governor of Virginia, Wilder was commended for the way he balanced the state's budget throughout tough economic times.
In 2004 when Wilder spoke at ASU, his speech honored the 50-year anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, which declared segregation in public schools in 21 states as unconstitutional. The case marked a step forward in the civil rights movement.
Spring 1973
Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court justice
Sandra Day O’Connor was born in El Paso, Texas, spent some of her childhood in Southwestern Arizona, and headed back to Texas when she was of school age.
She graduated in 1950 from Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and continued there to study law. She graduated from the law program in two years rather than the typical three years and was third in the class of 102 students.
O’Connor served as an assistant attorney general in Arizona from 1965 to 1969. In 1974 she was a trial judge, and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
In 1981, President Ronald Regan nominated her to the Supreme Court, where she became the first female justice.
During her time as a justice, O’Connor expressed that the court’s role was to interpret the law, not to legislate.
In 2002, a high school in Glendale was named after her. In 2006, ASU renamed the law school the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
Spring 1970
Robert Hutchinson Finch, 8th U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
Robert Hutchinson Finch was born in 1925 in Tempe. He served in the Marine Corps in World War II. He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif., where he studied political science. He also studied law at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Finch served again in the Marines in the Korean War. After the war, he practiced law for a few years, but then headed to Washington, D.C. to work as Vice President Richard Nixon’s aide.
He continued as Nixon’s campaign manager in the 1960 presidential election. In 1966, Finch was elected Lieutenant Governor of California.
In the 1968 presidential election, Finch worked as Nixon’s senior adviser. Though he was Nixon’s first choice for vice president, he declined.
Finch joined the Nixon Administration as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1970 Finch joined the White House staff as Counselor to the President and continued on the staff as a member of the Cabinet. He resigned in 1973. Finch died in 1995.
Spring 1961
Barry Morris Goldwater, former Senator of Arizona
Barry Morris Goldwater was born in Phoenix in 1909. Goldwater attended Staunton Military Academy, in Staunton, Va.
After graduation, Goldwater began school at the University of Arizona, though left school to work in the family business: Goldwater’s Department Stores.
He quickly worked his way up to the top of company, starting as a junior clerk, moving to general manager in 1936 and president in 1937. Goldwater’s was the first store in Phoenix to hire African Americans as sales clerks.
Goldwater entered the political scene in 1949 when he was elected to the Phoenix City Council. In 1950 he managed Howard Pyle’s successful campaign for governor of Arizona. Pyle spoke at ASU’s spring commencement ceremony in 1952.
The same year, Goldwater was elected to the U.S. Senate. Goldwater ran for president in 1964 but lost to Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson. He was then reelected to the Senate in 1969 and served until 1987, when he returned to Paradise Valley, Ariz. to retire. Goldwater remained politically active by promoting gay rights. Goldwater died in 1998.
Spring 1927
Clarence Phelps, former President of the Santa Barbara State Normal School
Clarence Phelps was born in Kentucky in 1881, but headed west to study at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., where he graduated with an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree.
Once he graduated, Phelps joined the teachers colleges at San Jose, Calif., Tempe, Ariz., San Diego, Calif., and Fresno, Calif.
In 1918 he became President of Santa Barbara State Normal School of Manual Arts and Home Economics. Changes occurred at the school while Phelps was president, including the change to broaden the school’s capacity and train all state elementary teachers. The school’s name was then shortened to Santa Barbara State Normal School.
In 1921 the Legislature agreed with Phelps that all teachers should have a four-year degree. The school then became Santa Barbara State Teachers College.
In 1944 the school’s named changed again to University of California, Santa Barbara, because the school became part of the university system.
Phelps was then appointed first provost, or senior administrative officer. He retired in 1946 and died in 1964.
Reach the reporter at abigail.gilmore@asu.edu.
