Westminster College of the Arts - Rider University - Speakers, Charges and Honorary Degrees

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Speakers, Charges and Honorary Degrees

The following is a list of the distinguished men and women whom we have been privileged to have speak at Commencement and upon we have conferred honorary degrees.

1933	Dr. John Finley Williamson, Commencement Speaker
1934	Dr. John Finley Williamson, Commencement Speaker
1935	Dr. John Finley Williamson, Commencement Speaker and Charge to the Graduating Class
1936	Dr. John Erskine, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1937	The Rev. Joseph Richard Sizoo, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1939	The Rev. Charles Clayton Morrison, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1940	The Rev. Daniel Poling, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1941	The Rev. Ralph W. Sockman, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1942	The Honorable Harold B. Wells, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1943	Dr. James Francis Cooke, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1944	The Rev. Peter Marshall, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1945	The Rev. W. Edward Jordan, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1946	George F. Thomas, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Gradating Class
1947	The Rev. Peter Marshall, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1948	The Rev. Daniel A. Poling, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1949	The Rev. Clarence W. Cranford, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1950	The Rev. Charles R. Erdman, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1951	Elmer G. Homrighausen, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1952	The Rev. Daniel A. Poling, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1953	The Rev. Clarence W. Cranford, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1954	The Rev. C. Ralston Smith, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1955	The Honorable Harold E. Talbott, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1956	Andrew W. Mutch, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1957	Dean Ernest P. Gordon, Commencement Speaker John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1958	Mark R. Thompson, Commencement Speaker Dr. John Finley Williamson, Charge to Graduating Class
1959	D. Elton Trueblood, Commencement Speaker Rev. William F. MacCalmont, Charge to Graduating Class
1960	The Rev. Franklin Clark Fry, Commencement Speaker Rev. William F. MacCalmont, Charge to Graduating Class
1961	The Rev. C. Ralston Smith, Commencement Speaker Rev. William F. MacCalmont, Charge to Graduating Class
1962	The Rev. Albert C. Outler, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class Mary T. Krimmel, Master of Humane Letters LoRean D. Hodapp, Master of Humane Letters
1963	The Rev. Charles C. Noble, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class Leopold Stokowski, Doctor of Fine Arts
1964	Roy Harris, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class Roy Harris, Doctor of Fine Arts
1965	Alec Wyton, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class Alexander McCurdy, Doctor of Fine Arts Wilfred C. Bain, Doctor of Fine Arts
1966	Howard Hanson, Commencement Speaker Leonard Bernstein, Charge to Graduating Class Robert Stevens Baker, Doctor of Fine Arts Leonard Bernstein, Doctor of Humanities
1967	The Rev. Theodore Parker Ferris, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class James Bernard Wallace, Doctor of Fine Arts Donald Trowbridge Bryant, Doctor of Music Theodore Parker Ferris, Doctor of Music
1968	Dorothy Maynor Rooks, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class Dorothy Maynor Rooks, Doctor of Fine Arts William Steinberg, Doctor of Fine Arts Paul Boepple, Doctor of Music Kenneth Chorley, Doctor of Humanities The Rev. Albert Frederick Bayly, Fellow of Westminster Choir College Arnold Kunrad Kvam, Fellow of Westminster Choir College Jack Noble White, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1969	Sir Arthur Bliss, Commencement Speaker Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Charge to Graduating Class Clarence Snyder, Doctor of Letters John Albert Davis, Jr., Doctor of Letters Francis Arthur Robinson, Doctor of Letters Sir Arthur Bliss, Doctor of Fine Arts Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Doctor of Fine Arts Peggy Wood Walling, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1970	Presidental Inauguration Dr. J. Merrill Knapp, Doctor of Music Dr. Malcolm Williamson, Doctor of Music Paul Hume, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Ronald Arnatt, Doctor of Music Richard Feliciano, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1971	George Lynn, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Charles Hirt, Doctor of Fine Arts Malcolm Williamson, Fellow of Westminster Choir College Erik Routley, Feloow of Westminster Choir College
1972	Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr., Commencement Speaker Roger Wagner, Charge to Graduating Class Roger Wagner, Doctor of Fine Arts
1973	Elaine Brown, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Carl Weinrich, Doctor of Music
1974	Elizabeth B. Ford, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Arthur Mahlon Byers, Jr., Doctor of Divinity
1975	Robert Shaw, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Robert Shaw, Doctor of Humanities
1976	Bob Hope, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Bob Hope, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1977	Howard Swan, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Howard Swan, Doctor of Humanities
1978	Wilfred C. Bain, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Wilhelm Ehmann, Doctor of Music
1979	Daniel Pinkham, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Daniel Pinkham, Doctor of Music Robert Dean Simpson, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1980	Sir David Willcocks, Commencement Speaker Charles Schisler, Charge to Graduating Class Sir David Willcocks, Doctor of Music John Rutter, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1981	Sherrill Milnes, Commencement Speaker Gian Carlo Menotti, Charge to Graduating Class Gian Carlo Menotti, Doctor of Music Sherrill Milnes, Doctor of Music Ma Ge Shun, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1982	Zubin Mehta, Commencement Speaker Joseph Flummerfelt, Charge to Graduating Class Zubin Mehta, Doctor of Music William T. Renneckar, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1983	Gilbert E. Kaplan, Commencement Speaker Helen Kemp, Charge to Graduating Class Gilbert E. Kaplan, Doctor of Humanities
1984	Kathleen D. Battle, Commencement Speaker Ray Robinson, Charge to Graduating Class Kathleen D. Battle, Doctor of Music
1985	Riccardo Muti, Commencement Speaker Elly Ameling, Charge to Graduating Class Riccardo Muti Doctor of Music Elly Ameling, Doctor of Music William H. Scheide, Doctor of Humanities
1986	Robert Shaw, Commencement Speaker Frauke Haasemann, Charge to Graduating Class Tatsusaburo Nishimura, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1987	Ernest LeRoy Boyer, Commencement Speaker William James Mathias, Charge to Graduating Class Helen Hubbert Kemp, Doctor of Music William James Mathias, Doctor of Music Ernest LeRoy Boyer, Doctor of Humanities Dr. Ray Robinson, Doctor of Human Letters
1988	William S. Fuller, Commencement Speaker Glenn Parker, Charge to Graduating Class Elaine Brown, Doctor of Music Charles Schisler, Doctor of Fine Arts
1989	Joseph Flummerfelt, Commencement Speaker Donna Plasket, Charge to Graduating Class Margaret Harshaw, Doctor of Music Koichi Matsuda, Fellow of Westminster Choir College
1990	George Gallup, Commencement Speaker William Dalglish, Charge to Graduating Class
1991	Hugh Wolff, Commencement Speaker Frauke Haasemann/Brenda Smith, Charge to Graduating Class Frauke Haasemann, Doctor of Music (awarded 3/13/91) Keith Spalding, Doctor of Humanities Elsie Hilliard Hillman '48, Doctor of Humanities
1992	Kurt Masur, Commencement Speaker Allen Crowell, Charge to Graduating Class Kurt Masur, Doctor of Music
1993	Helen Kemp, Commencement Speaker Joseph Flummerfelt, Charge to the Graduating Class
1994	Carlisle Floyd, Commencement Speaker Lois Laverty, Charge to the Graduating Class Martin Katz, Doctor of Music
1995	Katharine O'Neil-Bidwell, Commencement Speaker Glenn Parker, Charge to the Graduating Class
1996	Wolfgang Sawallisch, Commencement Speaker Diana Crane, Charge to the Graduating Class Wolfgang Sawallisch, Doctor of Music Alice Parker, Doctor of Music
1997	Sylvia McNair, Commencement Speaker Michael Litchman, Charge to the Graduating Class Sylvia McNair, Doctor of Music Frances Clark, Doctor of Music
1998	John Wesley Cook, Commencement Speaker Stefan Young, Charge to the Graduating Class John Bertalot, Doctor of Music Zdenek Macal, Doctor of Music
1999	Fred McFeeley Rogers, Commencement Speaker Joel Phillips, Charge to the Graduating Class John Corigliano, Doctor of Music Fred McFeeley Rogers, Doctor of Humanities
2000	Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Commencement Speaker Anthony Jay Kosar, Charge to the Graduating Class Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Doctor of Humanities Louise Goss, Doctor of Music
2001	Martin E. Marty, Commencement Speaker Andrew Megill, Charge to the Graduating Class Martin E. Marty, Doctor of Humanities James H. Litton, Doctor of Music Joan Hult Lippincott, Doctor of Music
2002	Shirley Tilghman, Commencement Speaker Joseph Flummerfelt, Charge to the Graduating Class Shirley Tilghman, Doctor of Laws George H. Shorney, Doctor of Humanities
2003	Robert Pace, Commencement Speaker Jay A. Kawarsky, Charge to the Graduating Class Robert Pace, Doctor of Music Marion Buckelew Cullen, Doctor of Humanities
2004	The Reverend Peter J. Gomes, Commencement Speaker Joseph Flummerfelt, Charge to the Graduating Class Peter J. Gomes, Doctor of Music Bonita Valente, Doctor of Music
2005	Jennifer Larmore, Commencement Speaker Nancianne Parrella, Charge to the Graduating Class Jennifer Larmore, Doctor of Music Weston Noble, Doctor of Music
2006	Anthony Tommasini, Commencement Speaker Sun Min Lee, Charge to the Graduating Class Allen Crowell, Doctor of Music
2007 2008 2009	Ronn Carroll, Commencement Speaker Andrew Megill, Charge to the Graduating Class Donald E. Allured, Doctor of Music John Walker, Commencement Speaker Nova Thomas, Charge to the Graduating Class Nigel Redden, Commencement Speaker Daniel Beckwith, Charge to the Graduating Class