Best MBA Commencement Speakers: Class of 2019

Michigan State (Broad)

Graduation Date: May 3, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Dean Sanjay Gupta and Kelly Huston (Student)

Graduation Information: Advanced Degree Ceremony

Additional Note: MBA students hold a private ceremony, but the ceremony is part of the larger graduate program.

 

Indiana University (Kelley)

Graduation Date: May 3, 2018

Graduation Speaker: John Shoemaker (’66), Chairman of Extreme Networks and former executive vice president of Sun Microsystems

Graduation Information: Website still in development. To see the live broadcast, click here.

The Kelley MBA ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 3, 2018 at the IU Auditorium, with a reception to follow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger will speak during the full IU Bloomington graduation ceremony May 3rd.

To learn more about that ceremony, Click Here.

For a full list of Kelley speakers, Click Here.

 

Ohio State University (Fisher)

Graduation Date: May 4, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Peter Cohen, Former Chairman and CEO of Cowen, Inc.

Graduation Information: 2019 Fisher Pre-Commencement Ceremony

Additional Note: The all-school ceremony kicks off at noon on May 5. The speaker will be CNN host Fareed Zakaria. To learn more, click here.

 

Arizona State (W. P. Carey)

Graduation Date: May 7, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University

Graduation Information: 2019 Carey Business Graduate Convocation

Additional Note: There is only one ceremony this spring for W. P. Carey. Graduate and undergraduates are combined in Sun Devil Stadium on May 7. We have no speaker, only the deans. The outstanding graduate and undergraduate students are recording their speech on a video that will be played during the ceremony.

 

USC (Marshall)

Graduation Date: May 10, 2019

Graduation Speaker: To Be Announced

Graduation Information: Marshall School of Business Graduate Ceremony

The school-wide commencement will be held on the morning of the 10th, with U.S. Representative Karen Bass being the speaker. To learn more, click here.

 

Vanderbilt University (Owen)

Graduation Date: May 10, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Cindy Kent (’99), Best Buy Board of Directors

Graduation Information: Vanderbilt University Commencement Week

 

Rice University (Jones)

Graduation Date: May 11, 2019

Graduation Speaker: None

Graduation Information: 2019 Jones GSB Investiture

Full Commencement: Graduate students are also invited to walk in Rice’s full commencement ceremony on May 11th, where the speaker will be Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston. To learn more about these ceremonies, click here.

Additional Note: Jones will be honoring Bob McNair, Houston Texans owner and a major benefactor to the Jones School, who passed away in 2018. His son, Cal, is an MBA alum and will receive an award at the investiture.

 

Duke University (Fuqua)

Graduation Date: May 11, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Tim Ryan, Senior Partner and Chairman of PwC US

Graduation Information: 2019 Daytime MBA Graduation Ceremony

 

University of Wisconsin

Graduation Date: May 11, 2019

Graduation Speaker: J.J. Watt, Houston Texans

Graduation Information: 2019 University of Wisconsin Spring Commencement

Additional Note: The business school walks with the rest of the university at graduation.

 

Emory University (Goizueta)

Graduation Date: May 11, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Andrew Young, Former Atlanta Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to the UN

(Note: Former U.S. Senate candidate Stacey Abrams will speaking at Class Day on May 9.)

Graduation Information: 2019 Emory University Commencement

Additional Note: Emory holds its all-school graduation on May 13th at 9:00 a.m. Goizueta will then hold awards and celebrations on May 11 (Saturday). The celebration does not include a keynote speaker. For additional information, Click Here.

 

Georgetown University (McDonough)

Graduation Date: May 17, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Joseph Patrick Baratta II, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone

Graduation Information: 2019 McDonough Commencement

 

Washington University (Olin)

Graduation Date: May 17, 2019

Graduation Speaker: Lori M. Lee (’89), CEO – AT&T Latin America & Global Marketing Officer, AT&T Inc.

Graduation Information: 2019 Olin Graduate Diploma and Awards Ceremony

Additional Note: That same morning, the business school walks with the rest of the university at graduation. To learn more about that ceremony, Click Here.

Go to next page for graduation information for Virginia Darden, Wharton School, Yale SOM and Columbia Business School.