News Release

Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain will be the commencement speaker at The Johns Hopkins University undergraduate diploma ceremony to be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, on the Keyser Quadrangle on the Homewood campus. University president William R. Brody will continue his tradition of speaking at the university-wide commencement ceremony, to be held at 9:30 a.m. on the Keyser Quadrangle (aka Gilman Quad or Upper Quad).

About the Speakers

John McCain, who announced his intention to run for president on April 13, is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. After a career in the U.S. Navy and two terms as a U.S. Representative (1982-86), he is currently serving his third term in the U.S. Senate (1986 - present). In the 106th Congress, Sen. McCain is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee an serves on the Armed Services and Indian Affairs Committees. The senator has been chairman of the International Republican Institute since 1993.

William R. Brody took office Aug. 26, 1996, as Johns Hopkins' 13th president. he returned to Johns Hopkins from the University of Minnesota, where he had been provost of the Academic Medical Center since 1994. Preciously, while director of the Department of Radiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and radiologist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he chaired the university-wide task force the Committee for the 21st Century that spent nearly two years examining how Johns Hopkins should refocus its efforts in light of new and foreseeable challenges.

About the Graduating Class

About the Ceremonies

The university-wide ceremony is the ceremony at which all university degrees are conferred by the university president. The students who receive their diplomas on stage, however are doctoral students from the university's Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the G.W.C Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Continuing Studies, the School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine (Ph.D.s only), Peabody Institute and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. This ceremony also recognizes the new members of the Society of Scholars and is the occasion at which the university confers honorary degrees of doctor of humane letters.

The Undergraduate Diploma Ceremony is the one at which the seniors from the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, who officially graduated when degrees were conferred in the morning ceremony, cross the stage to receive their diplomas. It is also the occasion when the senior class gives out its many awards, recognizing peers, faculty and staff for their contributions and achievements.

Each of the university's eight schools holds divisional diploma award ceremonies. They each choose their own speaker and carry on their own traditions.

About the Honorary Degree Recipients

Mary Ellen Avery
Mary Ellen Avery is one of the world's leading pioneers in the field of neonatology--her research focusing on premature birth, lung development and respiratory problems of the newborn. Her landmark research on the respiratory problems of infants is the foundation for today's treatment and prevention of respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn. She is a Johns Hopkins alumna and faculty member, who became, in 1974, the first woman to head a major department at Harvard Medical School. She also founded Harvard's Division of Newborn Medicine

Finn M. W. Caspersen
Finn Caspersen has influenced and advanced the mission of Johns Hopkins as chairman of the Hodson Trust, whose generous grants over more than four decades have steadily increased under his guidance. His commitment to investing in exceptional individuals is reflected not only in the Trust's philanthropy, but also in his success, as chairman and CEO of the highly profitable Beneficial Corporation, in creating a caring corporate culture. Hodson Scholarships have attracted some of the nation's most outstanding undergraduates to the Homewood schools. Hodson grants have enabled senior researchers and young investigators to pursue creative research initiatives at the Oncology Center. The Trust has helped to underwrite scores of imaginative projects by winners of the Provost's Undergraduate Research Awards; innovative applications of information technology in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and the creation of the Johns Hopkins crew team. And Hodson support has also played a key role in enabling the School of Continuing Studies to prepare future leaders and practitioners in education, particularly in the field of learning disabilities.

A. James Clark
Jim Clark's goal was to study architecture at an Ivy League university. But limited finances led him to pursue an engineering degree at a state school. So instead of designing buildings, he became one of the nation's foremost builders of them. He built up the companies that became Clark Enterprises, now one of the country's largest general contracting firms, with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. Clark Enterprises has built many landmark projects including two wings of the National Museum of Natural History, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the World Bank headquarters. Currently, his company is constructing a new cancer research center on the Johns Hopkins' medical campus. His stellar record of public service and philanthropy, particularly related to higher education, has been visibly recognized. The engineering school at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park, bears his name. And at Johns Hopkins, his recent $10 million gift will enable the university to build Clark Hall on the Homewood campus, housing leading-edge biomedical engineering research and instruction.

The Rev. Clyde Shallenberger
Clyde Shallenberger began his service to the Johns Hopkins community in 1963, arriving as director of the Chaplaincy Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, a pastoral care service that for many became as important as the expert medical care they would receive. He was there for thousands of Johns Hopkins patients during 30 years of service, supporting them at times of personal crisis and providing a gentle, guiding hand through the terrible storms of disease, sickness and injury. Along the way, he ensured that the caregivers also had someone to turn to for comfort and support, and many faculty, administrators and staff did turn to him, often.

James A. Van Allen
Whenever we look at animated weather maps, hear satellite broadcasts or get news of NASA's latest sojourns, we can tip our hats to James Van Allen's lifetime devoted to space science, technology and education. In 1939, he set up work in a converted garage that became the first home of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. His design for a rugged vacuum tube, out of which 80 million devices were produced during World War II, helped turn the tide of battle. During the 1950s, he built a consensus for the International Geophysical Year, stimulating the flowering of artificial satellites, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and a half century of efflorescent space science. The Van Allen radiation belt, named in his honor, is only one example of the mark he has left on the world.

Schedule of Ceremonies