Cosby addresses 241st graduating class

Entertainer discusses value of opportunity, eight honorary degrees awarded Despite oppressive eighty degree temperatures, family and friends of graduates from the University's 12 schools gathered at Franklin Field Monday morning for the 241st commencement ceremony. Excited graduates -- topped in caps decorated with everything from slinkies to stuffed animals -- flocked into the stadium to take their seats, waving to the approximately 20,000 audience members who gathered to celebrate their achievement. Commencement speaker Bill Cosby -- who received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University in 1990 -- agreed that the weather was stifling. "Eighteen years of school and you think this is something special -- to sit in the sun and pass out," he said. Cosby's speech -- which began with his famous Fat Albert greeting -- evoked laughter and applause from the crowd when he chided the graduates for their "C" grades and financial insecurity. But the tone of Cosby's speech became serious when he recalled a trip he and his wife took to South Africa's Robber Island. During the trip, Cosby talked to political prisoners who had to ask permission for a sip of water or to go to the bathroom. Under strict supervision of South African authorities, they had to hide the fact they were teaching other prisoners to read. After listening to the stories, Cosby said he and his wife wanted to know if the prisoners sought revenge once they were free. "And the answer, ladies and gentlemen, was 'no, we didn't have time to worry about revenge because we had goals,'" he said. Cosby urged the graduating class to set their own goals. "You don't have time for revenge, and you don't have time for anger," he said. "The United States of America was not founded on giving a gift to every person, except one -- opportunity." Cosby told graduates that if they were born in America, they might not know the full meaning of the word, "as the immigrant who drives a cab or the immigrant who picks trash does." "But work your own opportunity," he concluded. University President Judith Rodin welcomed those in attendance and thanked the reunion classes of 1947 and 1972 for their generous contributions to the University. She added that the founders of the University would be astonished if they could see the class of 1997. "And I'm not referring to the nose rings or rollerblades," Rodin said. She commented on the vast knowledge the graduates have accumulated in courses ranging from cognitive neuroscience to American modernism, urging students to "remember your academic heritage?be proud of it." Rodin also conferred honorary degrees on eight recipients, including four Penn alumni. Classical archeologist Charles Williams II obtained a doctorate from the University in 1978 and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for opening up important new perspectives on the role of Corinth in the growth of Greek civilization through his archeological and scholarly work. Another Doctor of Humane Letters degree went to 1956 Nursing graduate Shirley Sears Chater for her efforts in higher education and public service. She has served as a nurse, President of Texas Woman's University and the Commissioner of Social Security. William Danforth received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his contributions to higher education. He began as a professor at Washington University in St. Louis and became chancellor of the school in record time, bringing the school to national preeminence. He also founded the The Danforth Foundation, which has supported initiatives to enrich and improve education for over 30 years. Another honorary Doctor of Laws degree went to French diplomat Simone Veil. A Holocaust survivor, Veil has served as French Minister of Health and Minister of State and became the first elected president of the European Parliament in 1979. An honorary Doctor of Laws degree also went to Richard Posner, a scholar of law and economics who is currently serving as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has written nine books, including Economic Analysis of Law, which helped expand the law-and-economics movement to all aspects of American legal education and law. Louis Sokoloff -- a 1946 graduate of the School of Medicine -- received an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Internationally revered for his work in cerebral medicine, Sokoloff has charted the chemical changes that provide the brain with energy and mapped their relation to cerebral functions in normal and pathological conditions. Another honorary Doctor of Science Degree went to Ahmed H. Zewail, who received a doctorate from the School of Arts and Sciences in 1974. A chemistry professor at the California Institute of Technology, Zewail is renowned for his path-breaking work in laser chemistry. And Gary Graffman was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Music. The piano prodigy entered The Curtis Institute of Music at age seven and began teaching at there in 1979. He become its director soon after and played an integral role in the Penn-Curtis Exchange. The ceremony concluded with the deans of the different schools presenting their graduates to Rodin, who officially confirmed their degrees.

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