For another 2,000-plus Penn students, undergraduate life will end this weekend and the Class of 2002 will face the proverbial "real world."
But this year's graduating seniors are entering a different world from last year's -- and Penn's 246th Commencement ceremony will likely address that change.
"We've all been affected by the events and aftermath of September 11," University Secretary Leslie Kruhly said. "That's why we wanted a public affairs figure to speak, and it's why we chose Jim Lehrer."
The famed journalist and host of PBS show The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer will speak to the crowd of 25,000 attendees at the Franklin Field event, which will officially begin at 10:15 a.m. on Monday.
"He'll be able to make meaningful commentary on our changing world," Kruhly added.
The gates of Franklin Field will open at 8:30 a.m., and students will start filing in at 9 a.m.
The design of Commencement will be virtually the same as last year, when the ceremony underwent $200,000 worth of revamping to improve its sound, lighting and efficiency.
But there's a new addition to this year's set-up -- a huge screen provided by student-developed software program MarchingOrder will display personal messages from more than 2,000 of the 6,000 graduating students as they cross the stage.
In honor of their commencement, the senior class has raised nearly $40,000 to create the Class of 2002 Gateway at Woodland Walk. The beautification project will be located at 33rd and Chestnut streets, and a plaque will appear on one of the brick walls with the names of every student who donated $100 or more to the project.
According to Penn Fund Assistant Director Elise Betz, the class has already shattered the existing record for participation, with more than 900 gifts already received. The previous record, held by the Class of 2000, was just over 600 gifts.
This year's senior class has raised 34 percent of the money needed to fund the project, well ahead of previous years.
"Participation was our focus this year," Betz said. "We're far lower than all of our peers" in donations.
This year's Commencement ceremony is a week earlier than usual. The University decided to push the ceremony up one week to allow the American Psychiatric Association to hold its national conference here next weekend and have full access to Philadelphia's limited hotel space.
And after giving his speech at the ceremony, Lehrer will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Penn.
Also receiving a Doctor of Laws degree during Monday's ceremony will be Joan Ganz Cooney, co-founder and chairwoman of the Sesame Workshop.
Eric Hobsbawm, professor emeritus of Economic and Social History at Birkbeck College, University of London, will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
And Qualcomm chairman, CEO and co-founder Irwin Jacobs will receive a Doctor of Science degree, as will Rice University Professor and 1996 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Richard Smalley.
In addition to Monday morning's main event, this weekend will also include ceremonies and speakers for all of Penn's individual schools.
On Sunday at 7 p.m. on Franklin Field, the College of Arts and Sciences will feature Deputy United States Trade Representative and Penn alumnus Jon Huntsman Jr., who also served as a U.S. ambassador from 1992 to 1994, making him the youngest U.S. ambassador in the last century.
Jacobs will speak at the School of Engineering and Applied Science's ceremony on Monday at 3 p.m. on Franklin Field.
The ceremony for the School of Nursing, featuring College of New Jersey School of Nursing Dean and Penn alumna Susan Bakewell-Sachs, will take place Monday at 7 p.m. in the First District Plaza, located at 38th and Market streets.
The Wharton Undergraduate and Evening divisions will hold their ceremony on Sunday at 9 a.m. on Franklin Field and will feature student speaker Maria A. Miller, Wharton class of 2002.
Other notable names dot this weekend's packed schedule as well.
Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) will speak at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the ceremony for the Fels Center of Government, and the Annenberg School for Communication will feature PBS President and CEO Pat Mitchell at its ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
