David Boies, renowned attorney associated with the Proposition 8 case, has been confirmed as 2013 commencement speaker, according to a press release from the university.
Boies will also receive a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, at the commencement ceremony. He will be one of four recipients of honorary degrees.
Boies, who graduated from NYU’s School of Law in 1967, led counsel in Perry v. Brown, the historic same-sex marriage civil rights case currently before the Supreme Court. The case contests proposition 8, a proposition that currently bans same-sex marriage in California.
NYU alumna Edith Windsor, a central figure in the case against the federal Defense of Marriage Act, will also be honored with the NYU Presidential Service Award. DOMA prevents legalization of same-sex marriage on a national level, and the case challenging it is also currently before the Supreme Court.
“I think it is particularly noteworthy that our Commencement stage will have major actors from both of the same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court,” said President Sexton.
Boies follows other major political figures who have spoken at previous commencement ceremonies, including Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor in 2012.
Steinhardt senior Chelsea Garbell has also been selected as the student commencement speaker.
“I’m so thrilled to have been selected as the student speaker,” Garbell said. “It’s a tremendous honor to represent the class of 2013, and the reactions from my friends and family have had me smiling all day long. I’m really looking forward to graduation day and whatever life holds in store for all of us.”
Other honorees include: Claire Marie Fraser, professor of medicine and director of the University of Maryland’s Institute for Genome Sciences, who will receive a Doctor of Science degree, honoris causa, Khan Masoudi, Director General, National Museum of Afghanistan, who will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa, and Oliver Stone, Oscar-winning filmmaker and alumnus of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, who will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts degree, honoris causa.
“Each year, our honorees are selected not only for their own achievements, but for the example they set for our graduates as they leave our University and go forth to have an impact on the world,” said NYU President John Sexton. “NYU is proud to honor this group of accomplished men and women — who have had so many successes in so many arenas — at our All-University Commencement, which is just a month away. We are especially proud to honor David Boies, an alumnus and renowned litigator, who will address our graduates on behalf of all the honorees.”
NYU College of Nursing alumna Kimberly Glassman will also receive the “Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City.”
“I also want to take special note of this year’s Rudin Award winner – Kimberly Glassman, a nursing alum who will receive the Rudin Award on behalf of all the brave, heroic NYU nurses who did so much to safeguard patients’ lives during the evacuation of the NYU Langone Medical Center during Hurricane Sandy,” said President Sexton.
2013 Commencement Speaker announcement
A version of this blog post appeared in the Wednesday, April 24 print edition. Additional reporting by Jonathon Dornbush. Hanqing Chen is web managing editor. Email her at [email protected].