Harvard To Give 6,777 Degrees

University President Drew G. Faust will confer 6,777 degrees to the Class of 2009 and students of all of Harvard’s graduate schools in today’s 358th Commencement exercises.

U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu will deliver the keynote address. University officials announced in April that Chu would be speaker, highlighting his commitment to pursuing alternative energy and reducing carbon emissions, both as Energy Secretary and in his career as an academic.

Chu received a Nobel Prize in 1997 for his work cooling atoms using laser lights. The U.S. Senate confirmed him for his cabinet post in January. He has served as head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and as a professor at Stanford and Berkeley.

Harvard College will award 1,562 degrees today: 1,549 Bachelor of Arts degrees and 13 Bachelor of Science degrees. 794 men and 768 women make up the graduating class.

Seventy undergraduates, representing about 4 percent of the class, earned summa cum laude degrees—the highest degree awarded by the College—in their fields of concentration. 85 graduates will receive magna cum laude degrees with highest honors, based upon their entire coursework and overall grade point average.

One hundred fifty eight undergraduates will receive magna cum laude degrees in their fields of concentration. 470 will receive cum laude degrees in their fields of concentration, while 41 will receive cum laude degrees in general studies.

Eight hundred ninety six Business School graduates will receive degrees. Of these, 886 will be awarded master of business association degrees and 10 will receive doctor of business association degrees.

Seven hundred thirty one graduates will receive degrees from the Law School—567 doctor of law degrees, 13 doctor of juridical science degrees, and 151 master of laws degrees.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will award 922 degrees, including 519 doctor of philosophy degrees, 336 master of arts degrees, and 67 master of sciences degrees.

The Medical School will confer 201 degrees—26 masters of medical science degrees and 175 doctor of medicine degrees.

The Harvard Kennedy School will award degrees to 537 graduates. Of these, 197 will receive master of public administration (mid-career) degrees. One hundred ninety five will receive master of public policy degrees.

The School of Public Health will award 345 degrees in total. The Graduate School of Education will confer 597 degrees.

The School of Dental Medicine will confer 65 degrees in total. The Divinity School will award 188 degrees.

The School of Design will award 209 degrees. The Extension School will confer a total of 605 degrees.

The National Weather Service predicts mostly cloudy skies with a high of 68 for this morning’s ceremonies.

—Staff writer Cara K. Fahey can be reached at cfahey@fas.harvard.edu.