Graduation Speech Archive
I have been collecting commencement addresses with inspirational quotes for the past twelve years now and when I talk about my passion for collecting graduation speeches people often ask me which one is my favorite. I tell them I have over 200 best speeches. It might sound hard to believe but truly, each and every one of these speeches has beautifully crafted words of advice and touching stories.
Commencement speeches have been known to be boring and I am the first one to agree, knowing all too well that to put together this collection I have read probably more than 1,000 platitudes peppered speeches. Luckily, you can skip the boring ones and instead use this collection and take the plunge: be inspired, come along for the ride, and bask in this timeless advice.
| Commencement Speaker | Year | Institution | ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAKOTO FUJIMURA Artist | 2011 | Belhaven University | |
| GARY MALKOWSKY Politician | 2011 | Gallaudet University | |
| CYNTHIA ENLOE Feminist | 2011 | Connecticut College | |
| AHMED ZEWAIL Nobel prize winner | 2011 | Caltech | |
| WHOOPI GOLDBERG Actress | 2011 | Savannah College of Art and Design | |
| KATI MARTON Human rights activist | 2011 | Central European University | |
| MICHELLE OBAMA First lady | 2011 | Spelman College | |
| EDWARD O. WILSON Biologist | 2011 | University of North Carolina | |
| ERIC GREITENS Politician | 2012 | Tufts University | |
| COLIN POWELL Diplomat | 2012 | Northeastern University | |
| SUTTON FOSTER Actress | 2012 | Ball State University | |
| WESLEY CHAN Filmaker | 2012 | University of California | |
| PETER DINKLAGE Actor | 2012 | Bennington College | |
| SAL KHAN Educator | 2012 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
| RONAN FARROW Human rights activits | 2012 | Dominican University of California | |
| NEIL HOWE Historian | 2012 | University of Mary Washington | |
| MARIA SHIVER Journalist | 2012 | USC Annenberg School | |
| MICHAEL BLOOMBERG Businessman | 2012 | University of North Carolina | |
| IRA GLASS Radio host | 2012 | Goucher College | |
| HANK AARON Baseball player | 2012 | Marquette University | |
| DAVID MCCULLOUGH JR Teacher | 2012 | Wellesley High School | |
| ANDY SANDBERG Actor | 2012 | Harvard University | |
| ANGELA DAVIS Feminist | 2012 | Pitzer College | |
| LEE CORSO Football analysi | 2012 | Florida State University | |
| LUIS B. SUSMAN Banker | 2012 | Connecticut College | |
| WYNTON MARSALIS Trumpeter | 2013 | University of Vermont | |
| STEPHEN KELLERT Professor | 2013 | University of Western Sydney | |
| GEORGE SAUNDERS Writer | 2013 | Syracuse University | |
| HOWARD GORDON TV writer and producer | 2013 | Connecticut College | |
| DALAI LAMA Spiritual leader | 2013 | Tulane University | |
| JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER Writer | 2013 | Middlebury College | |
| NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON Astrophysicist | 2013 | Commencement speech at Rice University | |
| JOHN F. KERRY Politician | 2014 | Yale University | |
| MICHELLE OBAMA First Lady | 2014 | Dillard University | |
| TONY BURCH Fashion designer | 2014 | Babson College | |
| SHERYL SANDBERG C.E.O. | 2014 | City Colleges of Chicago | |
| MINDY KALING Actress | 2014 | Harvard Law School | |
| MARY BARRA Businesswoman | 2014 | University of Michigan | |
| JANET NAPOLITANO Politician | 2014 | Northeastern University | |
| SUSAN SONTAG Writer | 1983 | Wellesley College | |
| JOSEPH BRODSKY Poet | 1988 | University of Michigan | |
| GLORIA STEINEM Journalist and Feminist | 1987 | Tufts University | |
| MEG GREENFIELD Writer and Pulitzer winner | 1987 | Williams College | |
| WOODY HAYES Football Coach | 1986 | Ohio State University | |
| MEREDITH MONK Musician | 1985 | Sarah Lawrence College | |
| EDWARD BROOKE Politician | 1969 | Wellesley College | |
| JEFFERSON SMITH Politician | 2012 | University of Oregon | |
| SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE Author and Physician | 2018 | Univ. of Southern California | 245 |
| ANDY ROONEY Television Writer | 1996 | Colgate University | 244 |
| JON B. FISHER Entrepreneur | 2018 | University of San Francisco | 243 |
| MINDY KALING Actress | 2018 | Darmouth | 242 |
| DAVID SEDARIS Author | 2018 | Oberlin College | 241 |
| ABBY WAMBACK Retired Soccer Player | 2018 | Barnard College | 240 |
| JESMYN WARD Novelist | 2018 | Tulane University | 239 |
| JAMES RYAN Dean Harvard School | 2016 | Harvard University | 237 |
| PICO IYER Journalist and Author | 2015 | Univ. Southern California | 236 |
| PATTI SMITH Singer Songwriter | 2010 | Pratt Institute | 235 |
| MIKE KRZYZEWSKI Men Basketball Coach | 2016 | Duke | 234 |
| JOHN MALKOVICH Actor | 2017 | SCAD | 233 |
| GARRY TRUDEAU Cartoonist | 2017 | Macaulay Honors College | 229 |
| MAZ JOBRANI Actor | 2017 | UC Berkeley | 228 |
| KUMAIL NANJIANI Actor | 2017 | Grinnell College | 227 |
| OCTAVIA SPENCER Actress | 2017 | Kent State University | 226 |
| SHERYL SANDBERG Facebook’s COO | 2017 | Virginia Tech | 225 |
| JOSE B. GONZALEZ Author | 2017 | Three Rivers College | 224 |
| HOWARD SCHULTZ Starbucks, Executive Chairman | 2017 | Arizona State University | 221 |
| COLSON WHITEHEAD Author | 2017 | Connecticut College | 220 |
| CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE Author | 2017 | Williams College | 219 |
| ANNA QUINDLEN Author | 2017 | Washington Univ. St. Louis | 218 |
| MARK ZUCKERBERG Facebook Founder | 2017 | Harvard University | 217 |
| WILL FERRELL Actor | 2017 | Univ. of Southern California | 216 |
| STEVEN LEVITAN TV Producer | 2017 | University of Wisconsin Madison | 215 |
| OPRAH WINFREY Media Personality | 2017 | Agnes Scott College | 214 |
| HELEN MIRREN Actress | 2017 | Tulane University | 213 |
| MARIA POPOVA Founder of Brainpickings.com | 2016 | Annenberg School of Communications | 212 |
| DONOVAN LIVINGSTON Student Speaker | 2016 | Harvard University | 211 |
| WILLIAM FOEGE Epidemiologist | 2016 | Emory University | 210 |
| RITA DOVE Poet | 2016 | University of Virginia | 209 |
| HANK AZARIA Actor | 2016 | Tufts University | 208 |
| ELIZABETH WARREN US Senator | 2016 | Suffolk University | 207 |
| JOHN GREEN Best-selling Author | 2016 | Kenyon College | 206 |
| KENNETH KOSIK Professor of Neuroscience, MD | 2016 | UC Santa Barbara | 205 |
| LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA Actor, Playwright, Composer | 2016 | U Penn | 204 |
| STEVEN SPIELBERG Oscar Winning Movie Director | 2016 | Harvard | 203 |
| SHERYL SANDBERG Businesswoman and Author | 2016 | UC Berkeley | 202 |
| RUSSELL WILSON NFL Football Quarterback Player | 2016 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 201 |
| LAWRENCE KASDAN Screenwriter | 1990 | University of Michigan | 200 |
| LEONARD NIMOI Actor | 2012 | Boston U. College of Fine Arts | 199 |
| ERIC CARLE Author and Illustrator | 2007 | Bates College | 197 |
| EUGENE MIRMAN Comedian | 2009 | Lexington High School | 196 |
| GLORIA STEINEM Activist and Author | 2015 | Bennington College | 195 |
| MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY Actor | 2015 | University of Houston | 194 |
| JON BON JOVI Singer-Songwriter | 2015 | Rutgers University | 193 |
| NATALIE PORTMAN Oscar-winning Actress | 2015 | Harvard University | 192 |
| PETER HOLLENS Singer-Songwriter | 2015 | University of Oregon | 191 |
| JACK BLACK Actor | 2015 | Montverde Academy Class | 190 |
| IAN BRENNAN Creator of Glee | 2015 | Loyola University Chicago | 189 |
| BROOKE SHIELDS Actress | 2015 | Fashion Institute of Technology | 188 |
| CODY KEENAN President Obama’s Speechwriter | 2015 | NYU�s Graduate School of Public Service | 187 |
| ROBERT DE NIRO Actor | 2015 | Tisch School or Arts | 186 |
| DAVID BROOKS Author | 2015 | Dartmouth College | 185 |
| CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE Author | 2015 | Wellesley College | 184 |
| NEIL DEGRASSE Astrophysicist | 2015 | UMass Amherst | 183 |
| STEPHEN COLBERT Comedian and Author | 2015 | Wake-Forest University | 182 |
| JIMMY BUFFETT Singer-Songwriter | 2015 | University of Miami | 181 |
| MARY KARR Poet and Author | 2015 | Syracuse University | 180 |
| RON SUSKIND Journalist and Author | 2015 | Lewis & Clark College | 179 |
| DENZEL WASHINGTON Actor | 2015 | Dillard University | 178 |
| ED HELMS Actor and Comedian | 2015 | University of Virginia | 177 |
| JASON KILAR Founding CEO of Hulu | 2015 | Univ. of North Carolina – Chapel Hill | 176 |
| DAVID CARR NYT Columnist and Author | 2014 | Univ. of California at Berkely School of Journalistm | 175 |
| EMIR KAMENICA Professor of Economics | 2014 | Shepherd University | 174 |
| VICTOR HWANG Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur | 2014 | Austin Community College | 173 |
| PAUL HAMER English Professor | 2007 | Park Tudor School | 172 |
| SARAH HEIDT Professor of English | 2010 | Kenyon College | 171 |
| GARRISON KEILLOR Author and Radio Personality | 170 | ||
| MAIRA KALMAN Artist and Illustrator | 2013 | Rhode Island School of Design | 169 |
| SHERYL SANDBERG Technology Executive, Author | 2014 | Harvard | 168 |
| JOYCE DIDONATO Mezzo-soprano | 2014 | Juilliard School | 167 |
| ALEXIS OHANIAN Reddit Co-founder | 2014 | Carthage College | 166 |
| MINDY KALING Comedian | 2014 | Harvard Law School Class Day | 165 |
| JAY LENO Comedian | 2014 | Emerson College | 164 |
| MARTIN SCORSESE Movie Director | 2014 | NYU Tisch School of Arts | 163 |
| TERRY GROSS Radio Personality | 2014 | Bryn Mawr College | 162 |
| ED HELMS Actor | 2014 | Cornell University | 161 |
| ALEX SMITH NFL Quarterback | 2014 | University of Utah | 160 |
| DIANA NYAD Long-Distance Swimmer | 2014 | Middlebury College | 159 |
| CHARLIE DAY Actor | 2014 | Merrimack College | 158 |
| DANIEL PINK Author | 2014 | Weinberg College | 157 |
| ZADIE SMITH Acclaimed Novelist | 2014 | New School University | 156 |
| BILL & MELINDA GATES Philanthropists | 2014 | Stanford University | 155 |
| ZOKETSU NORMAN FISCHER Zen Buddhist Priest and Poet | 2014 | Stanford University | 154 |
| JOHN LEGEND Singer-songwriter | 2014 | University of Pennsylvania | 153 |
| JENNIFER LEE “Frozen” Screenwriter and Director | 2014 | University of New Hampshire | 152 |
| MARY CARILLO Sportscaster and Former Professional Tennis Player | 2014 | Elon University | 151 |
| JIM CARREY Actor | 2014 | Maharishi University of Management | 150 |
| ADM. MCRAVEN Naval Admiral | 2014 | Univ. of Texas, Austin | 149 |
| SHONDA RHIMES TV Producer and Writer | 2014 | Dartmouth College | 148 |
| SANDRA BULLOCK Oscar Winning Actress | 2014 | Warren Easton Charter School | 147 |
| JON LOVETT Former Presidential Speechwriter | 2013 | Pitzer College | 146 |
| TRACY CHEVALIER Best-selling Historical Fiction Novelist | 2013 | Oberlin College | 145 |
| DREW HOUSTON CEO of Dropbox | 2013 | MIT | 144 |
| ABIGAIL WASHBURN Clawhammer Banjo Player and Singer | 2012 | Colorado College | 143 |
| GEORGE SAUNDERS Author of NYT Best Seller Book and Professor | 2013 | Syracuse University | 142 |
| WADE DAVIS Canadian Anthropologist and Ethnobotanist | 2013 | Colorado College | 141 |
| JIMMY IOVINE Music Producer | 2010 | University of Southern California | 140 |
| ARIANNA HUFFINGTON Author and Columnist | 2013 | Smith College | 139 |
| TIM MINCHIN Musician and Comedian | 2013 | University of Western Australia | 138 |
| JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER Award-Winning Novelist | 2013 | Middlebury College | 137 |
| SUSAN SONTAG Author, Professor, Filmmaker | 2003 | Vassar College | 136 |
| BILL COLLINS Poet | 2013 | Colorado College | 135 |
| LEWIS BLACK Comedian | 2013 | Thurgood Marshall College of UCSD | 134 |
| BEN BERNANKE Economist | 2011 | Princeton University | 133 |
| JAMES CARVILLE Political Commentator | 2013 | Hobart and William Smith Colleges | 132 |
| ED HELMS Actor and Comedian | 2013 | Knox College | 131 |
| ERIC IDLE Mounty Pyton Actor and Comedian | 2013 | Whitman College | 130 |
| WYNTON MARSALIS Jazz and Classical Musician | 2013 | University of Vermont | 129 |
| JOHN GREEN Author | 2013 | Butler University | 128 |
| DAVID BROOKS Author and Journalist | 2013 | Sewanee University of the South | 127 |
| JOSS WHEDON Screenwriter, Director, Producer | 2013 | Wesleyan University | 126 |
| SHARYN ALFONSI TV Correspondent | 2013 | Meek School of Journalism | 125 |
| RICHARD COSTOLO Twitter CEO | 2013 | University of Michigan | 124 |
| STEPHEN COLBERT Comedian, Author, TV host | 2013 | University of Virginia | 123 |
| BONO Rockstar | 2004 | University of Pennsylvania | 121 |
| ANDERSON COOPER Journalist and TV Anchor | 2010 | Tulane University | 120 |
| MIKE JUDGE Actor and Producer | 2009 | UCSD | 119 |
| ATUL GAWANDE Surgeon and Journalist | 2012 | Williams College | 118 |
| JANE LYNCH Actress | 2012 | Smith College | 117 |
| FRED ARMISEN Actor | 2011 | Oregon Episcopal High School | 116 |
| DAVID MCCULLOUGH JR. High School English Teacher | 2012 | Wellesley High School | 115 |
| MADELEINE ALBRIGHT Former US Secretary of State | 2007 | Wellesley College | 114 |
| MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY TV host and author | 2012 | Wellesley College | 113 |
| PETER DINKLAGE Actor | 2012 | Bennington College | 112 |
| RAY BRADBURY Author | 2000 | Caltech | 111 |
| WILLIAM CHIU Student | 2012 | Halsey Junior High School | 110 |
| MICHAEL LEWIS Non-fiction Author and Financial Journalist | 2012 | Princeton University Baccalaureate Remarks | 109 |
| SANJAY GUPTA Neurosurgeon and CNN corespondent | 2012 | University of Michigan | 108 |
| ADAM SAVAGE TV show Co-host of “Mythbusters” | 2012 | Sarah Lawrence College | 107 |
| IRA GLASS Radio Host of the Show “This American Life” | 2012 | Goucher College | 106 |
| AARON SORKIN Producer and Screenwriter | 2012 | Syracuse University | 104 |
| BENNO SCHMIDT Interim President of the Kauffman Foundation | 2012 | Henry W. Bloch School of Management University of Missouri | 103 |
| NEIL GAIMAN Author of Short Stories, Comic Books and Graphic Novels | 2012 | The University of the Arts in Philadelphia | 100 |
| JIM STEEN College Swim Coach | 2011 | Kenyon College | 99 |
| SHERYL SANDBERG Businesswoman, Chief Financial Officer, Facebook | 2011 | Barnard College | 98 |
| NORA EPHRON Author, Screenwriter and Movie Director | 1996 | Wellesley | 97 |
| STEPHEN COLBERT Writer, comedian and TV host | 2011 | Northwestern University | 96 |
| MARIAN FONTANTA Founder of the 9-11 Families Association | 2006 | Massachussets School of Law | 95 |
| DAVID COTE Businessman, President and CEO of Honeywell | 2011 | University of New Hampshire, | 94 |
| AMY POEHLER Actress | 2011 | Harvard College Class Day Address | 93 |
| SERGIO MARCHIONNE CEO of Chrysler Group | 2011 | University of Toledo | 92 |
| ARRIANNA HUFFINGTON Author and Syndicated Columnist | 2011 | Sarah Lawrence College | 91 |
| KIRK SCHNEIDER Phychologist | 2013 | San Francisco State University | 90 |
| DENZEL WASHINGTON Actor | 2011 | University of Pennsylvania | 89 |
| JOE PLUMERI CEO of the Willis Group | 2011 | William & Mary | 88 |
| STEVE BALLMER Microsoft CEO | 2011 | University of Southern California | 87 |
| DAVID BROOKS NYT columnist and author | 2011 | Rice University in Houston | 86 |
| MEHMET OZ Surgeon and TV Show Host | 2011 | West Chester University | 85 |
| CONAN O’BRIEN Comedian and TV Show Host | 2011 | Darmouth College | 84 |
| CHRIS WADDELL Most decorated male skier in Paralympic history | 2011 | Middlebury College | 83 |
| JULIA KELLER Pulitzer Prize winner author | 2010 | Dominican University | 82 |
| BIZ STONE Twitter Co-founder | 2011 | Babson College | 81 |
| STEVE BLANK Silicon Valley Entrepreneur | 2011 | Philadelphia University | 80 |
| TERRY TEACHOUT Author, drama and cultural critic | 2011 | Hamilton Holt School | 79 |
| CORY BOOKER Mayor of Newark, New Jersey | 2010 | Pitzer College | 78 |
| RICHARD RUSSO Author, Professor of English | 2004 | Colby College | 77 |
| TOM BRINCK User Experience Designer | 2011 | Art Institute of California | 76 |
| OMID KORDESTANI Senior Advisor, Office of the CEO and Founders of Google | 2007 | San Jose State University | 75 |
| ANTHONY CORVINO Undergraduate Student | 2009 | Binghamton University | 74 |
| LISA KUDROW Actress | 2010 | Vassar College, | 73 |
| BOBBY KNIGHT College Basketball Coach, | 2010 | Trine University | 72 |
| ROBERT RODRIGUEZ Screenwriter | 2009 | The University of Texas at Austin | 71 |
| ROGER GOODELL NFL Commissioner | 2010 | UMass-Lowell | 70 |
| JAMIE HYNEMAN Co-host of the Discovery Channel’s series MythBusters | 2010 | Villanova University | 69 |
| JULIANNA MARGULIES Actress | 2010 | Sarah Lawrence College | 68 |
| MERYL STREEP Oscar-Winning Actress | 2010 | Barnard College | 67 |
| RACHEL MADDOW Political Commentator | 2010 | Smith College | 66 |
| ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Actor and politician (the 38th Governor of California) | 2009 | University of Southern California | 65 |
| SUMNER REDSTONE Chairman of Viacom | 2002 | Kellogg Business School | 64 |
| GABRIELLE GIFFORD U.S. Congresswoman (D-AZ) | 2013 | Scripps College | 63 |
| TIM COOK Businessman | 2010 | Auburn University | 62 |
| W. DOUGLAS SMITH Environmental diplomat for the U.N. | 2010 | DeVry University, | 61 |
| RAHM EMANUEL Former White House Chief of Staff | 2009 | George Washington University | 60 |
| ANGELA AHRENDTS CEO of Burberry | 2010 | May 8th, 2010 | 59 |
| CHRIS GARDNER Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker | 2009 | UC Berkley | 58 |
| POROCHISTA KHAKPOUR Professor and Author | 2010 | Desert Academy | 57 |
| ZUBIN DAMANIA Medical Doctor | 1999 | UCSF | 56 |
| CARLY FIORINA Businesswoman, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard | 2000 | MIT | 55 |
| MIKE TOMLIN Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach | 2008 | Saint Vincent College | 54 |
| BRIAN J. DYSON Businessman, Former CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises | 1996 | Georgia Tech | 53 |
| ELIAS A. ZERHOUNI Director of NIH | 2004 | Massachusettes Institute of Technology | 52 |
| JOHN JACOB SCHERER Author/Entrepreneur | 2013 | Wesleyan | 51 |
| SUE MONK KIDD Author | 2013 | Scripps College in Claremont | 50 |
| TONY SNOW Former White House Press Secretary | 2007 | The Catholic University of America | 49 |
| JEFF BEZOS Businessman, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com | 2010 | Princeton University | 48 |
| FAREED ZAKARIA Journalist and Author | 2009 | Bates College | 47 |
| MICHAEL DELL Chairman and CEO of Dell Computer | 2003 | The University of Texas at Austin | 46 |
| DAVID BROOKS Journalist | 2007 | Wake Forest University | 45 |
| MEREDITH VIEIRA Journalist and TV host | 2008 | Tufts University | 44 |
| JONATHAN YOUSHAEI High School Graduate Speaker | 2004 | Deerfield High School | 43 |
| MERYL STREEP Actress | 1983 | Vassar College | 42 |
| ANNE LAMOTT Writer | 2003 | University of California at Berkeley | 41 |
| JON STEWART Comedian | 2004 | The College of William & Marry | 40 |
| ELLEN DEGENERES Actress | 2009 | Tulane University | 39 |
| CARL SAGAN Astronomer | 1996 | NA | 38 |
| RANDY PAUSCH Computer Science Professor | 2008 | Carnegie Mellon | 37 |
| MARISSA MAYER VP at Google Inc. | 2009 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 36 |
| JOE PATERNO Football Coach | 1973 | Penn State | 35 |
| PAUL HAWKEN Environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist | 2009 | University of Portland | 34 |
| LARRY BOCK Businessman | 2007 | U. of California, Berkeley College of Chemistry | 33 |
| JESSICA LANGE Actress, two times Academy Award winner | 2008 | Sarah Lawrence College | 32 |
| LARRY LUCCHINO Businessman, Boston Red Sox President | 2008 | Boston University | 31 |
| J.K. ROWLING Author of the Harry Potter fantasy series | 2008 | Harvard University | 30 |
| JOHN MACKEY Actress | 2009 | Tulan | 29 |
| KATIE COURIC Journalist, anchor and editor of the CBS Evening News | 2007 | Williams College | 28 |
| BRADLEY WHITFORD Film and Television Actor | 2004 | University of Wisconsin | 27 |
| BRIAN KENNY Sportscaster for ESPN | 2007 | Ohio Northern University | 26 |
| RAY SIDNEY Businessman | 2007 | Edwin O. Smith High School | 25 |
| BILL WATTERSON Cartoonist, author of the popular comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” | 1990 | Kenyon College | 24 |
| OPRAH WINFREY Multi-award winning talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist | 2007 | Howard University | 23 |
| PAUL GLASER Actor and Director | 2004 | Stanford School of Medicine | 22 |
| WOODY HAYES Ohio State football coach from 1957 to 1978 | 1996 | Ohio State University | 21 |
| GUY KAWASAKI Entrepreneur, author, and columnist | 2000 | Babson College | 20 |
| ALAN ALDA Actor, director, and screenwriter | 1980 | Connecticut College | 19 |
| CHRIS MATTHEW American news anchor and political commentator | 2006 | Fordham University | 18 |
| MICHAEL USLAN Movie producer, originator of the Batman movies | 2006 | Indiana University | 17 |
| RUTH WESTHEIMERS Professor, media psychologist | 2004 | Trinity College University | 16 |
| MARGARET SPELLINGS Former U.S. Secretary of Education (2005-09) | 2006 | Montgomery College | 15 |
| DAVID FOSTER WALLACE Influential author, Professor at Pomona College, CA | 2005 | Kenyon College | 14 |
| STEVE JOBS Former CEO of Apple Computers | 2005 | Stanford University | 13 |
| MARK S. LEWIS Professor, clinical psychology | 2000 | University of Texas | 12 |
| DAVID L. CALHOUN Businessman | 2005 | Virginia Tech | 11 |
| BILLIE JEAN KING Professional tennis player, winner of 12 Grand Slam singles titles | 2000 | University of Massachusetts | 10 |
| JEAN ANDREWS Marine scientist and artist | 2003 | The University of Texas at Austin | 09 |
| JOHN WALSH Author and art historian | 2000 | Wheaton College | 08 |
| ANNA QUINDLEN Pulitzer Prize winning author | 2000 | Villanova University | 07 |
| DOUG MARLETTE Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist | 2005 | Durham Academy | 06 |
| SUZAN-LORI PARKS Pullitzer Prize winner playwright and screenwriter | 2001 | Mount Holyoke | 05 |
| EARL BAKKEN Businessman | 2004 | University of Hawaii | 04 |
| DAVID WOODLE Businessman | 2001 | Penn State University | 03 |
| JERRY ZUCKER Director, movie producer | 2003 | University of Wisconsin | 02 |
| YVONNE THORTON Physician and Pulitzer prize nominated author | 2003 | Tuskegee University | 01 |