A Commencement Message from President Tessier-Lavigne

APRIL 2023

To the Graduates of the Class of 2023, their parents, families and friends:

Congratulations! I am pleased to invite you to Stanford University’s 132nd Commencement Weekend in June. We look forward to the opportunity to honor and celebrate our graduates and to thank all of you — parents, family members and friends — for your support.

The Commencement ceremony will be held on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in Stanford Stadium. This year’s Commencement speaker will be tennis legend John McEnroe, who led Stanford to the NCAA national tennis championship in 1978 and went on to become a professional athlete, broadcaster, voice actor, art collector, and philanthropist.

Commencement events are planned throughout the weekend, beginning with Baccalaureate. Held in Frost Amphitheater on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m., this multi-faith celebration is a time of thanksgiving and reflection for students and their families. Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York City and the first Asian American to be ordained as a cantor or rabbi in North America, will give this year’s Baccalaureate address.

School and department celebrations will be held in a variety of locations across campus, with professional school celebrations taking place on Saturday and all other school and department celebrations held on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., I also invite you to join my wife, Mary, and me at a reception for graduating students and their families at the Lou Henry Hoover House.

Logistical details and additional information about the entire weekend can be found online at commencement.stanford.edu.

Commencement marks both a completion and a beginning. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you.

Sincerely,

Marc Tessier-Lavigne