Each year, Virginia Tech holds commencement ceremonies at the end of the academic year in May, as well as at the end of the Fall semester in December. Since 1990, a separate Graduate School Commencement Ceremony has been held to confer degrees to master's and doctoral students. Fall commencement is held in Cassell Coliseum, and Spring Commencement is held in Lane Stadium.
University Commencement Speakers Academic YearSemesterSpeaker(s)Degrees Conferred1958 - 59SpringJohn N. Thomas, professor of systematic theology, Union Theological SeminaryAll1959 - 60SpringAlbertis Harrison, 28th Attorney General of VirginiaAll1960 - 61SpringJohn M. Devine, commandant of cadets, Virginia TechAll1961 - 62SpringColgate W. Darden, former governor, Commonwealth of VirginiaAll1962 - 63SpringMills Godwin, 28th Lieutenant Governor of VirginiaAll1963 - 64SpringJ. G. Farrar, president, Rockefeller FoundationAll1964 - 65SpringAlbertis Harrison, 59th Governor of VirginiaAll1965 - 66SpringDr. T. Marshall Hahn, president, Virginia TechAll1966 - 67SpringMills Godwin, 60th Governor of VirginiaAll1967 - 68SpringDr. T. Marshall Hahn, president, Virginia TechAll1968 - 69SpringWarren W. Brandt, president of Virginia Commonwealth University and former executive vice president, Virginia TechAll1969 - 70SpringDr. T. Marshall Hahn, president, Virginia TechAll1970 - 71SpringLinwood Holton, 61st Governor of VirginiaAll1971 - 72SpringDavid Brinkley, NBC News correspondentAll1972 - 73SpringBill Moyers, former White House Press Secretary to President Lyndon B. JohnsonAll1973 - 74SpringG. Burke Johnston, C. P. Miles Professor of English, Virginia TechAll1974 - 75SpringSam J. Ervin, former U.S. Senator from North CarolinaAll1975 - 76SpringE. F. Shannon, former president, University of VirginiaAll1976 - 77SpringMilton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic SciencesAll1977 - 78SpringJohn N. Dalton, 63rd Governor of VirginiaAll1978 - 79SpringEric Sevareid, correspondent, CBS NewsAll1979 - 80SpringDr. Jean L. Harris, 2nd Virginia Secretary of Human ResourcesAll1980 - 81SpringDr. William Edward Lavery, president, Virginia TechAll1981 - 82SpringChristopher C. Kraft Jr. '44, director, NASA Johnson Space CenterAll1982 - 83SpringClifton C. Garvin Jr. '43, chairman of the board, ExxonAll1983 - 84SpringChuck Robb, 64th Governor of VirginiaAll1984 - 85SpringAlexander F. Giacco, rector, Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and chairman of the board, Hercules Inc.All1985 - 86SpringNeil Armstrong, astronaut, first person to step on the MoonAll1986 - 87SpringGerald Baliles, 65th Governor of VirginiaAll1987 - 88SpringDavid Roselle, president, University of KentuckyAll1988 - 89SpringMary Sue Terry, 38th Attorney General of VirginiaAll1989 - 90SpringDouglas Wilder, 66th Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 1990 - 91FallMark O. Hatfield, U.S. Senator from OregonUndergraduateSpringSheikh Saud Nasir Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ambassador to the USUndergraduate 1991 - 92FallW. Ann Reynolds, chancellor, City University of New YorkUndergraduateSpringJack Nelson, Washington Bureau chief, Los Angeles TimesUndergraduate 1992 - 93FallSamuel D. Proctor, professor emeritus, Rutgers University and pastor emeritus, Abyssinian Baptist Church of New YorkUndergraduateSpringDr. John Ashworth, director, London School of Economics and Political ScienceUndergraduate 1993 - 94FallJohn Kelly, registrar (provost), University College Dublin (Ireland)UndergraduateSpringGeorge Allen, 67th Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 1994 - 95FallPaul Antonie "Tony" Distler, Alumni Distinguished Professor and director of the Division of Performing Arts, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringBeverly H. Sgro, 8th Virginia Secretary of Education and former dean of students, Virginia TechUndergraduate 1995 - 96FallDr. James I. Robertson Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor of history, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringJohn Wilson, retired president, Washington and Lee UniversityUndergraduate 1996 - 97FallLucinda Roy, Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringRaymond J. Lane, president and chief operating officer, Oracle CorporationUndergraduate 1997 - 98FallCharles "Jack" Dudley, director, University Honors Program, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringJim Gilmore, 68th Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 1998 - 99FallJames R. Craig, professor of geological sciences, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringDr. Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive officer, Novell Inc.Undergraduate 1999 - 2000FallDr. Paul Torgersen, president and John W. Hancock Jr. Chair of Engineering, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringJohn Warner, U.S. Senator from VirginiaUndergraduate 2000 - 01FallArthur L. Buikema Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor, Department of Biology, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringRick Boucher, U.S. Representative, Virginia's 9th congressional districtUndergraduate 2001 - 02FallDr. Charles J. Dudley, professor of sociology and director of the University Honors Program, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringMark Warner, 69th Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 2002 - 03FallDr. L.A. "Andy" Swiger, dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringLeroy R. Hassell Sr., chief justice, Supreme Court of VirginiaUndergraduate 2003 - 04FallDr. Ezra A. "Bud" Brown, professor of mathematics, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringPierre Thomas '84, justice correspondent, ABC NewsUndergraduate 2004 - 05FallDr. Diane Zahm, associate professor of urban affairs and planning in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringDave Calhoun '79, president and chief executive officer, GE TransportationUndergraduate 2005 - 06FallMinnis E. Ridenour, former executive vice president and chief operating officer at Virginia Tech and Senior Fellow and director of the Office of Government and Non-Profit Organization Management, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringTim Kaine, 70th Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 2006 - 07FallHenry J. Dekker '47, former president of North American operations, Louis Féraud, past member of the Virginia Tech Board of VisitorsUndergraduateSpringGen. John Abizaid, U.S. Army (ret.), former Commander of the United States Central CommandUndergraduate 2007 - 08FallE. Scott Geller, Alumni Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems in the Department of Psychology in the College of ScienceUndergraduateSpringHoda Kotb '86, Dateline NBC correspondent, co-anchor of NBC's Today show 2008 - 09FallDr. Gary Downey, Alumni Distinguished Professor of science and technology studiesUndergraduateSpringGen. Lance L. Smith '69, U.S. Air Force (ret.), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for TransformationUndergraduate 2009 - 10FallDr. Rosemary Blieszner, Alumni Distinguished Professor of human development/associate dean, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringBob McDonnell, 71st Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 2010 - 11FallDr. Jacqueline Bixler, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Spanish, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringKenneth Feinberg, administrator of the 9/11 Victims FundUndergraduate 2011 - 12FallDr. Edward F. D. Spencer, former vice president for student affairs, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringMichelle Obama, First Lady of the United States, and Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from VirginiaUndergraduate 2012 - 13FallDr. Annie Hesp, professor of Spanish, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringDr. Charles Steger '69, president, Virginia TechUndergraduate 2013 - 14FallDr. Gerhardt Schurig, professor of biomedical sciences/dean, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary MedicineUndergraduateSpringTerry McAuliffe, 72nd Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 2014 - 15FallDr. Thomas M. Gardner, Alumni Distinguished Professor of English, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringDr. Eric Schmidt, executive chairman, GoogleUndergraduate 2015 - 16FallTom Tillar '69, vice president for alumni relations, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringDr. Marc Edwards and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, lead researchers in the Flint, Michigan water crisisUndergraduate 2016 - 17FallBen Davenport Jr. '64, chairman of Davenport Energy, former member/rector of the Virginia Tech Board of VisitorsUndergraduateSpringSheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer, FacebookUndergraduate 2017 - 18FallDr. Art Keown, Alumni Distinguished Professor and the R. B. Pamplin Professor of Finance, Virginia TechUndergraduateSpringRalph Northam, 73rd Governor of VirginiaUndergraduate 2018 - 19FallJosiah Showalter Jr. '84, chief judge, Virginia's 27th judicial circuitUndergraduateFallDr. William Hopkins, professor of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia TechGraduateSpringFrank Beamer '69, former head coach, Virginia Tech Hokies footballUndergraduateSpringMelody Barnes, co-director, U.Va. Democracy Initiative and former director, U.S. Domestic Policy CouncilGraduate 2019 - 20FallDr. John Seiler '84, the Hon. and Mrs. Shelton H. Short Jr. Professor of Forestry, Virginia TechUndergraduateFallPatricia Raun, director of the Center for Communicating Science and professor of Theatre Arts, Virginia TechGraduateSpringCamille Schrier '18, Miss America 2020, Bud Foster, former defensive coordinator, Virginia Tech Hokies football, and Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor of English, Virginia TechAll 2020 - 21FallDr. Linsey Marr, Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia TechAllSpringDr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of HealthAll 2021 - 22FallDan Maguire '94, entrepreneurUndergraduateSpringGlenn Youngkin, 74th Governor of VirginiaAll2023-2024FallSpringMehul Sanghani, chief executive officer of Octo ConsultingAll2024-2025FallSpringRegina E. Dugan, American Businesswoman, Technology Developer and Government OfficialAll
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