Amina J. Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, delivered the commencement address to the Tufts University Class of 2023 and their guests on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus on May 21th. The university conferred 3,730 degrees.
In her speech, Mohammed acknowledged the challenges faced by the current generation, but expressed hope for the future and encouraged the graduates to “step up and speak up – loudly.” Mohammed continued: “Question stereotypes. Don’t just blindly accept the received narratives. My entire career, indeed, my whole life has been about transcending differences and defying the stereotypes…We should recognize that yes, our world is going through a tough time right now, but the progress made in the last 75 years is enormous. And our potential as one global family to turn this turmoil into opportunity is huge.” Mary Chin, CEO of AACA/ SAMPAN, received an Honorary Doctorate. Other honorary degree recipients included: Louis Fiore, D62, who served on the board of Advisors at the School of Dental Medicine and endowed a scholarship at the school together with his wife; Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to serve as Librarian of Congress; James McGovern, representative of the Second District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997; Alan Solomont, A70, A80P, who served as Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life from 2014 to 2021; and Kehinde Wiley, the first African American artist to paint an official U.S. presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
