Class Day
Class Day is like graduation, but not really (University Commencement, at which students are formally conferred their degrees, is held on a separate day). These celebrations, held for each of Columbia's schools, feature student speakers (usually class presidents and valedictorians or salutatorians, depending on the school) and keynote speakers (usually alumni), and an occasion for students to have their names called out, walk across the stage, and shake hands with the Dean and the president. Their existence forces students' parents to spend an extra day or two dealing with their children's commencement. The upshot is that the ceremonies are more intimate and personal. Both the Columbia College and SEAS ceremony includes a Parade of Classes.
Instead getting a diploma, undergraduate students receive a Class Pin from members of the 50th reunion class of that year.
Speaker Complaints
Speakers at recent Columbia College class days have stirred howls of complaint. In 2006, Senator John McCain (whose daughter is CC '07) spoke, and some students expressed disapproval arguing that he did not represent the political beliefs of most CC students. Matthew Fox, a star of TV's Lost, was the speaker for 2007, and was seen as an underwhelming or inappropriate choice for such a serious occasion, although his speech turned out well-received. These controversies generally involve petulant members of the senior class, who desire a meaningful close to their four year stint at the university, i.e. a charismatic intellectual celebrity.
Class Day speakers
Undergraduate School Speakers
| Year | Columbia College | SEAS | General Studies | Barnard College |
| 2012 | John MacArthur '78CC | Ursula Burns '82SEAS | TBA | TBA |
| 2011 | Alexandra Wallace Creed '88CC | Ralph Izzo '79SEAS | Roger Leeds '66GS | Sheryl Sandberg |
| 2010 | Benjamin Jealous '94CC | Paul Brandt-Rauf '70, '74SEAS; '79P&S; '87PH | Jacques Pepin '70GS | Meryl Streep |
| 2009 | Eric Holder '73CC | James Albaugh '74SEAS M.S. | Philippe Reines '00GS | Hillary Clinton |
| 2008 | Joel Klein '67CC | Armen A. Avanessians '83SEAS M.S. | Alicia Graf '03GS | Michael Bloomberg |
| 2007 | Matthew C. Fox '89CC | Santiago Calatrava Parent '06, '07, '08, '09SEAS | Deborah Marshall, '79GS | Anna Deavere Smith |
| 2006 | John McCain Parent '07CC | Raymond P. Daddazio '75, '76, '82SEAS | Antonio Luis Freitas '97GS | Francine du Plessix Gray '52BC |
| 2005 | Robert Kraft '63CC | Mynoon Doro '73SEAS | Michael Margitich, '99GS | |
| 2004 | Tony Kushner '78CC [1] | Savio Tung '73SEAS; Parent '01SEAS, '11B | ||
| 2003 | George Stephanopoulos '82CC [2] | Michael Massimino '84SEAS [3] | ||
| 2002 | David J. Stern '66L [4] | Jeffrey Bleustein [5] | ||
| 2001 | David Boies | Russell Bassette | R. W. Apple, Jr '61GS | |
| 2000 | Brian Dennehy '60CC | Peter Slosberg '72SEAS; '74B; Parent '04SEAS | ||
| 1999 | Claire Shipman '86CC | David E. Shaw | ||
| 1998 | Judge Joseph A. Greenaway '78CC | Norman R. Augustine | Joyce Purnick '67BC | |
| 1997 | Jonathan Kozol | David Marks | Anna Quindlen '74BC | |
| 1996 | Robert Rubin | Y.D. Kim | Joseph Califano | |
| 1995 | Tom Brokaw | Samuel L. Higginbottom '43CC, '43SEAS | Madeleine Albright '68GSAS, '76SIPA | |
| 1994 | Fritz Stern '46CC | Eleanor Baum | Sheila E. Widnall | |
| 1993 | Anna K. Longobardo '49, '52SEAS | |||
| 1992 | Lee-Un Chung | |||
| 1987 | Charles S. Robb |
Trivia
- In 1961, when Harvard switched its diplomas from Latin to English, the valedictorian, a Classics major, delivered his address in Latin. He began "O miseros Harvardianos..."
- Part of James Russell's valedictory speech was delivered in ancient Armenian
- In 2010, the General Studies valedictorian, Brian Corman, plagiarized part of his speech from comedian Patton Oswalt
