Yale Commencement 2013 Yale University

Yale University celebrates the 312th Commencement ceremonies on Monday, May 20th, 2013. Yale President Richard C. Levin will confer degrees for Yale University graduates.

Vinton Cerf

Vice president and "chief Internet evangelist," Google Inc.

Doctor of Engineering and Technology

You are hailed as one of the “fathers of the Internet,” which has transformed how we work, communicate, find information, pursue research, and shop. Along with your lifetime collaborator, Robert Kahn, you created the protocols that allow information to flow through a global network of computers. Ever the visionary, as the Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, you continue to imagine the impact of technology on our society, through applications focused on artificial intelligence, communication, the environment, and, lately, interplanetary travel. We are pleased that as a native of New Haven, you have returned to your childhood home to receive the degree of Doctor of Engineering and Technology.

Esther Duflo

Founder and director, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab;
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Doctor of Social Sciences

You magnify the good we can do in the world by showing us which actions are most effective in alleviating poverty and its attendant suffering. As an economist, you have harnessed the power of research, using rigorous randomized trials to analyze the effects of social policy. Studying household behavior, education, access to healthcare, and micro-lending, you shed light on some of the most pressing problems facing the poor. For transforming the field of development economics and enhancing its capacity to serve human needs, we are honored to name you Doctor of Social Science.

Edwidge Danticat

Author and activist for social justice in Haiti

Doctor of Letters

Your writing bears witness to your beloved Haiti. You produce truth-telling narratives that create awareness of broken society and offer hope for healing. You are a writer with an abundance of gifts, and you share those gifts through an abundance of genres: novel, short story, memoir, young adult literature. As an immigrant yourself, you are a forceful campaigner for immigration reform and an advocate for issues that affect your Haitian homeland. For your elegant prose with its powerful simplicity, and for the inspiration of your strong sense of social responsibility, we name you Doctor of Letters.

Yale President, Richard Levin, and Yale College Dean, Mary Miller, address the graduating seniors at the Yale College Class of 2013 Baccalaureate Ceremony on May 19th, 2013.