George W. Bush Announced as Most Influential Commencement Speaker of 2015
George W. Bush is SMU’s Centennial Commencement Speaker. Former president George W. Bush will be speaking at SMU’s May graduation and students could not be more excited. “It’s really cool; I cant wait to see what he has to say,” expressed senior theatre major Mitchell Presas. The announcement occurred on March 3rd by the SMU newspaper, The Daily Campus. Within minutes, the link to the article was posted all over graduating seniors’ facebook walls.
“This Commencement is especially noteworthy because 2015 is the 100-year anniversary of SMU’s opening. So it is fitting that we should hear from a president who led our nation and the world during historic times and is a valued member of the campus community,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner
Being that SMU has a unique relationship with the Bush family, many students aren’t surprised. With Laura Bush being an alumna and the Bush Library being located on SMU campus the decision to host George W. Bush as the 2015 Commencement speaker seems natural. This will be the second time Bush addresses SMU; He delivered his first Commencement speech at SMU in 1999 when he was the governor of Texas.
According to Business Insider, the announcement is noteworthy, as SMU will be hosting one of the most notable Commencement speakers of the year. Other notable commencement speakers announced this year include former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick at Harvard University and UN Ambassador Samantha Power at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Three Years at SMU: What’s Next? Who Knows? - May 6, 2015
- Fiesta in San Antonio - April 24, 2015
- Lilly Pulitzer for Target - April 17, 2015