Commencement 2012: More Of The Coolest Names Giving Speeches This Year

We gave you round one, now here's round two of some of the 2012 commencement speakers we're excited about.

Being journalists and admitted nerds, HuffPost College cannot wait to hear what Ira Glass has to say in his speech to Goucher College graduates. But there's also the possibility of Steve Carell actually saying a favorite quote from The Office to a graduating class at Princeton; "May your hats fly as high as your dreams."

Take a look at our new list. Which speeches would you most want to hear?

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• Walter Isaacson

  Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson will speak at<a href="http://cooper.edu/about/news/2012-commencement-speakers-announced" target="_hplink"> Cooper Union's </a> commencement.

• Ira Glass

  The producer and host of This American Life will be the commencement speaker at <a href="http://towson.patch.com/articles/radio-host-baltimore-native-ira-glass-to-deliver-goucher-commencement" target="_hplink">Goucher College</a>.

• Steve Carell

  Steve Carell will speak at <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/commencement/" target="_hplink">Princeton University</a>'s commencement. We're really hoping he'll say "<a href="http://www.theofficequotes.com/season-3/business-school" target="_hplink">May your hats fly</a> as high as your dreams." I don't know if you can tell we are excited about this.

• Condoleezza Rice

  Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak at<a href="http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/03/condoleezza-rice-will-speak-at.html" target="_hplink"> Southern Methodist University</a>, where the George W. Bush library is being built.

• Cory Booker

  Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, will give commencement addresses at both Hampton University in Hampton, Virg. (May 13) and Stanford University, in Palo Alto, Calif. (June 16-17).

• Soledad O'Brien

  CNN's Soledad O'Brien will speak at the <a href="http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/mar/Commencement031312.html" target="_hplink">University of Delaware</a>.

• Geoffrey Canada

  Geoffrey Canada will speak at the <a href="http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2012/03/geoffrey_canada_chosen_as_commencement_speaker" target="_hplink">University of Pennsylvania</a>. Canada is the founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, a comprehensive education and health program that aims to end the cycle of poverty for families in Central Harlem.

• Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)

  U.S. Sen. Mark Warner will speak at <a href="http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/first-lady-michelle-obama-address-2012-graduating-seniors" target="_hplink">Virginia Tech University</a>.

• Barbara Walters

  TV personality and journalist Barbara Walters will speak at <a href="http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/apr/02/barbara-walters-speak-class-day/" target="_hplink">Yale University.</a>

• Lisa Jackson

  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson will speak at <a href="http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2012/03/epa_administrator_lisa_jackson.html" target="_hplink">Tulane University</a> and the <a href="http://www.washington.edu/graduation/" target="_hplink">University of Washington</a>.

• Jamaica Kincaid

  Novelist Jamaica Kincaid will speak at <a href="http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/confops/commencement/speaker" target="_hplink">Grinnell College</a>.

• Athol Fugard

  Playwright Athol Fugard will receive an honorary degree at <a href="http://www.juilliard.edu/newsroom/releases/current/2012-May_Commencement.php" target="_hplink">The Juilliard School's commencement</a>.

• James Earl Jones

  James Earl Jones will also receive an honorary degree at <a href="http://www.juilliard.edu/newsroom/releases/current/2012-May_Commencement.php" target="_hplink">The Juilliard School's commencement.</a>

• Adam Savage

  Mythbuster Adam Savage will speak at <a href="http://www.slc.edu/news-events/news/2012-03-14-commencement-speaker-adam-savage-nr.html" target="_hplink">Sarah Lawrence College.</a>

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

  U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal will speak at the <a href="http://www.hartford.edu/arts-events/commencement/" target="_hplink">University of Hartford.</a>

• Soledad O'Brien

  CNN's Starting Point anchor will speak at the University of Delaware.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Educatednowwhat]

11:16 AM on 04/17/2012

Here is what would be really cool for a commencement speech. Have Will Farrell get up there and say the following "We know you have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars for this degree and we know you will probably not be able to find work out there for a long time. In the meantime though please remember those loan payments are still due. Thank you for shopping with (Insert College Name Here) and good luck you will need it! lol

Take a look at www.educatednowwhat.com

[Elena Yee]

01:04 PM on 04/15/2012

Viola Davis at Providence College in Rhode Island!

[PrunellaC]

10:17 PM on 04/14/2012

The local community college had Sherman Alexie a couple of years ago. That would have so rocked. I don't even recall who the commencement speaker was the year I graduated from WSU.

[evanskis]

10:37 AM on 04/14/2012

What about Sonia Sotomayor at NYU?!

[Lisbeth35]

11:54 PM on 04/13/2012

Ira Glass is an engaging storyteller. Good pick!

[StudentLoanList]

02:02 PM on 04/13/2012

Congratulations to all the grads this Spring ! I can understand that it might be fun to have a celebrity for your commencement speech, but remember a person doesnt have to be famous to give a great speech.

[curoi333]

01:17 PM on 04/13/2012

Why are the commencement speeches that Michelle Obama is giving at Virginia Tech, North Carolina A&T, and Oregon State University not on here?

[bizzaro birdman]

12:58 PM on 04/13/2012

Steve Carrel? Really? Lame.

[daigz]

03:33 PM on 04/16/2012

I'd prefer Jim Lahey.

[bizzaro birdman]

05:59 PM on 04/16/2012

Frig off Lahey! You too Randy!

Always glad to see a Trailer Park Boy fan :)

[374662]

12:45 PM on 04/13/2012

Chant: Stephen, Stephen, Stephen, Stephen (Colbert that it!)

[barbarianatthegate]

11:59 AM on 04/13/2012

Kindasleazy Rice ought to be standing trial on front of the international court at the Hague. Instead, she's offering advice to graduates. Sheesh.

[NVEd]

11:45 AM on 04/13/2012

Not only was our commencement speaker not cool, he was so boring I don't even remember his name.

[OliviaBolivia27]

11:21 AM on 04/13/2012

Well I'm jealous of the Tulane grads. And I was so close to going there! That would have been me!! My university's commencement speakers are always alumni who have donated a lot of money and had buildings named after them. Woot.

[ricchh]

10:58 AM on 04/13/2012

Actors and celebs are a disgrace at a university of higher learning.

[Cyke101]

11:25 AM on 04/13/2012

Actors, I think, are fine. the vast majority of famous actors have to pay their dues like anyone else. Danny Pudi had to put in 8 years of work on top of a full time job as an actuary to land a TV show, and he's not exactly a big shot celebrity; Steve Carrel is similar to Pudi, but he put in a couple decades of work before landing the Office. They have a craft like anyone else. Lastly, watching them talk and possibly getting to meet them is a treat and a reward for graduating students, whereas watching actors live would require a fee.

Celebrities who are famous for being famous like the Kardashians have no place here, though.

[NVEd]

11:47 AM on 04/13/2012

Why? Many have college degrees.

[soxysadie]

02:46 PM on 04/13/2012

Names please!

[joekiggy]

10:42 AM on 04/13/2012

If Steve Carrell spoke at my commencement, I would walk out.

[Derpwood]

12:14 PM on 04/13/2012

And we should care why?

[joekiggy]

03:30 PM on 04/13/2012

Because I represent the silent majority.

[dschiff]

03:02 PM on 04/14/2012

No love for a comedian?
Princeton disagrees with you.

[susane07]

10:37 AM on 04/13/2012

For all the money students paid at the U of Penna and they get Canada??? What a ripoff!

[soxysadie]

02:50 PM on 04/13/2012

Really? I had the exact opposite reaction. I think Geoffrey Canada is one of the most interesting and inspiring people on this list. I'm thinking about crashing the ceremony.

[PrunellaC]

10:20 PM on 04/14/2012

I had never heard of him until I saw his genealogy program on PBS the other day. I thought he was fascinating.