This Memorial Day weekend, watch commencement speeches by business leaders in the information technology, science, automobile and health care industries.
First, 3200 graduates and 16,000 of their family and friends gathered at Edwards Stadium for the University of California 2012 commencement in Berkeley. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt delivered the keynote address on May 12th. Schmidt has both a Masters Degree and PHD in Computer Engineering from UC Berkeley. He talked about technology solving the world’s problems.
Next, Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns addressed the 2012 graduating class of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans on May 12. She started at Xerox in 1980 as a summer intern. She is now the first African-American woman to head a Fortune 500 company.
Then, Ford Motor Co. President and CEO Alan Mulally gives the commencement address at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. He spoke about pursuing one's passions and ending up a CEO. Mulally grew up in Lawrence and graduated from the University of Kansas in 1969 with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
Finally, a speech by Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly John Lechleiter at the University of Indianapolis in early May. Leichleiter talked about how the world and the job market he faced in the late 1970s compares to the job market for today’s college graduates. He was recently named the Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America.
If you miss any of these speeches, you can watch them all in the C-SPAN Video Library where you can also find speeches from previous years.