<p>Yes, Carville and his wife Mary Matalin spoke at the 2008 ceremony. And they both gave excellent talks, with Carville being his usual entertaining self.</p>
<p>Cowen has served on at least one, maybe two presidential committees/initiatives. While any president, especially a sitting one, is a tough get (as I said earlier) I suppose that does make it much more possible than otherwise.</p>
<p>Drew Brees!</p>
<p>Newt Gingrich is perhaps an easier get than Jindal or Obama, but a riskier choice…</p>
<p>Whoever the commencement speaker is, I think it will be hard to top the 2011 commencement, in which Stevie Wonder, who received an honorary degree, decided to sit at the piano and serenade the crowd with “You are the Sunshine of My Life” - every parent in the place was on Cloud 9, for hours afterward!</p>
<p>I can’t see Jindal, he is a horrible speaker.</p>
<p>Trombone Shorty is my choice.</p>
<p>Trombone Shorty is great, and has received a lot of national attention lately (ABC World News, other outlets). But he already received an honorary degree at the 2012 commencement when Lisa Jackson (head of EPA at the time, Tulane grad) was the speaker. Your S is graduating this May, right idad?</p>
<p>He is, and on time. Actually he could have graduated early but decided to slow down and enjoy the last year. He is considering staying in NOLA after graduating. He is involved in a start-up that would not involve moving, and has a potential job in NOLA if he wants it. He decided to take a year off before deciding on grad school, which I think is a great idea. Turns out majoring in philosophy opened many doors for him.</p>
<p>Yes, I think philosophy is a very underrated major that prepares people well for the modern workforce. I know it is considered one of the best preps for law school, but it has many other attributes as well. Not to mention just being interesting. Critical thinking, strong comprehension skills, etc. are valuable in an information based economy. Add to that the fact that NOLA is a hot place for start-ups, and it sounds great, idad. So glad things seem to be so promising for him.</p>
<p>S1 was a Philosophy undergrad and is now a 3Y Law at Tulane. He said he felt so much ahead of the curve as a 1Y because he already was comfortable presenting a structured argument in front of a group. He loved being a Philosophy major; so much so that if he hadn’t been accepted to a tier 1 law school (he said economically it wouldn’t make sense for him to go into that much debt for a lower tier school), he was going to pursue graduate studies in Philosophy, and try to get on the academic career track. I think it’s still his first love.</p>
<p>Sandra Bullock???</p>
<p>I can honestly say I will never attend a graduation as fun as Tulane’s 2013 one. Dr John and Alan Toussaint jamming while the Dalai Lama danced. Glad my son graduated a year early! Watch this year’s turn out to be even better, though; I already feel like I was robbed of an extra year of New Orleans!</p>
<p>If you haven’t read this blog post from an NYU student last year, I have to admit, i found it pretty darned funny: </p>
<p>[I</a> Paid $250,000 For This Degree And All I Got Was David Boies · NYU Local](<a href=“NYU Local”>I Paid $250,000 For This Degree And All I Got Was David Boies | by NYU Local | NYU Local)</p>
<p>Oprah as graduation speaker was today’s rumor. But dd just texted not true. </p>
<p>Go old school. Dr. Bobby Brown, former New York Yankee third baseman, educated at Stanford and UCLA, earned an MD from Tulane, practiced 25 years as a cardiologist, then served 10 years as President of the American League (Major League Baseball). Currently lives in Dallas - Fort Worth area.</p>
<p>What an interesting thought! I would point out, though, that he is 89. Might be a factor, might not.</p>
<p>We had Oprah one time. I like her. Campus turned into an armed camp. Dang fences and security checks everywhere. We have less security for Bill Clinton and Barack. She wasn’t worth it that day by a long shot.</p>
<p>I won’t comment on the speaker-to-be, but after having Dr. John and Allen Toussaint for music at graduation last year, they should get Fats Domino this year. Honor a great New Orleans tradition while he is still around! </p>
<p>That would be pretty cool, but he’s pretty much a recluse. He is being honored as the Monarch of Krewe of Orpheus but his son will be standing in for him. </p>
<p>“Go old school. Dr. Bobby Brown, former New York Yankee third baseman, educated at Stanford and UCLA, earned an MD from Tulane, practiced 25 years as a cardiologist, then served 10 years as President of the American League (Major League Baseball). Currently lives in Dallas - Fort Worth area.”</p>
<p>I used to work with an orthopedic surgeon who went to med school at Tulane, but who prior to that was a pitcher for a Division I college team. He was drafted by the bigs, but decided that his future was in medicine, not in spending years in the minor leagues. Given the Tulane med/baseball common ground, he at some point connected with Bobby Brown and they stayed in touch for quite a while. . . .FWIW, I’ve got Dr. Brown’s signature here at home on a few foul balls that I shagged at A’s games – when he was president of the league his signature was on every ball used in every A.L. game.
Brown and Yogi Berra are the only living members of the Yankees 1947 world championship team. There are no living members from any prior Yankee championship teams. . . . Brown and Berra roomed together on the Yankees. One night Yogi was reading a comic book, and Brown was reading a Pathology textbook. When Yogi turned the last page, he turned to Bobby and said, “Not bad. How’d yours turn out?”</p>