On Campus Blog

Clinton to speak at Walden commencement

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at Walden University’s commencement on July 30, where the university will give him an honorary doctorate, the university has announced.

Looks like Walden's president, Jonathan Kaplan, has ties to Clinton. He served in the White House as chief of staff of the National Economic Council, and was Clinton's special assistant  for economic policy.

Clinton also serves as honorary chancellor of Laureate International Universities, a collection of for-profit universities to which Walden belongs.

A Walden announcement said Clinton "advises the network in areas such as social responsibility, youth leadership and increasing access to higher education."

Details on the ceremony:

The commencement ceremony will be held July 30 at 1:30 p.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The ceremony and President Clinton’s address can be viewed live at www.WaldenU.edu.

(So I take it he'll be there in person, right? Not online?)

Update: That's correct, spokeswoman Tamara Chumley told me. Last year about 700 of the 4,000  graduates showed up at last summer's commencement, she said, and they come from all over the U.S. -- and even other parts of the world.

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