2023 and 2024 Commencement Speakers - Request for Nominations

To: The Campus Community
From: Shayna Chabner, Chief Communications Officer

I write to invite you to submit speaker nominations for the June 2023 and 2024 commencement ceremonies. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the most sought-after speakers have backlogs of appearance requests. To help secure the most compelling commencement speakers for the Caltech community, we are requesting multi-year nominations. With this information in hand, we will attempt to be nimble and timely in identifying and securing speaker commitments. The deadline for all 2023 nominations and for the first wave of 2024 nominations is September 30.

A Commencement Speaker Advisory Committee will be established to review your nominations and to prepare a short list of names for final consideration by President Rosenbaum. The committee comprises faculty members, graduate student and undergraduate student representatives from the graduating classes, and myself. 

As in years past, the advisory committee will use the following guidelines to evaluate nominated speakers:

(1) The speaker should be a person of accomplishment with notable experience and influence.

(2) The speaker's expertise and experience should provide a thought-provoking perspective about issues of importance to the Institute and its graduating students.

(3) The speaker should be an individual who can speak well to a broad audience.

Please submit your commencement speaker nomination(s), along with any comments (no more than 100 words each) via this online form by September 30 for the committee's review.

Thank you.