A look back: Duke's last 7 commencement speakers

<p>Paul Farmer's 2015 commencement speech was not well-received by graduating seniors. Men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski will follow Farmer May 15, 2016.</p>

Paul Farmer's 2015 commencement speech was not well-received by graduating seniors. Men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski will follow Farmer May 15, 2016.

Duke's recent announcement that men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski will be the Class of 2016 commencement speaker represents a departure from previous years’ commencement speakers, which include celebrities, Nobel Prize winners and U.S. generals. A look back at some of Duke's recent commencement speakers:

2015:

  • Dr. Paul Farmer, Trinity '82, co-founder of Partners in Health, an organization promoting global health 
  • Encouraged students to empathize with the problems of people different from themselves and come together to find solutions
  • Widely criticized for "failing to get any points across"

2014:

  • General Martin E. Dempsey, Graduate School '84 
  • Stressed the maintenance, not just attainment, of pre-professional and academic skills learned at Duke 
  • Highlighted the importance of maintaining one's "moral compass"

2013:

  • Businesswoman Melinda Gates, Trinity '86 and Fuqua '87 
  • Discussed the transformative power of technology and advised Duke students to take advantage of the rapid pace of innovation
  • Encouraged millenials to use the Internet as a medium for creating meaningful interactions

2012:

  • Fareed Zakaria, author and host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. 
  • Compared the United States' ability to overcome economic and political problems with students' ability to overcome challenges
  • Panned by students for presenting almost the exact same speech as one he gave at Harvard University later that month

2011:

  • John Chambers, former Chief Executive Officer of Cisco Systems
  • Described the three great equalizers in life—education, internet usage and social network collaboration
  • Emphasized how the challenges graduates face is the only true constant in most students' lives

2010:

  • Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Bangladeshi economist
  • Implored students to dedicate their lives to tackling social problems, adding that each has the potential to change the world using skills learned at Duke
  • Received praise from students, with many saying that Yunus' humanitarian work was fitting given students' transformation from college students to global citizens

2009:

  • Oprah Winfrey, philanthropist and former talk show host 
  • Her godson, William Bumpus, was one of the many graduates in attendance
  • Offered anecdotes of herself and famous others finding success by bouncing back from failure

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