In the next couple of weeks, there are going to be a lot of celebrity commencement speeches imparting famous, good-looking wisdom. Brian Williams is booked to speak at Fordham, Tom Hanks is speaking at Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania has booked the very handsome Denzel Washington. Over at NYU, former president Bill Clinton will do the honors, and Rutgers University booked Toni Morrison at a $30,000 fee ($2,000 less than Snooki made!). Kean College paid $25,000 for the wisdom of John Legend, but that’s nothing compared to the $110,000 Katie Couric made to speak at the University of Oklahoma’s 2006 graduation.
Columbia students will get what they always get — their own president, Lee Bollinger, who, following in the school’s 121-year tradition, will be the school’s commencement speaker. And pity Hofstra students, who will listen to the wisdom of Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Look who’s talking [NYP]
