Politicos Giving 2012 Commencement Speeches

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — It’s getting close to that time of year again, when students all around the country will turn in their bookbags for briefcases as they leave college behind and enter the working world. Some lucky schools around the country will welcome major politicos to campus (or, in New York University’s case, Yankee Stadium) for their graduation ceremonies. In the spirit of commencement season, ABC News has compiled some of the biggest names in politics slated to deliver commencement addresses this year.

• President Obama will be speaking at Barnard College in New York City on May 14. He will also speak at Joplin High School in Joplin, Mo., on May 21 and at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on May 23.
• First Lady Michelle Obama will speak at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on May 11 and at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C., on May 12. She will also be speaking at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., on June 17, where her brother, Craig Robinson, coaches basketball.
• Vice President Joe Biden delivers the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., on May 26. He will speak at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla., on June 4 and Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach, Va., on June 14.
• Former Gov. Mitt Romney will speak at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., on May 12.
• Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak at Southern Methodist University in Dallas on May 12, where the George W. Bush library is being built.
• Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair delivers the commencement remarks at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, on May 20.
• Former first lady Laura Bush will be speaking at Highpoint University at High Point, N.C., on May 5.
• New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on May 13.
• Former Secretary of State Colin Powell will speak at Northeastern University’s commencement in Boston on May 4.
• Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will speak at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Va., on May 6 and at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., on May 12.
• U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., will join Michelle Obama at Virginia Tech on May 11, who will also deliver a commencement address to the university’s graduates.
• U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., will deliver the commencement address at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Conn. on May 20.
• EPA administrator Lisa Jackson will speak at Tulane University in New Orleans on May 19 and the University of Washington in Tacoma on June 9.
• Newark Mayor Cory Booker will give commencement addresses at Hampton University in Hampton, Va., on May 13 and Stanford University, his alma mater, in Palo Alto, Calif. on June 16-17.
• Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor will be speaking at New York University’s commencement in New York City on May 16.

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