Toni Morrison
photo: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Award-winning author and Princeton professor Toni Morrison has been
chosen as the speaker for this year's Baccalaureate, the interfaith
worship service that is one of Princeton's oldest traditions. The
ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, May 29.
Morrison, the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities, was awarded
the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993. She was the first
African-American winner and the first American woman to win since 1938. She won
the National Humanities Medal in 2000 for her contributions to American
cultural life and thought, the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for "Beloved" and
the National Book Critics Award in 1977 for "Song of Solomon." She has
served on the Princeton faculty since 1989.
President Shirley M. Tilghman selects the Baccalaureate speaker after consultation with senior class leaders.
"We are both honored and delighted that Toni Morrison has accepted our
invitation to be the keynote speaker during this year's Baccalaureate
ceremony," the leaders of the class of 2005 said in a statement. "The
Baccalaureate ceremony is an interfaith celebration of the senior class
and a time to reflect on our Princeton experience. Dr. Morrison's
intimate ties with the University, in addition to her wealth of
experience as an accomplished, Nobel Prize-winning author, professor
and cultural icon, make her the perfect fit for this ceremony.
Furthermore, she has an incredible gift of reaching beyond boundaries
to build bridges between people in a community. Dr. Morrison's message
will resonate with our peers as the class of 2005 gathers in unison to
celebrate our Princeton past and our bright futures."
Morrison recently was named a recipient of the American Library
Association's 2005 Coretta Scott King Award, which honors
African-American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for
children and young adults. She won for her 2004 book, "Remember: The
Journey to School Integration," her first historical work for young
people. The other novels she has written include "Love," "The Bluest
Eye," "Sula," "Tar Baby," "Jazz" and "Paradise."
In addition to enriching the field of literature, Morrison has created
collaborative works with artists in other disciplines, including
Kathleen Battle, Bill T. Jones, André Prévin, Richard Danielpour and
Jessye Norman. This kind of collaboration inspired her to create the
Princeton Atelier, where students and artists from different media
create works that are then performed or exhibited.
Morrison received a bachelor's degree in English from Howard University
in 1953 and a master's degree in American literature from Cornell
University in 1955. Before coming to Princeton to teach literature and
writing, she was a senior editor at Random House for 20 years. She has
held teaching posts at Yale, Bard College and Rutgers. The New York
State Board of Regents appointed her to the Albert Schweitzer Chair in
the Humanities at the State University of New York at Albany in 1984, a
position she held until 1989.
Baccalaureate is an end-of-the-year ceremony focused on members of the
senior class. Held in the University Chapel, it includes prayers and
readings from various religious and philosophical traditions. The
earliest recorded Baccalaureate address -- titled "Religion and the
Public Spirit" -- was delivered by President Samuel Davies in 1760 to
the 11 members of the graduating class. Since 1972, the address has
been given by a speaker chosen by the president after discussion with
class leaders.
Seating in the chapel is limited to members of the senior class and
faculty procession. Seniors receive two tickets for family and guests
who may view the ceremony via simulcast, including on a large screen to
be set up outside the chapel.
