Scott Kingsley

Morgan Freeman saying a few words at the urging of President Simmons. 

Morgan Freeman The Academy-Award winning actor's credits include Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, and Invictus, in which he played Nelson Mandela.

Barbara Liskov The first U.S. woman to earn a PhD from a computer science department, she is a pioneer in the design of computer programming languages.

Nelson Mandela The anti-apartheid leader and former South African president won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. Johnny Moloto, chargé d'affaires at the Embassy of South Africa in Washington, DC, accepted the degree on Mandela's behalf.

Shahrnush Parsipur An Iranian-born novelist, she was imprisoned four times for her frank portrayal of women's lives in Iran. Although popular, her novels have been banned in her country.

Cecile Richards '80 President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she has devoted her career to public service, voting rights, education, and advocacy.

David Rohde '90 While a correspondent for the New York Times, he was captured and held for seven months by the Taliban. He was earlier held by Bosnian Serbs and has earned two Pulitzer Prizes.

Romila Thapar A scholar and historian of ancient India, she challenged oversimplified colonial histories of India.

Gordon S. Wood The Pulitzer Prize– winning historian of the United States' early years, he joined the Brown faculty in 1969 and is now the Alva O. Way University Professor Emeritus.