The University Commencement marking Columbia's 246th academic year will take place on the morning of May 17, and in keeping with tradition, each school within the University will hold its own ceremony as well, most occurring on either May 16 or 17.

The featured guests at these ceremonies are major figures in politics, business, entertainment and academia, including: Vice President Al Gore, activist Jesse Jackson, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, actor Brian Dennehy, director Rob Reiner and "60 Minutes" veteran Morley Safer.

At the main University Commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 17 at 10:30 p.m. on Low Plaza, University President George Rupp will deliver the address, and honorary degrees will be presented to the following: Former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, who is credited with helping spur America's economic boom; AIDS re-searcher and former Time Person of the Year David Ho, President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, who helped mediate the 1999 crisis in Kosovo; Paul Marks, physician and former cancer center president; Judith Jamison, dancer and artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and Oscar Schachter, Fish Professor Emeritus of International Law and Diplomacy at Columbia.

Judge Rolando Tomas Acosta, Civil Court of the City of New York, will receive the University Medal for Excellence, which is given each year to a Columbia alumnus/a who has made significant contributions to society.

In addition to the awarding of honorary degrees, more than 9,200 Columbia students will graduate before tens of thousands of family members and friends. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Columbia homepage.

The following is an alphabetical rundown of the time, location and featured speakers of the 2000 Commencement ceremonies:

ALUMNI FEDERATION
The Honorable Robert E. Rubin (Recipient of 2000 Doctor of Laws) Director, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Member of the Office of the Chairman, Citigroup, Inc., will speak at a luncheon in the Rotunda directly following the University Commencement on May 17.

ARCHITECTURE
Bernard Tschumi, Dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, will preside over the school's service on May 17, at 2 p.m. in St. Paul's Chapel.

ARTS
The speaker for the School of the Arts ceremony on May 17 at 2 p.m. in Miller Theater is to be announced.

BACCALAUREATE (Earl Hall)
Professor Archie Rand, School of the Arts, Visual Arts Division, will speak. The service is officiated by University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis. Student speakers: Ilana Garber, Barnard; Stephen Specht, SEAS; Asena Bahce, Barnard; Selvi Rengasami, SEAS; Philip Napolitano, GS; Cie-Jai Brown, CC; Soroosh Seyhoon, CC. The ceremony is Sunday, May 14 in St. Paul's Chapel, 4 p.m.

BARNARD COLLEGE
Pulitzer-Prize winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin will address the class of 2000 in the school's 108th commencement on May 16 at 2:30 p.m. on Lehman Lawn at Barnard. (rain location: Levien Gym, Dodge Fitness Center). Goodwin will receive the Barnard Medal of Distinction along with Hanna Holborn Gray, former president of the University of Chicago and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Annie Leibovitz, famed and distinguished photographer; and Kathie Olsen, chief scientist at NASA.

BUSINESS
Larry Bossidy, chairman of Honeywell International is speaker for the May 16 ceremony at 6 p.m. in City Center (West 55th Street, between 6th and 7th).

COLUMBIA COLLEGE
Actor and alumnus Brian Dennehy, CC'60, will speak outdoors at the Columbia College ceremony on the South Field Lawn at 10 a.m. on May 16.

DENTAL
John P. Rossett, DDS, MPH, Chief Dental Officer, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration will speak at the ceremony on Thursday, May 18 at 11:00 a.m. in the Chapel Garden, Health Sciences Campus (W. 168th St.)

ENGINEERING (Fu Foundation School of Applied Science)
Alumnus Pete Slosberg, CEO and founder of Pete's Wicked Ale and SEAS'72, will speak at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ceremony for graduate and undergraduate students on May 16 at 2:30 p.m. on the South Field Lawn.

GENERAL STUDIES
Malcolm Borg, GS'65 and CEO of Macromedia, Inc., will speak at a ceremony on May 16 at 5 p.m. in Lerner Hall.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will hold two ceremonies on the same day, both in St. Paul's Chapel. The GSAS Masters ceremony will take place on May 16 at 10:30 a.m. and features Professor Tory E. Higgins, psychology, as its speaker. Anna Kisselgoff, chief dance critic at The New York Times, will receive the Dean's Award for Masters Achievement Award at the ceremony. The GSAS Doctoral ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. and welcomes two speakers. The speaker representing the faculty is Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of Political Science Robert Jervis. The speaker representing the students is Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee. Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania and Ph.D. in Psychology, 1971, will receive the Dean's Award for Doctoral Achievement. CONTACT: 4-3923

JOURNALISM
Pete Hamill, staff writer for The New Yorker, legendary New York journalist and author, will speak at the graduation ceremony in Roone Arledge Auditorium, Lerner Hall, on May 17 from 3- 6 p.m. The annual Pringle Lecture will be delivered by William Greider, National Affairs editor, The Nation, on May 16 from 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. in the Journalism School Lecture Hall.

LAW SCHOOL
Vice President Al Gore will address Law School graduates on May 16 at 7 p.m. in Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. This event is "sold out." No tickets available.

MEDICAL SCHOOL
College of Physicians and Surgeons
NASA Astronaut and Physician, Story Musgrave (P&S alumnus), will speak at a ceremony on May 17 at 2:30 p.m. in the garden of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. Rob Reiner, actor, director and children's advocate, will receive the prestigious Dean's Award for Distinguished Service in recognition of his good works through his foundation, I Am Your Child. A reception at 4:40 p.m. will follow in the Bard Hall Lounge (50 Haven Avenue).

Programs in Occupational Therapy:
Wendy Coster, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, will speak in a ceremony for Programs in Occupational Therapy at 1:30 p.m. on May 17 in Alumni Auditorium on the Health Science campus.

NURSING
Mary Dickey Lindsay, alumna, and Morley Safer, co-editor of "60 Minutes" and CBS News correspondent; and Herbert Pardes, President/CEO of NY Presbyterian Hospital, will speak May 17 at 4:30 p.m. in the Alumni Auditorium of the Health Science Campus. There will be a reception at 6 p.m. in the Baldwin Lounge.

PUBLIC HEALTH (Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health)
On May 17, Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of the Children's Defense Fund, will speak at a 5 p.m. ceremony in the garden of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

SIPA (School of International and Public Affairs)
The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. will speak at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony for the School of International and Public Affairs on May 16. The event will be held on Ancell Plaza (between the Law and International Affairs buildings.)

SOCIAL WORK
Ronald Feldman, dean, will speak at the ceremony in Levien Gym on May 17 at 2 p.m. A reception will follow from 3:30- 4:30 p.m.

TEACHERS COLLEGE
James B. Hunt, Governor of North Carolina; Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute of African-American Research at Harvard University; Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History; and Edward Zigler, Professor of Psychology at Yale University and renowned father of the Head Start will address 1,540 master's graduates of Teachers College on Tuesday, May 16, at 4:00 p.m. in a ceremony at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Amsterdam Avenue and 112th Street). The convocation for the Teachers College doctoral degree graduates will be Wednesday, May 17, at The Riverside Church (Riverside Drive and 120th Street). The event will begin at 2:30 p.m. Each graduate will be hooded by Teachers College Dean Karen Zumwalt.