Last month, the College announced top favorites for the 2008 commencement speaker. Among them was author J.K. Rowling, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and television host Stephen Colbert.
The student nominating committee has settled on a choice, and this year students will not be hearing about Harry Potter, Great Britain or "truthiness."
Mike Tomlin (’95), head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, will speak at the commencement ceremony this May. Tomlin and Rabbi David Ellenson (’69), president of the Hebrew Union College at the Jewish Institute of Religion, will be granted honorary degrees of humane letters.
“Mike Tomlin offers an inspiring example for our new graduates, and we look forward to hearing from him,” Interim President of the College Taylor Reveley said in a statement Friday.
Head coach of the Steelers since January 2007, Tomlin has led the team to a winning record, to a division title win and to a spot in playoffs. He was a three-year starter on the Tribe football team, earning a school record of 20 touchdown receptions.
Jimmye Laycock, College head coach, spoke highly of Tomlin’s off-the-field abilities.
“That he has been able to accomplish so much, so soon,” he said, “is a great reflection on his intelligence and ability. He possesses the kind of personality that draws people to him.”
After graduating from the College in 1995, where he studied sociology, Tomlin started his first in a long line of coaching jobs. He was a wide receiver coach at Virginia Military Institute, a graduate assistant at the University of Memphis, a wide receiver and defensive back coach at the University of Arkansas and a defensive back coach at the University of Cincinnati. During his time at Cincinnati, the team improved in rank from 111 to 61.
His coaching career expanded to professional football, where he coached defense for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001, the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 and eventually became Steelers head coach.
Rabbi David Ellenson, who graduated with a degree in history, leads the nation’s oldest Jewish seminary and has been recognized internationally for his research and publications on Reform Judaism.
Past commencement speakers include Robert Gates (’65) in 2007, Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2006, former College President Timothy J. Sullivan in 2005 and Jon Stewart (‘84) in 2004.
The 2008 commencement ceremony will begin at noon on May 11 in William and Mary Hall. Other events include the traditional walk across campus from the Wren Building to the hall and a weekend full of events like a picnic, a dance and a reception with President Reveley.