On March 12, University President Ronald Liebowitz sent an email to community members outlining the keynote speakers and honorary degree recipients chosen for the 73rd Commencement ceremony on May 19. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and academic administrator Ruth Simmons will be delivering addresses and receiving honorary doctorates alongside women’s rights advocate Ruth Halperin-Kaddari and civil rights leader Roy DeBerry ’70, GSAS MA ’78, Ph.D ’79. 

Ken Burns has directed and produced “some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made,” such as “Brooklyn Bridge,” “The Civil War,” “Baseball” and “Jazz.” Throughout his 40-year career, Burns has won 16 Emmy awards and two Oscar nominations. In 2022 he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. He will be receiving the University’s honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. 

As the President’s Distinguished Fellow at Rice University and a senior advisor regarding initiatives for historically Black colleges and universities at Harvard University, Ruth Simmons is a “higher education trailblazer.” Simmons was also the first African American president of an Ivy League institution, leading Brown University from 2001 to 2012 with unanimous approval. Additionally, Simmons serves on the boards of the MacArthur Foundation, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Holdsworth Center and the Hines Global Income Trust. Simmons will also be receiving the University’s honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. 

Liebowitz clarified that Burns will deliver his remarks at the undergraduate ceremony in the morning and Simmons will address the graduate ceremony afterward. 

According to her biography on the commencement website, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari is an “expert on family law and international women’s-rights.” Halperin-Kaddari is a professor of law at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and is the founding director of the Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women’s Status. She has served as the vice chair for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women twice. The University is recognizing Halperin-Kaddari’s career with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Liebowitz highlighted that Roy DeBerry is a “triple Brandeis degree holder” and has served as both vice president and executive vice president for “economic development and local governmental affairs” at Jackson State University. He is also the co-creator of The Hill Country Project, a nonprofit organization that is looking to improve education and the economy in Benton County, Mississippi. Liebowitz wrote that DeBerry has been internationally recognized for his “publications and research in the areas of Jewish religious thought, ethics and modern Jewish history.” DeBerry will be receiving the Doctor of Humane Letters.

Lastly, Rabbi David Ellenson, the former director of the University’s Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and chancellor emeritus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, will receive the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters posthumously. Liebowitz wrote that Ellenson passed away shortly after he told him about the award. 

“We are deeply saddened that we have lost David, and honored that his wife Jackie will accept the degree on his behalf,” Liebowitz said. 

This year, the commencement ceremonies will be held in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.