# List of Fordham University commencement speakers

The following is a list of keynote speakers at the commencement of Fordham University.
Commencement Speakers 1941–present
| Year | Speaker(s) | Notes |
| 1941 | Bishop J. Francis McIntyre | |
| 1942 | Rev. Robert Gannon | |
| 1943 | Rev. Robert Gannon | |
| 1944 | Rev. Robert Gannon | |
| 1945 | Major General Sir Walter Maxwell Scott | |
| 1946 | Gov. Thomas Dewey | President Truman also received an honorary degree and gave an address but this was not at June Commencement, it was in May |
| 1947 | Msgr. Ferdinand Vandry | Director of Laval University |
| 1948 | Rev. Robert Gannon | |
| 1949 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1950 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1951 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1952 | Msgr. John Middleton | Education secretary Arch of New York |
| 1953 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1954 | Robert D. Murphy | Deputy Under Secretary of State |
| 1955 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1956 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1957 | Rev. Laurence McGinley | |
| 1958 | W.A. Harriman | Governor of New York |
| 1959 | Cardinal Cushing | |
| 1960 | Dr. Charles H. Malik | President of United Nations General Assembly |
| 1961 | Joseph W. McGovern | Fordham law professor and member of NYS Board of Regents |
| 1962 | Teodoro Moscoso | Coordinator of The Alliance for Progress |
| 1963 | Sargent Shriver | First Director of the Peace Corps |
| 1964 | Francis Cardinal Spellman | |
| 1965 | Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey | |
| 1966 | Rev. Vincent T O'Keefe | President of Fordham |
| 1967 | Sen. Robert F. Kennedy | Former Attorney General and United States Senator |
| 1968 | Leo McGlaughlin | Eulogy and mass for Robert F. Kennedy |
| 1969 | Sen. Ted Kennedy | Former United States Senator |
| 1970 | Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan | |
| 1971 | James Hester | President of New York University |
| 1972 | Kurt Waldheim | United Nations Secretary General and former Wehrmacht spy |
| 1973 | Dr. Ernest Boyer | Chancellor of State University of New York |
| 1974 | Governor Malcolm Wilson | |
| 1975 | Judge William Hughes Mulligan | |
| 1976 | Governor Hugh Carey | |
| 1977 | Thomas A. Murphy | Chairman of General Motors |
| 1978 | Alan Alda | Actor |
| 1979 | Zbigniew Brzezinski | National Security Advisor |
| 1980 | Patricia Harris | United States Secretary of Health and Human Services |
| 1981 | Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns | |
| 1982 | Seamus Heaney | Irish Poet |
| 1983 | Felix G. Rohatyn | Investment Banker and Diplomat |
| 1984 | Rev. James Finlay | Former President of Fordham |
| 1985 | Gov. Mario Cuomo | Governor of New York |
| 1986 | Robert Hayes | Founder of Coalition for the Homeless |
| 1987 | Alphonse D'Amato | New York Senator |
| 1988 | Charles Osgood | Radio and Television Commentator and Writer |
| 1989 | Timothy Healy, S.J. | Former President of Georgetown University |
| 1990 | William P. Ford | Lawyer and Bond Trader |
| 1991 | Marian Wright Edelman | Children's Rights Activist |
| 1992 | Dr. John Brademas | Indiana Congressman |
| 1993 | Peter Steinfels | Journalist specializing in religious topics |
| 1994 | Jonathan Kozol | Writer best known for his works on American public education |
| 1995 | Mary Robinson | President of Ireland |
| 1996 | Rev. Joseph O'Hare | Jesuit Priest, Civic Leader, and Fordham President |
| 1997 | Mary Higgins Clark | Author of Suspense Novels |
| 1998 | Judge Joseph McLaughlin | Judge |
| 1999 | George Mitchell; David Copperfield | Former Maine Senator; Magician |
| 2000 | Vin Scully | Sportscaster |
| 2001 | Bill Cosby | Comedian and Actor |
| 2002 | Gerald Levin | Mass-Media Businessman |
| 2003 | Ted Koppel | Broadcast Journalist |
| 2004 | Tim Russert | Television Journalist and Lawyer |
| 2005 | John Sexton | Lawyer and former President of New York University |
| 2006 | Chris Matthews | Political Commentator, Talk Show Host, and Author |
| 2007 | Willie Randolph | Major League Baseball Player |
| 2008 | Charlie Rose | Television Journalist and Talk Show Host |
| 2009 | Tom Brokaw | Journalist and Author |
| 2010 | Mary McAleese | President of Ireland |
| 2011 | Brian Williams | NBC News Journalist |
| 2012 | John O. Brennan | Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency |
| 2013 | Richard Engel | NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent |
| 2014 | Tino Martinez | Professional Baseball Player |
| 2015 | Lordina Dramani Mahama | First Lady of Ghana |
| 2016 | David J. Skorton, M.D. | Physician, academic, and CEO of the Smithsonian Institution |
| 2017 | Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga; Sen. Chuck Schumer | Salesian and Cardinal of the Catholic Church from Honduras; New York State Senator |
| 2018 | Dennis Walcot | President & CEO of the Queens Library and former New York City schools chancellor |
| 2019 | Tim Shriver | Disability Rights activist and Chairman of the Special Olympics |
| 2022 | Calvin O. Butts | American Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church |
| 2023 | Stevie Wonder | American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer |
| 2024 | Joseph P. Kennedy III | United States Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs |