Outgoing College President James Freedman will give his 11th and final commencement address today, one of his last symbolic appearances as president of the College.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Freedman, who will still officially serve for six weeks after Commencement, said he will feel "very sad" after the ceremony is over, and "it is hard not to" after 11 years.
"It will be a bitter-sweet moment" Freedmen said.
Freedman said his favorite part of Commencement is "seeing the joy of the families." He said the number of family members who attend commencement has increased over the years.
"Now you see aunts, uncles, grandparents and more [attending graduation]," Freedman said. "It is wonderful to see the happiness in the families during commencement."
Freedman said he will do nothing differently during his final Commencement address and strongly endorsed this year's speaker, Pulitzer-prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin.
"She's going to be great," he said.
Freedman said 1994's Commencement was the most memorable of the 11 he attended. Earlier that year, he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, and had undergone chemotherapy. He had lost most of his hair by Commencement and, during his address, discussed his personal experience with the disease.
Freedman, who majored in English at Harvard University, said he has wonderful memories of the pageantry and music of his own Commencement.
He said he felt "a sense of satisfaction" during the ceremony, where prominent British political scientist Barbara Ward addressed the class.
When asked to give advice to the graduating class of 1998, Freedman requested they "make the world a better place."
He said the Class of 2002 will be another "extraordinary class."
While he usually sends a list of his favorite books to incoming freshmen during the summer, Freedman said he will not do so this year.
"I am out of that business now," he said.
