Mariano Rivera receives honorary degree from NYU at its Yankee Stadium commencement ceremony May 21

5/29/14, "Mo and heavy hitters team up for N.Y.U.’s graduation," The Villager, Lincoln Anderson

"There was quite a lineup at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday morning — but only one of them was actually a baseball player. 

The occasion was New York University’s 182nd commencement at the House That Jeter Built. Having outgrown its former commencement venue, Washington Square Park, N.Y.U. has held its graduation at the Bronx stadium since 2008.

Around 8,000 students received undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees at the morning ceremony, which was attended by 25,000 guests, as well as alumni, faculty and other N.Y.U. community members.

The star-studded lineup — each of whom received an honorary degree from the Greenwich Village university — included Janet Yellen, chairperson of the Federal Reserve; Mariano Rivera, the Yanks' former relief pitching ace; Elena Kagan, the U.S. Supreme Court justice; Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul”; and Martin Edelman, an international and real estate attorney.

Commencement speaker Yellen told the grads to expect failure as well as success. “Even Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio failed most of the time when they stepped to the plate,” she said. 

“My Federal Reserve colleagues and I experienced this as we struggled to address a financial and economic crisis that threatened the global economy.” She praised Ben Bernanke’s leadership of the Fed during the recession.

N.Y.U. President John Sexton and Martin Lipton, chairperson of the N.Y.U. board of trustees, officiated."...image from The Villager

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5/21/14, "Mariano Rivera receives honorary Doctorate from NYU at Yankee Stadium," NY Daily News

"On Wednesday, Rivera - dressed in purple, not in Yankee pinstripes - received an Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at NYU's commencement ceremonies at Yankee Stadium. On hand with Rivera is Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson."

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