Memorable Speeches

On May 25, 2012, SUA held its Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2012.  Professor Nur Yalman, a renowned Social Anthropologist with a specialty in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University and Senior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts, delivered the Commencement address, titled "On Civil Society and the Dialogue of Civilizations: Humanism and Human Rights." On this occasion, SUA Founder Daisaku Ikeda sent a special message to the Class of 2012.  Read the 2012 Commencement Message from SUA Founder Daisaku Ikeda (May 25, 2012)!

Other memorable speeches include:

• 2011 Undergraduate Commencement Address by Mr. Hiromasa Ikeda, the eldest son of our university founder and a member of the Board of Trustees for Soka University in Japan
• 2010 Undergraduate Commencement Address by Dr. Paulete Bethel,  Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the United Nations and a member of the Board of Trustees of Soka University of America (May 28, 2010)
• 2009 Undergraduate Commencement Address by Ms. Clothilde Hewlett, partner of Nossaman LLP and a member of the Board of Trustees of Soka University of America (May 29, 2009)
• 2008 Undergraduate Commencement Address by Dr. Ved P. Nanda, Vice Provost for Internationalization and Director of the International Legal Studies Program at the University of Denver (May 23, 2008)
• "Peace Is Everybody's Business" by  Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams, SUA's first Distinguished Visiting Scholar, delivered on September 20, 2007, to 1200 local high school students and the entire SUA community in Soka University's Recreation Center
• 2007 Undergraduate Commencement Address by Carolyn McAskie, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support (May 27, 2007)
• 2006 Undergraduate Commencement Address by Dr. David Roselle, President of the University of Delaware (May 21, 2006)
• 2005 Undergraduate Commencement Address by  Anwarul K. Chowdhury, then Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the United Nations Office of the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States (May 22, 2005)
• What Kind of Peace Do We Seek? by Dr. Michael Nobel (April 9, 2002)
• A Lecture by Arun Gandhi following the dedication of Mohandas and Kasturba Gandhi Hall (August 23, 2001)
• Growing Up Into Democracy's Crown by Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr, PhD, Dean, Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia (May 4, 2001). Dean Carter was also a guest speaker at the May 3, 2001  dedication of the Aliso Viejo campus

Also, see special messages from SUA Founder Daisaku Ikeda on these occasions:

• The 7th Commencement Ceremony (May 25, 2012)
• The 6th Undergraduate Commencement (May 28, 2010)
• The 5th Undergraduate Commencement (May 22, 2009)
• The 4th Undergraduate Commencement (May 23, 2008) 
• The 3rd Undergraduate Commencement (May 27, 2007) 
• The 12th Graduate School Commencement (December 13, 2006) 
• The 2nd Undergraduate Commencement (May 21, 2006) 
• The 11th Graduate School Commencement (December 14, 2005)
• The 1st Undergraduate Commencement (May 22, 2005)  
• Dedication of Mohandas and Kasturba Gandhi Hall (August 23, 2001)
• Dedication of Aliso Viejo Campus (May 3, 2001) 
• Dedication of Linus and Ava Helen Pauling Hall (May 2, 2001) 
• Graduate School Opening, Calabasas, California (September 2, 1994)