By Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
Musician and humanitarian Quincy Jones, who has produced records for Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn and Michael Jackson, was one of the five persons awarded an honorary doctoral degree during Princeton University’s Commencement on Tuesday.
A doctor of music was presented to the 75-year-old trumpet player, composer, producer, arranger and conductor. Mr. Jones began arranging and recording music in the 1950s and has scored music for 33 major motion pictures and numerous television shows since 1965. He has won 27 Grammy awards, seven Oscar nominations and an Emmy. Mr. Jones’ humanitarian efforts include working to foster global dialogue and to help children around the world through his Quincy Jones Foundation.
Other recipients included political theorist George Kateb, molecular genetics researcher Mary-Claire King, writer Haruki Murakami and John Waterbury, president of the American University of Beirut.
The university presented 1,125 undergraduate degrees and 743 graduate degrees at the 261st Commencement.
Zachary Squire and James Morrison, who earned undergraduate degrees with their fellow classmates, received additional recognition for their academic achievements. Mr. Squire and Mr. Morrison had the honor of giving the valedictory and salutatory addresses respectively.
Valedictorian Mr. Squire, a classics major who earned 10 A+ grades in electrical engineering, physics, geosciences and economics courses, spoke more about what he achieved through caring for his classmates than through studying for tests.
”The distinction to be earned in scholarship is certainly important, and it would be appropriate for me above all people to extol the virtues of dedicated and constant study,” Mr. Squire said. “But intelligence is a small aspect of one’s character and one in my view less important than qualities like humility, generosity, good humor and loyalty to one’s friends. It is in activities which have expressed these virtues that many of us have thrived most importantly in our time here. Academic achievement certainly brings distinction to oneself. But what I am most proud of in my time at Princeton was my work for the student government; though I held a relatively minor position, I believe my work for the Undergraduate Life Committee did more to help my classmates than anything else I did.”
The future employee of the New York-based investment firm D.E. Shaw & Co. added, “When the black and orange hoard of alumni descends upon the Princeton campus every year for the great ritual of Reunions, it is not their time in class that they come to celebrate and briefly relive. It’s the time spent with friends and comrades that, for the most of us, defines what is meant to be at Princeton.”
Four members of the Class of 2008 walking toward the center of campus from the front lawn of Nassau Hall after Commencement exemplified this centrality of friendship to the Princeton experience.
Stephanie Nidig burst into tears and hugged her classmate and friend Tamara Lewis in the midst of explaining why she had bittersweet feeling about graduating.
Ms. Lewis shared Ms. Nidig’s sentiments.
”It’s hard to leave everyone,” Ms. Lewis said. “But we’ve all got such exciting things to do.
She added, “I’ll be working for a consulting company in Boston and Stephanie’s got a great job with Lehman Brothers in New York City.”
The other two members of the group of friends Paige Bernick and Allison Harding said they would both be going to law school.
”It won’t be the same as Princeton,” Ms. Harding said as she smiled at the others.
