Loading Map....

Date/Time
Date(s) - Saturday, June 9, 2018
9:30 am - 12:00 pm

Location
Carleton College

Categories


Carleton College’s 144th commencement ceremony will take place Saturday, June 9, at 9:30 a.m. on the lawn west of Hulings Hall. In case of threatening weather, the ceremony will be held in Carleton’s Recreation Center.

Following President Steve Poskanzer’s opening remarks, two graduates will address the Class of 2018, families and friends, and faculty at this year’s Commencement ceremony. Carleton will also confer honorary doctorate degrees upon two distinguished individuals: Hong Kong businessman Karl Kwok (Carleton Class of 1971) and Minneapolis humorist and playwright Kevin Kling.

Karl C. Kwok serves as Chairman of the Board of the Wing On group, which owns one of Hong Kong’s largest department store chains as well as interests in hotels, real estate and financial services. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government at Carleton and a Master of Business Administration degree from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Beyond his business success, Kwok is well known for his passion for open-ocean yacht racing, something he has participated in since 1979. Having won races around the world, he is on a mission to race in all the world’s biggest sailing races and to promote the sport in China. Interestingly, although he had lived near the sea all his life, the first time he ever sailed was as a Carleton student with his Northfield host family at their cabin on French Lake, outside Faribault. Kwok also serves as vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.

Kevin Kling, best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and his storytelling stage shows like “Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log,” delivers hilarious, often tender stories. Kling’s autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota, and eating things before knowing what they are. He describes his zodiac sign as “Minnesota with Iowa rising.…”

Kling’s storytelling started when a friend from the now defunct Brass Tacks Theatre asked him to perform his stories. Since then, he has been awarded numerous arts grants and fellowships. Kling has not been slowed in his work despite a congenital birth defect (shortened left arm with no wrist or thumb) and a near fatal motorcycle accident that completely paralyzed his right arm. He continues to write plays and stories in a rigorous fashion, and travels around the globe to numerous storytelling festivals and residencies. He has released a number of compact disc collections of his stories and has published five books. After receiving his honorary degree, Mr. Kling will give a brief address.

As always, the Commencement ceremony is not a ticketed event, and the public is invited to attend.