COMMENCEMENT 1990

The University of Southern California conferred degrees on 7,397 graduates Thursday, with 1,717 receiving B.A. degrees, 1,837 B.S. degrees, 1,206 M.A. degrees, 1,582 M.S. degrees, 474 doctor of philosophy degrees and 581 professional doctorate degrees. Robert F. Erburu (USC, 1952), chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Times Mirror Co., delivered the keynote address. From his prepared text:

“The great myth of our age is that our problems are too enormous, and our institutions too cumbersome, and that nothing matters. The truth is that everything matters; there is no big solution to any of our national problems, only 240 million small ones. Those who seek solutions in the sacrificial and honorable living of their own lives are beginning aright.”

Honorary degrees were awarded to Erburu; Kenneth O. Emery, marine geologist and professor emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Cecil H. Green, exploration geophysicist and founding member of Texas Instruments, and Jean Rouch, professor of anthropology, University of Paris. Carlyn Renee Taylor of Whittier, a dual-degree honors major in economics, was class valedictorian.