By Marcela Berrios, Hannah Storm Journalism Intern 

The University’s 163rd Commencement exercises, scheduled for Sunday, May 18, will present 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students with their Notre Dame degrees and actor Martin Sheen with the Laetare Medal.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., will be the principal speaker at the Commencement exercises, which will begin at 2:00 p.m. in the Joyce Center. Cardinal McCarrick also will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree during the ceremony.

The valedictorian of the Class of 2008 has not yet been announced.

Sheen, most famous for his role in television’s “The West Wing,” will take the stage during the exercises to accept the Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor the University gives to outstanding American Catholics.

Nine distinguished figures from academia, the arts, broadcasting, business, chemical engineering, journalism, law and technology will join Cardinal McCarrick as honorary degree recipients at the Commencement exercises. Among the honorees is Samuel Hazo ’49, who will receive a doctor of humane letters. Hazo is the McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University, and the founder and director of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh.

For the second year, the Graduate School will host a separate Commencement ceremony on Sat., May 17, where the hooding of Ph.D. recipients and the conferral of graduate degrees (except in business and law) will take place. Though students in the Graduate School will receive their degrees during this ceremony, they are invited to attend the University Commencement exercises the following day. For more information about the Graduate School’s ceremony, click here.

Among the scheduled events for Commencement weekend, the Alumni Association will host a Legacy Reception at the Eck Visitors Center on Fri., May 16 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. All Class of 2008 graduates who are legacies are invited to attend with their families. Additionally, the Alumni Association will host an International Student Reception on Sat., May 17 from 3:15-4:15 p.m. at the McKenna Center for Continuing Education. All International Students and their families are invited to attend. University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. also will be in attendance.

Click here for more on the University Commencement exercises, including a tentative schedule of events for the weekend and information about on-campus accommodations.