Stanford University held its 118th Commencement on June 14, 2009. In his address, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy tells the class of 2009 to spread freedom and the rule of law. Sunday's Commencement marked the awarding of 1,735 bachelor's degrees, 2,039 ... read more

Stanford University held its 118th Commencement on June 14, 2009. In his address, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy tells the class of 2009 to spread freedom and the rule of law. Sunday's Commencement marked the awarding of 1,735 bachelor's degrees, 2,039 master's degrees and 925 doctoral degrees.

Justice Kennedy earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1958 from Stanford. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1961. Kennedy took his seat on the Supreme Court in February 1988 after being appointed by President Ronald Reagan. He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appears for the Ninth Circuit in 1975. From 1965 to 1988, he served as a professor of constitutional law at the McGeorge School of Law of the University of the Pacific in Sacramento. close