Music legend Stevie Wonder performed two songs from the Fordham Commencement stage, but not before offering the Class of 2023 some inspiration—and a challenge.  

“The youth are going to make the difference. I believe in you. That’s why I sing, and that’s why I’m motivated,” he said at the May 20 ceremony, just after receiving an honorary doctorate from the University.

‘Stand Up and Be Counted’

“Fordham has given you the tools to achieve, to excel, and to do great things in this world. But that’s not gonna happen by sitting on your hands,” he said.

“You’ve got to be activists. You have to vote. You have to serve your communities and you must enlighten the unenlightened.”

Wonder—a winner of 25 Grammys with 32 No. 1 singles— was honored for both his artistry and his leadership on social and humanitarian issues, such as making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday and expanding the availability of published works in accessible formats such as Braille, large print, and audiobooks.

He challenged the graduates assembled on Edwards Parade to use their education to respond to the realities of the world’s suffering. 

“You really do have to be woke. Now, maybe some leaders in this nation don’t understand what being woke is. Let me tell you what it is. It’s being awake. And being awake means being aware,” he said, citing issues such as health care, education, and the recent chokehold death of homeless man Jordan Neely on the subway.

“So stand up and be counted as one against oppression, hatred, and let’s keep the truth alive,” he said.

To the crowd’s delight, a keyboard was brought on stage, drawing loud cheers from graduates and families who were gathered under a light rain. 

Wonder sang a song from his new project, Through the Eyes of Wonder, before segueing into “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” drawing more cheers and applause.

‘What Makes You Special Is How You Will Use Your Gifts’

In her first Fordham Commencement address, Fordham President Tania Tetlow offered personal reflections about learning from her youngest sister, who graduated from high school despite having severe learning disabilities. She also talked about her parents and grandparents, who overcame the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II.

Like them, she said, the Class of 2023 has shown determination in the face of obstacles these past few years.

“There is so much about the pandemic we are eager to forget,” she said. “But when we look at those generations forged in the fires of suffering and crisis, we see the generations who’ve mattered most to history.”

And while she lauded graduates for their “blazing talent” and being “blessed by abundant gifts from God,” she cautioned that those gifts “do not make you better than anyone else.” 

“What makes you special is not that good luck. It’s what you have done with your gifts. The endless hard work, in the library and the labs, the dance studios, and moot courtrooms. What makes you special is how you will use your gifts to matter to the world—as teachers, lawyers, social workers and health care workers, as business people who will build new forms of opportunity.”

Facing a fast-changing world with enormous courage, as graduates are, is quintessentially Jesuit, she said.  

“Graduates, look around you—this is the family you have chosen. And Fordham is your forever home.”

The University conferred degrees upon 3,453 graduates today. Including those who graduated in August 2022 and February 2023, the University conferred about 5,453 academic degrees to the Class of 2023.

In addition to Wonder, Fordham conferred honorary doctorates on seven other notable figures: Norman Francis, a widely respected civil rights leader and former Xavier University president; Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York; Regina Pitaro, a Fordham trustee fellow, graduate of Fordham College at Rose Hill and a managing director of GAMCO Investors; Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Jeh Johnson, an attorney and widely quoted expert on national security issues who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017; and Jennifer Jones Austin, chief executive officer of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies in New York City.

— Photos by Bruce Gilbert, Chris Taggart, Chris Gosier, Marisol Diaz, and Matthew Septimus

“It is an honor and a thrill to welcome Stevie Wonder to Fordham,” said Fordham President Tania Tetlow. “His music has charmed us, consoled us, elevated us, and entertained us for more than six decades. He is a shining example of an artist’s ability to stir the soul.”

A child prodigy, Wonder—born Stevland Morris—was signed by Motown Records at age 11, and in 1963, as 12-year-old Little Stevie Wonder, he became the youngest recording artist to achieve a No. 1 single, with “Fingertips, Part 2.” He’s regarded as a musical genius and a pioneer—a master of many instruments and groundbreaking in his use of synthesizers. His songs have topped the charts for decades, bridging the genres of pop, R&B, funk, soul, gospel, and jazz.

To date, Wonder has amassed 49 Top 40 singles, 32 No. 1 singles, and worldwide sales of over 100 million units. He has earned 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. His iconic 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life, is archived in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for its cultural, historic, and aesthetic significance.

“Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories,” he once said. “And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.”

While Stevie Wonder’s songs are unequivocally classic and his influence timeless, equally laudable are his humanitarian efforts, philanthropic leadership, and generosity of spirit. His accolades include awards from the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, and the American Association of People with Disabilities. In 1983, he spearheaded the realization of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday, and his single “Happy Birthday” was the rallying song for the movement.

His participation in the 1985 “We Are the World” fundraiser for hunger in Africa is a music industry milestone, while his involvement in efforts to put an end to apartheid in South Africa is legendary. In 1999, he became the youngest recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. He is a Commander of France’s National Order of Arts and Letters, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Last year, he was awarded the inaugural Icon Award from the Legal Defense Fund. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a designated United Nations Messenger of Peace with special focus on persons with disabilities.

In 2016, he called for U.N. member states to join the Marrakesh Treaty, which expanded the availability of published works in accessible formats such as Braille, large print, and audio books. “Imagine if others like me were given the opportunity to function at their full potential, how much better our world would be,” he said to delegates, noting that just 25 member states had ratified the treaty at the time. Today, 118 countries have signed on.

The University will also confer honorary degrees upon Jennifer Jones Austin, a 1993 graduate of Fordham Law School, chief executive officer of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies in New York City, and a prominent advocate for underserved children, individuals, and families; Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and a leader in advancing the climate agenda of Pope Francis; Norman Francis, a widely respected civic leader and civil rights advocate who led the transformation of Xavier University of Louisiana during his 47-year term as president; Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York and leader of its current strategic plan to foster healthier, stronger New York City communities; Jeh Johnson, an attorney and widely quoted expert on national security issues who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017; and Regina Pitaro, a 1976 Fordham College at Rose Hill graduate and a managing director of GAMCO Investors who is also a philanthropist, author of a book on merger arbitrage, and a Fordham trustee fellow.