Harrison Ford now has an honorary doctorate from Arizona State University, and his speech was cheered by the ASU Class of 2026.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN WILLIAMS’ “RAIDERS MARCH”)
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
It’s graduation season at colleges all over the country, and fresh grads will soon be able to flex their academic credentials. Although maybe people only do that in the movies.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM”)
KATE CAPSHAW: (As Willie Scott) Willie is my professional name, Indiana.
KE HUY QUAN: (As Short Round) Hey, lady. You call him Dr. Jones.
HARRISON FORD: (As Indiana Jones) My professional name.
RASCOE: That’s Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Sorry – Dr. Jones. Ford threw on a cap and gown last week and addressed the class of 2026 at Arizona State University. The school gave the 83-year-old actor an honorary Doctorate of Arts and Humane Letters. He told ASU grads about a drama class he took for an easy A back in his days at Ripon College.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FORD: My classmates were people I had previously discounted as geeks and misfits. But I soon realized I was a geek and a misfit.
RASCOE: Ford got the A in drama, although he never actually finished his degree in philosophy. He had discovered his passion for acting. He used his ASU speech, as so many commencement speakers do, to marvel at the world young people are inheriting and to encourage them to make it better.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FORD: Because the world you’re stepping into, the world my generation left you, is a real mess.
RASCOE: Ford’s rousing speech had the thousands in attendance on their feet, especially as he defended the environment and the rights of Indigenous peoples. This generation has far more power than you realize, he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FORD: Congratulations.
(CHEERING)
FORD: Go change the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN WILLIAMS’ “RAIDERS MARCH”)
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