Apple CEO Tim Cook, a graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees, will deliver Duke’s commencement address on Sunday, May 13, 2018, President Vincent Price announced.
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“I am absolutely delighted that Tim Cook will be returning to campus as this spring’s commencement speaker,” said Price in a press release. “Throughout his career, Tim has embodied Duke’s values of innovation and service to society, whether through his contributions to Apple’s groundbreaking technology or his advocacy for social justice. I can imagine no better person, and no bigger Duke fan, to inspire the Class of 2018.”
The tech CEO earned his MBA in 1988 from Duke, where he was a Fuqua Scholar, an honor given only to students who graduate in the top 10% of their class. He received a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982.
Cook has been a member of the Duke Board of Trustees since 2015 and is a member of the Facilities and Environment Committee. He has also spoken with students at Fuqua, including a talk where he discussed what he learned at the school that has helped him in the business world.