Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg is going back to Cambridge to deliver this year’s commencement speech.
The Harvard Gazette announced Tuesday that Zuckerberg will be the featured speaker at the afternoon program for commencement on May 25. The Facebook founder was once a Harvard student himself, but he opted to drop out his sophomore year in 2006 to move to Palo Alto, Calif. There, he rebranded and eventually launched Facebook.
“Few inventions in modern times can rival Facebook in its far-reaching impact on how people around the globe interact with one another,” Harvard president Drew Faust said, according to the Gazette. “And few individuals can rival Mark Zuckerberg in his drive to change our world through the innovative use of technology, as well as his commitment to advance science, enhance education, and expand opportunity through the pursuit of philanthropy.
Bill Gates, another famous Harvard student who dropped out to launch a tech company, spoke at the school’s commencement in 2007. Harvard’s YouTube page posted a video of Gates giving Zuckerberg advice.
Zuckerberg isn’t the only tech mogul speaking at a prestigious Boston-area college this year. Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the commencement address at MIT in June.
