It was the senior convocation on Saturday, not the commencement on Sunday.
Knox has been able to line up its staggering roster despite the fact that the college has only 1,400 students and does not pay commencement speakers, as some institutions do.
Mr. Romney is not the first Mormon commencement speaker at Liberty: Glenn Beck, the conservative radio host, spoke to graduates in 2010.
The change caps a monthlong saga at Choate, where Mr. Rove was not the first choice as commencement speaker.
With students threatening to walk out on graduation, the school announced on Monday that Mr. Rove would not speak at commencement.
The White House has announced that Mr. Bush and the first lady will not attend those commencements, though the Bushes will be in Austin and New Haven at the time of the graduations for private family dinners.
This time Mr. Bush is the host, not just the commencement speaker, as he was in New Haven in 2001.
As President Ford demonstrated, one need not await the commencement of legal action to issue a pardon for offenses that may have been committed.
In addition, he was honored, as the President, by being allowed to break Yale's long-standing tradition of not having a commencement speaker.
BOSTON — Senator Edward M. Kennedy will not give the commencement address he was scheduled to deliver on Sunday at Wesleyan University and will be replaced as the speaker by Senator Barack Obama.
