Lisa Jackson GS ’86 will speak at this academic year’s Baccalaureate ceremony on May 31, the University announced in a press release on Monday.
Jackson is vice president of environmental initiatives at Apple and is aformer administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the agency's top job. She earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University and was appointed a trustee of the University in June.
Jackson did not respond to a request for comment.
In a 2013 Q&A with The Daily Princetonian, Jackson identified her two biggest accomplishments with the EPA as their finding that “emissions of greenhouse gases are endangering public health and welfare,” which obligated the EPA to address greenhouse gases, and “expanding the conversation on the environment and working for environmental justice.”
At Apple, Jackson has addressed allegations of unsafe working conditions at manufacturing plants in China regarding the use of toxic chemicals and has overseen a variety of energy efficiency initiatives across the company.
Jackson was rumored to be a candidate for University president when she stepped down from her post at the EPA in 2012. University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 was chosen as former University President Shirley Tilghman’s successor in April 2013.
Jackson was known to butt heads often with Republican politicians in Congress during her time at the helm of the EPA from 2009 to 2013. She was also under investigation for using a second email account for business matters that used a different alias.
Jackson also spoke at Alumni Day in 2012 when she was awarded the James Madison medal, the University’s top award for Graduate School alumni.
Eisgruber, who selected Jackson to be speaker, said in an interview that Jackson exemplifies the ideals of service that the University is looking for in a Baccalaureate speaker.
“She’s demonstrated those ideals in a variety of different settings that matter to our students,” Eisgruber said. “I think she is both somebody who has lived the University’s motto of ‘in the nation’s service’ and she’s somebody who’s very dedicated to Princeton. That’s a rare and special combination.”
Eisgruber also said the Baccalaureate address has a unique role in the University’s graduation ceremonies.
“Being a Baccalaureate speaker is different from being a Class Day speaker or different from being a commencement speaker at other universities,” he explained. “Baccalaureate really is a reflection on ideals of service and on ethics, so yes, I am very focused on selecting people who ... one way or another —and there are a lot of ways to do this —have given parts of their lives to service.”
Last year’s Baccalaureate speaker, Christopher Lu ’88, former Cabinet Secretary (an advisor responsible for coordinating policy across different departments) in the Obama administration and current Deputy Secretary of Labor, was the first Baccalaureate speaker to be chosen by Eisgruber, as it was Eisgruber's first year as University president.
Both Baccalaureate speakers chosen by Eisgruber so far have held high-ranking positions in the Obama administration.
Previous Baccalaureate speakers have included former chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke in 2013, author Michael Lewis in 2012, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2011 and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2010.
The last female Baccalaureate speaker was Toni Morrison, a Pulitzer Prize winner and then-creative writing professor at the University, in 2005.
The Class of 2015 announced on Friday that director Christopher Nolan will speak at the Class Day ceremonies on June 1.
The Baccalaureate ceremony will take place in the University Chapel on May 31.
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