Lewis ’82 to talk at 2012 Baccalaureate address

Writer and journalist Michael Lewis ’82 will speak at the Baccalaureate ceremony on June 3, Class of 2012 president Lindy Li announced in an email to seniors on Thursday morning.

Lewis is someone who “profoundly understands both life as a Princeton student and the drastic changes that transform our society today,” Li wrote in the email.

“He’s one of the most formidable financial journalists of our time,” Li said, explaining why Lewis topped the list of options for Baccalaureate speakers. Yet Lewis understands not only finance but also “what it’s like to be us because oftentimes the speakers are those who resonate most profoundly with us,” she added.

At Princeton, Lewis studied art history and was a member of Ivy Club. After graduating with a degree in art and archaeology, he attended the London School of Economics, where he received a master’s degree. He then went to work for the investment bank Salomon Brothers.

Lewis’ diverse experiences led him to write “Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street” — an insider’s account of his four years at the firm — in which he described experiences ranging from his training to his years as a bond trader. When Lewis began writing “Liar’s Poker,” he left Wall Street and committed to writing full-time. The book was published in 1989 and stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 62 weeks.

His other books include “The New New Thing,” which discusses Silicon Valley’s obsession with constant innovation during the Internet boom, as well as “Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House,” an analysis of the 1996 presidential campaign.

Two of his books — “Moneyball” and “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” — have been made into major feature films. His most recent book, “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine,” documents the U.S. financial crisis and appeared at least 15 times on the official Senate record, indicating its popular status with those on Capitol Hill.

Lewis now works as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and a columnist for Bloomberg View. He also writes for the New York Times Magazine, and his work has appeared in The New Yorker, Gourmet, Sports Illustrated, Foreign Affairs and Poetry magazine.

Many seniors have responded well to this choice of speaker, according to Li.

“The feedback I’ve gotten so far has been absolutely enthusiastic and positive,” she said.

“Michael Lewis is one of my favorite authors, and I’m really excited that he’s coming to speak,” Jonathan Wang ’12 said. “He’s the perfect speaker for this year, given the Occupy protests ... As a Baccalaureate speaker, I think he’ll be really engaging and entertaining, which I think will not only make it memorable and enjoyable for us, but I also think we’re going to learn something.”

Chloe Davis ’12 also said that she looks forward to learning from Lewis’ talk.

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Davis is also a former writer for Street for The Daily Princetonian.

“He has a really unconventional career considering his major,” she said. “I think he’s a good role model that way for being a self-starter.” Lewis, she said, provides an example of how “if you are a self-starter, and you think intelligently about the world, there are a lot of things you can do.”

Meanwhile, Nan Hu ’12 said in an email that while Lewis is an “amazing speaker” with many good stories to tell about Princeton, she is most excited that he has interesting opinions about what new graduates should do with their lives.

“When we talked before, he really emphasized that we should go out there and pursue our passions and dreams, so I’m definitely looking forward to hearing what he has to say to us at our commencement weekend,” she said.

Hu interviewed Lewis in May 2010 for The Daily Princetonian. Hu is also a former associate editor for news for The Daily Princetonian.

Lewis was selected from a list of potential Baccalaureate speakers recommended to President Shirley Tilghman by the Class of 2012 leaders, based on responses to a survey distributed to the seniors earlier in the year. He will speak at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 3, during the end-of-year interfaith Baccalaureate service, which is one of Princeton’s oldest traditions.