Bob Mould ’82, alternative-rock vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, has been selected as the keynote speaker for the Class of 2025 Commencement.
Mould grew up in rural New York before attending Macalester, where he formed the band Hüsker Dü in 1979. When the band broke up in the late 1980s, Mould created and released solo music until the formation of alternative rock band Sugar in 1992. Sugar’s first album, “Copper Blue (1992),” sold over 300,000 copies, making it Mould’s most successful release. After the band dissolved in the mid-1990s, Mould returned to a solo career and continues to make music today. His most recent album “Here We Go Crazy” was released on March 7.
Throughout his career, Mould has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Heparticipated in the collaborative album, “No Alternative” (1993), which held the goals of educating about HIV and AIDS and fundraising for relief. In more recent years, Mould has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and his administration. In 2021, he released the song “American Crisis,” which directly compares Trump’s actions during his first term with President Ronald Reagan’s management of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The entire album “Blue Hearts,” released just two months before the 2020 presidential election, serves as a protest piece against the Trump administration, police violence and the mistreatment of minority groups across the country.
Mould was chosen by Macalester senior administration last week to deliver this year’s keynote speech and, following tradition, will receive an honorary degree.
“Bob Mould is a rock and punk music legend who not only paved the way for other bands and sounds, but also used his esteemed platform to fiercely advocate for a more just society,” President Suzanne Rivera wrote in an email to The Mac Weekly. “We look forward to welcoming him back to campus as an honorary degree recipient and our 2025 Commencement speaker.”
Macalester’s Class of 2025 Commencement will occur on Saturday, May 17 in the Leonard Center Fieldhouse.
