Harvard dropout to give Harvard commencement speech

Harvard's most famous dropout (okay, maybe second) is going to be giving the commencement speech at the prestigious college's upcoming graduation.

Harvard University announced on Tuesday that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be the featured speaker at the institution's 366th commencement on May 25, 2017.

He won't be the first dropout to speak. Bill Gates spoke at Harvard commencement in 2007, a fact that clearly wasn't lost on the Harvard communications department, which put together this video.

“Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide. Few inventions in modern times can rival Facebook in its far-reaching impact on how people around the globe interact with one another,” said Harvard President Drew Faust in the press release.

Zuckerberg started at Harvard in 2002 but left after creating www.thefacebook.com in his sophomore year, a time that has since been chronicled in a book, as well as the movie "The Social Network."

Harvard lauded Zuckerberg's success but also his philanthropy, in particular the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, to which $3 billion has been pledged.

“Mark Zuckerberg understands the power of connection, and the importance of creating community,” said Martin Grasso, president of the Harvard Alumni Association, also in the press release. “Harvard alumni and students will be eager for this opportunity to hear from someone who through hard work and dedication has transformed the way we connect to each other and the world.”

For a preview of what Zuckerberg might say, we can look to the 6,000-word manifesto he recently published about the future of Facebook. In it, he stressed the need to build and foster communities that will make the world a better place.