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-- [ From: Seymour Gross * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] -- The following appeared as part of a larger article by Andy Newman on page B6 of the May 20 edition of the New York Times Columbia University "On a bright sunny day, I would invite you to listen and share in the lessons learned on a trip my family and I took to visit my daughter in central Africa," said George Rupp, the Columbia president, cutting short his remarks amid frequent umbrella openings and closings. "On a not so bright and sunny day, I invite you to visit Columbia's Web site after this ceremony and meditate thoughtfully on the full text of my speech." Indeed, Columbia's main lawn was thick with sodden confetti as 9,200 students received degrees Wednesday. Among those awarded honorary degrees were the linguist Noam Chomsky, the musician Tito Puente, the Broadway director Julie Taymor and Muhammad Ali, who was escorted to the stage by David Stern, the N.B.A. Commissioner and Columbia trustee. Ali was listed in the commencement program simply as "The Greatest." After the ceremony, Ali's wife, Lonnie, acknowledged that her husband had accepted the honor with characteristic bravado. "When we first got the call, I was blown away because of Columbia's prestige. "Muhammad was also very impressed," she added, smiling, "but not as impressed as I."