In hugely unexpected news, Barnard has canceled Jill Abramson’s appearance at this year’s Commencement, in favor of the President of the United States, CC ’83. Barack Hussein Obama is confirmed to be delivering this year’s keynote address at Barnard’s graduating ceremony. Students have been campaigning to bring Obama to Columbia’s commencement for years, from casual sighs around this time of year, to the full-scale media onslaught that was the POTUS project of Sean Udell, CCSC class president of 2011. Apparently, all it took was Barnard’s Medal of Distinction.

For once, Bwog couldn’t agree more with PrezBo, who stated in the press release, “All of us can be proud that President Obama, the first Columbia graduate to serve in the nation’s highest office, has chosen to honor the importance of women’s leadership by returning to campus at our historic sister liberal arts college for women in New York.”

Barnard Prez DSpar sent the following email to the Barnard community at 10:00 am this morning:

Dear members of the Class of 2012,

I have exciting news to report. Each year, President Obama selects a small number of schools at which to deliver commencement addresses. This year, the President has chosen Barnard College and will address you, our senior class, on May 14th. This is a great honor and a testament to your collective intelligence and accomplishment. It will be a thrill for all of us to welcome President Obama and hear his words.

Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times, was previously announced as the keynote speaker and has noted that she is happy to speak at Barnard at a later date.

As you might imagine, tickets for the ceremony will no longer be unlimited, but we will be as accommodating as possible to you and your families. We anticipate that each student will receive 6 tickets at a minimum. Dean Schneider and Lillian Appel will be contacting you with details on the logistics of the day, and we will continue to post updates on the Commencement website as the date approaches: www.barnard.edu/commencement.

I know that you share my excitement about this very special news. As ever, I look forward to celebrating your spectacular achievements on May 14th.

Super serious photo of Barack via Wikimedia Commons