High school graduations are usually held in sticky auditoriums overflowing with people listening to teachers and students make speeches. The excitement of graduating from college is not only getting out into the real world but also hearing commencement speakers who are usually well-known in their fields.

In an email sent April 2, President Warrick L. Carter announced Columbia’s 2012 Honorary Degree Recipients, who will speak at this year’s commencement ceremonies. These individuals have used their talents for important endeavors, and their life work embodies the college’s ideals and spirit, according to the email.

This year, there will be six honorary degree recipients, compared to the usual three. These “outstanding individuals” are music producer Phil Ramone, marketing specialist Lee Flaherty, photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia, director Steve James, game designer Warren Spector and Mavis Staples, a soul singer in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

According to the email, Ramone, Flaherty and diCorcia will be honored at the May 5 commencement ceremonies, while James, Spector and Staples will be honored during the May 6 ceremonies.

Mark Kelly, vice president of Student Affairs, said there are six honorary degree recipients this year because there will be six graduation ceremonies.

“We always want the honorees to reflect as best as possible the composition of the graduates at that ceremony,” Kelly said.

For example, Staples will be at the ceremony that includes music students and Spector will be at the ceremony that includes all the interactive arts and design graduates, he said.

An honorary degree is a commencement tradition that is celebrated in every college and university around the country, and  Columbia takes its own approach on this academic tradition, Kelly said.

In choosing the individuals who will receive degrees, the faculty and staff of the college nominate different professionals. Kelly said recipients will be introduced by the faculty members who

nominated them.

According to him, Pantelis Vassilakis, Audio Arts & Acoustic chair, nominated Ramone; Shantia Akintonde, associate professor in the Marketing Communication Department, nominated Flaherty; Natasha Egan, director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, nominated diCorcia; Bruce Sheridan, Film & Video chair, nominated James; Tom Dowd, assistant professor in the Interactive Arts & Media Department, nominated Spector and Terri Hemmert, adjunct faculty in the Radio Department, nominated Staples.

The recipients will also be honored on May 4 during the Great Convergence, the kickoff event for Manifest. Staples will not be present because she is headlining at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Kelly said.

“I would say that the six honorees this year are pretty incredible,” he said. “These are, every one of them, a major figure in his or her discipline.”

Check out The Chronicle on April 16 for bios of each honoree.