By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania was the setting today for another Penn commencement ceremony, a procession of graduates in caps and gowns in a tradition dating back to the 1750s.

Penn president Amy Gutmann exhorted the 5,858 graduates to “go forth and change the world. … God speed, and may you succeed.”

Several luminaries received honorary degrees, including CIA director and retired Army general David Petraeus, and Ruzena Bajcsy, a pioneer researcher in robotics and artificial intelligence.

Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone, also received an honorary degree.  In his commencement address, Canada asked the new graduates to “remember the common good of self-sacrifice and altruism.”

“You have proven that you have what it takes to make it,” Canada said. “My question to you is, do you care about those who won’t make it without real help?’ “

He said the only way we can have real equality in America is if we have equal access to quality education.