Nancy Pelosi, Coretta Scott King and Bill Belichick were among those appearing in the Boston area.

BOSTON (AP) – The United States needs more women in positions of power, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told graduating seniors at Simmons College on Sunday.

“It is important to have women in leadership, because women bring something unique to the table,” the California Democrat told 1,300 graduates of the predominantly women’s college.

Pelosi, the highest-ranking woman in the history of Congress, said she is “astounded” that more women haven’t risen to positions of power in national politics.

“Now I sit at the table of power with the president of the United States and top leaders of Congress,” she said. “At that table, national security, the economy, and other vital national issues are discussed. And I am astounded that in more than 200 years in our nation’s history, no women had ever had a seat at that table.”

Pelosi said more women and minority leaders are needed in government because “it takes the full spectrum of human talent to administer our complex society. Men and women each possess distinctive gifts and insights.”

Simmons College, founded in 1899, has co-educational graduate programs and an undergraduate school for women.

At the largest graduation ceremony in New England, Craig Venter, a leader in decoding the human genome, pressed for a more “science-literate world” in his keynote address to Boston University’s 5,776 graduates and their 20,000 guests.

“Unfortunately, our leaders are woefully undereducated in science and medicine, and our children continue to lag in test scores in math and science,” he said.

Honorary degree recipients included New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart.

At the New England Conservatory of Music, also in Boston, Coretta Scott King told graduates of her alma mater that she was inspired by the music of the civil rights movement, spearheaded by her late husband, Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Over the years, I have learned a lot about the power of music and song to fill the hearts of millions with hope and courage,” said King, speaking on the 50th anniversary of her graduation.

It was a historic commencement at Smith College in Northampton, which handed out the first engineering degrees in the 126-year history of the school.

Judy Woodruff, a senior correspondent at CNN, told the 690 graduates that they should help change America’s image overseas and urged them to follow her into journalism. She noted that on Sept. 11 the major networks had no journalists in Arabic-speaking countries who were prepared to adequately report on the impact of the terrorist attacks from the Middle East.

“We need good thoughtful journalists to reverse that trend,” she said.

At Springfield College, Kenneth L. Gladish, the national executive director of the YMCA of the USA, urged 630 graduates to give back to society through voluntary service.

“From the beginning of the Republic, we’ve been reminded of the centrality of voluntary and philanthropic action in America,” he said.

In Newton, at Lasell College, Dr. Timothy Johnson told 208 graduates to embrace “TBA moments – to be announced moments in one’s blueprint of life,” that are unplanned but which can present rich opportunities.

Pine Manor College, a small liberal arts school for women, conferred 77 degrees at its 92nd commencement ceremonies outdoors despite the rainy weather.

Jack Williams, WBZ-TV news anchor, gave the commencement address at Curry College.

AP-ES-05-16-04 1849EDT