Commencement season often is a controversial time. Last year was conspicuous for its wave of politically motivated disinvitations, with students trying, sometimes with success, to get their universities to rescind invitations to commencement speakers such as anti-Islamist writer and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
This year started out with a more pragmatic controversy. In April, the University of Houston reluctantly admitted it is paying actor Matthew McConaughey $135,000 to speak at the May 15 commencement ceremony, which he says will be donated to his foundation, Just Keep Livin’, which places fitness and wellness programs at public schools throughout the nation.
This raises important questions: At what point does the graduation ritual become too extravagant? Could college funds be put to better use than attracting celebrity speakers to say a few inspiring words to the graduating class? After all, most commencement speakers are paid nothing.
The conventional knowledge is that colleges have powerful incentives to invite bigger and better speakers. Supposedly the invitations help market the campuses to potential students, faculty members, and even the media by building buzz around a college’s brand. Also, they may have the potential to attract donations.
But picking the wrong speaker could cost donations as well, and it’s not always easy to tell which speakers those will be. The marketing argument is plausible for small private schools, but even then, marketing does not excuse interfering with the academic mission of a college. At subsidized public colleges, the idea that it is necessary to spend six figures on a big name for marketing purposes is absurd. Public colleges are there to fill a state’s need, not to increase it.
Bills in New Jersey and Illinois have proposed banning public universities from using public funds to pay for commencement speakers. That would solve the problem of wasting tax dollars on speakers, a practice that becomes more contentious when taxpayers and students are expected to welcome controversial speakers to campuses.
One highly controversial pick for commencement speaker this year was Common, a rapper and actor, who received two very different receptions by two different schools. First, his scheduled appearance was canceled unceremoniously in March by the administration of Kean University in New Jersey, just hours after the announcement. The reason was that a police union complained that one of his songs takes the side of Joanne Chesimard, a former Black Panther who was convicted of killing a New Jersey State Trooper.
But Common did not miss out on graduation season altogether; he was still the keynote speaker at Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university. In that university’s case, picking a commencement speaker is a democratic process. London Mickle, president of the staff senate at Winston-Salem State, told the Pope Center that a commencement committee chooses the speaker. The committee, made up of representatives from different units around campus — such as the chair of the faculty senate, the senior class president, the campus police, and employees and volunteers from the registrar’s office and academic affairs — chooses the the commencement speaker from a list of requests submitted by students, Mickle said.
Then the committee finds out who from the list is available. The next step? “See [who] we can afford,” she said.
Elsewhere in North Carolina (as in the rest of the country), there was a diverse group of commencement speakers, ranging from politicians and celebrities to academics and artists. High Point University has sought a higher profile in recent years, and that shows in its recent choices. This year was no exception; High Point picked former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw. Also hosting a high-profile celebrity was Wake Forest University, with new “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert.
There was a sizable, albeit relatively uncontroversial, list of political figures speaking in the state. Speakers include Gov. Pat McCrory and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The former spoke at Elizabeth City State University and Forsyth Technical Community College, and the latter addressed graduates at N.C. Central University. Also, Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is seeking the 2016 Democratic nomination for governor, delivered Elon University School of Law’s address. Shaw University hosted U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield, the First District Democrat who also is the new chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Another popular category of commencement speaker includes entrepreneurs and business leaders. The most high-profile of these in North Carolina was former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, who gave the address at his alma mater UNC-Chapel Hill. Warren Wilson College, the Asheville-based liberal arts college, hosted New Belgium Brewing Company CEO Kim Jordan.
From the arts community, UNC-Pembroke picked Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore. Queens University of Charlotte chose Marshall Curry, a documentary filmmaker.
Harry Painter is a writer for the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.