Beyond the Talking Points

On Commencement

It’s that time of year!  Everyone abandons their frat parties and student orgs to chill with Helen C and do some last second cramming.  That also means for those lucky seniors not taking a victory lap graduation is upon us.

This also means it’s time for the time-honored UW tradition of commencement speaker criticism!

Yes, this tradition dates back quite far.

[Update - 4:48] Oh, almost forgot about my friends over at University and State, who penned a couple of these pieces

Tiny Knox College Destroys Wisconsin

One Thumb Up, One Thumb Down

However, this year we are fortunate enough to have President Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.  Although we do not have the pleasure of hearing the President speak to us as Michigan did, Secretary Duncan is probably the most notable speaker the UW has had in the last decade.  (OK, yes West Wing fans out there, Josh Lyman spoke in 2004)

As one of the senior class officers, charged with selecting (or sort of selecting) the commencement speaker, I think it is awesome that we will be able to hear Secretary Duncan speak this year.  I believe that his presence is indicative  that we are on the map in terms of top educational institutions and we just need to push a little harder to make it there.

There are a number of approaches the UW could take to improving our ability to attract top talent for our commencement address, and I believe that it is in fact extremely important to show the country that we are a top public institution.  Hopefully, with Chancellor Martin’s innovative record and forward-looking perspective, we will be able to make concrete changes at the university to improve our public perception.

Biddy, let’s start by tweaking commencement!

1) UW should move back to 1 large ceremony at Camp Randall (instead of 5 different ceremonies at the Kohl Center) – it then becomes a public spectacle, more likely to attract better quality speakers (larger audience, only have to speak at a single ceremony, etc).

2) UW should focus on recruiting speakers without ties to UW – Musolf and the Faculty have previously been fans of UW-related speakers, but I think we should seek out bigger and better names outside the university as well (and rely on faculty connections to famous people!)

3) In tandem with the last point, UW should assess a $2 or $4 commencement speaker fee to raise between $50,000 and $150,000 to pay commencement honoraria.  This will allow us to attract top-quality, non-UW speakers more easily without “breaking the bank” in terms of education.  Suchita Shah touched on this issue in a 2008 op-ed in the Badger Herald.  Despite what some commenters may say on the message board below, I think most students would be willing to forgo 1 spotted cow a year to attract a top-tier speaker.

4) UW needs to invest more care and effort into maintaining overall elite status (particularly via rankings).  The rankings, although every admissions office and higher ed administrator will tell you that they are not an accurate reflection of the institution, are all about perception and perception is 90% of reality.  Thus, we should be aiming to increase our public perception to a UCLA, Michigan, UNC-Chapel Hill to both improve our net of top students as well as to attract top speakers.

5) We should focus on graduation being a public spectacle for showing off the university. What graduates truly will benefit from is the increased visibility, stature, and prestige of the institution not how much more family friendly the Kohl Center is compared to Camp Randall.

We’ll see.  Maybe I’ll change my mind after walking across the stage next Sunday, but let’s make these minor adjustments, and I think we will see the payoff in major results.

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