University begins 2010 commencement speaker search
The commencement speaker selection process for 2010 and the process for future speakers will now begin in the spring semester, over a full year before the ceremony.
Susan Germain, executive director of special events, said the decision was made to maximize options available to the committee. The selection committee is made up of class marshals, marshals from each of the schools and colleges, and three student representatives to the SU Board of Trustees. The committee compiles a list of names based on suggestions faculty, staff and students post on the commencement Web site and then gives 30-50 names to the chancellor for final review and decision.
‘We used to not get the list until November, and then you’ve got the holidays and you’re trying to get a speaker in about four months, which is very difficult,’ Germain said, ‘especially if you’re looking for a big name.’
Class marshals will be selected by Feb. 15 under the new process. University or college marshals will be selected by March 1 and a final list of speakers will be ready by May 1, leaving nearly a year to secure a speaker.
Carissa Matthews, a senior public relations major and one of the 2009 class marshals, said she thinks the extra time will also give students more time to submit suggestions online.
‘It’ll really help students know they can be a part of the process and not just show up to 2010 commencement and be like, ‘Who is this guy?” Matthews said.
Requirements for speaker nominees listed on the commencement Web site include ‘outstanding achievement of some kind, innovative achievements, humanitarian deeds, connection with Syracuse University, degree to which the candidate’s activities have touched the lives of others, and outstanding model for graduates.’
Past speakers include Bob Woodruff, Frank McCourt, Billy Joel, Jane Goodall, Phylicia Rashad, Bill Clinton, Rudolph Giuliani, Eileen Collins and Ted Koppel.
The 2009 speaker should be announced in the next few weeks, Germain said.
Germain said the committee gets many suggestions from students – serious and humorous.
‘We get hundreds of entries, including a bunch of funny ones,’ she said. ‘They always put Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck down, this year a couple of people put Ernie Davis.’
Published on February 4, 2009 at 12:00 pm
