2008 Woodie Awards
And your speaker is...
With little input from the graduating senior class, the college selects the keynote and student speakers for commencement
By: Brian Martucci
Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: News
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Each spring, as the college announces the selection of the keynote and student speakers at commencement, seniors meet the announcements with great surprise. Students usually have little idea of who potential speakers will be and almost no role in the selection process.
According to President Brian Rosenberg, only “two or three” students serving on a selection committee chaired by Provost Diane P. Michelfelder participate in the creation of a list of possible candidates for keynote speaker, which is then narrowed down and chosen by Rosenberg himself.
Years ago, students were allowed to vote on their keynote speaker before the Honorary Degree Committee assumed that responsibility, said Sandy Hill, Assistant to the President.
According to Hill, this was discontinued after students consistently seemed to prefer high-profile individuals who were usually too busy to attend-or even to reply to their invitations in a timely fashion. Often this would create a situation in which keynote speakers had to be selected and invited in a last-minute rush.
“Most colleges and universities use a variation of this process [to select commencement speakers],” Hill said. “We try to select speakers we feel are appropriate given Macalester's mission and student body.”
He cited this year's orator, former CNN anchor Aaron Brown, as an example of such an appropriate person. Brown, who was raised in nearby Hopkins and whose brother graduated from Macalester, is an eloquent, practiced newsman who gained fame and respect for his coverage of 9/11.
“I recently attended a lecture of his,” Hill said, “and he gave one of the best speeches I've ever heard. He is the type of speaker [to select commencement speakers],” Hill said. “We try to select speakers we feel are appropriate given Macalester's mission and student body.”
According to President Brian Rosenberg, only “two or three” students serving on a selection committee chaired by Provost Diane P. Michelfelder participate in the creation of a list of possible candidates for keynote speaker, which is then narrowed down and chosen by Rosenberg himself.
Years ago, students were allowed to vote on their keynote speaker before the Honorary Degree Committee assumed that responsibility, said Sandy Hill, Assistant to the President.
According to Hill, this was discontinued after students consistently seemed to prefer high-profile individuals who were usually too busy to attend-or even to reply to their invitations in a timely fashion. Often this would create a situation in which keynote speakers had to be selected and invited in a last-minute rush.
“Most colleges and universities use a variation of this process [to select commencement speakers],” Hill said. “We try to select speakers we feel are appropriate given Macalester's mission and student body.”
He cited this year's orator, former CNN anchor Aaron Brown, as an example of such an appropriate person. Brown, who was raised in nearby Hopkins and whose brother graduated from Macalester, is an eloquent, practiced newsman who gained fame and respect for his coverage of 9/11.
“I recently attended a lecture of his,” Hill said, “and he gave one of the best speeches I've ever heard. He is the type of speaker [to select commencement speakers],” Hill said. “We try to select speakers we feel are appropriate given Macalester's mission and student body.”
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