CSI Producer Phil Conserva ’95 gave the 2012 Commencement speech at Roanoke College. Photo: roanokecollege [CC BY 2.0]
In this month’s Higher Ed Careers Interview, Andrew Hibel spoke with Dr. John Thelin, an author and professor at the University of Kentucky. Thelin lent his perspective as a higher education historian to the topic of commencement, discussing the history of commencement speeches, aspects of a successful speech, and the importance of commencement as a ritualized and unifying event.
Andrew Hibel, HigherEdJobs: Commencement speeches are rooted in tradition. You’ve studied campus traditions and events. Please explain the history of the inception of the commencement speech and the importance of the speeches.
Dr. John Thelin, University of Kentucky: Colleges and universities are historic and commencement exercises renew the tradition each year. Surprisingly, however, having a featured and honored guest speaker who gives a major address is an uneven practice and often not all that old — with a great deal of variance from campus to campus.
Prior to the rise of media coverage and public relations, commencement exercises were collective, communal events for members of the university community and family. But there was not much news coverage — nor did academic officials expect there to be.
My sense is that the commencement talk that set a new standard was General George Marshall at Harvard in June 1947. He set forth the need for and provisions of the proposed plan for European Recovery — now legendary as The Marshall Plan. It was unexpected and exceptional at the time. It was part of commencement activities, but evidently, came after the main ceremonies. Its legacy is peculiar because it set a new standard, which prompted future speakers to be serious and significant. But few really achieve that.
Hibel: There have been many different commencement speeches over the years — some humorous, some inspirational, and some a bit off the beaten path. Do you feel there is a certain recipe for success when it comes to creating a commencement speech?
Thelin: It’s a highly ritualized event. The address resembles a liturgy in that the sponsors and the speaker most of all want things to go smoothly and with decorum. So, the usual aim is to be inspirational rather than confrontational or controversial. Also, it cannot be too long. As the size of graduating classes has increased, this last feature seems banal, but really is crucial to the planners and organizers.
The dilemma a thoughtful invited speaker faces is to stay within these boundaries yet still leave the audience and perhaps the media with some memorable, distinctive insight or statement. Apart from blatant, deliberate volatile statements intended to fan controversy, a speaker will be secondary in importance to the awarding of degrees and celebrating by graduating students and their families.
To illustrate my point about the importance of harmony and lack of disruption — a nightmare is a tragic event such as at the University of Virginia about twenty years ago when several guests, including parents of graduates, were injured or killed when a balcony collapsed at a historic building prior to the commencement ceremonies. Yet the essence of an institution and its ceremonial events is that they persist and endure — despite tragedies and catastrophes.
Hibel: The graduation ceremony and commencement speech can be viewed as a time of transition as identities evolve from a college student to a young adult, which comes with many social and emotional changes. How can this tradition be used as a teaching moment for graduates?
Thelin: I think some remarkable, thoughtful speakers have tried to foster this by including some substantive insights that acknowledge the rituals and predictable themes yet still attempting to add to or depart from the conventional wisdom and statements that can become clichés.
Hibel: How have commencement speeches changed over the decades, and is there a current theme today?
Thelin: One vacillation is from the speaker imploring students to serve the greater good versus encouraging students to “find themselves” — a more internal and possibly indulgent emphasis. I think the theme of “the journey” has reached the end of the trail after several years. One concern that comes up today is that of how a graduate handles affordability and student loans while trying to make wise, compassionate decisions and plans for the future after leaving campus.
Hibel: What are the differences in messages or themes from undergraduate to graduate commencement speeches?
Thelin: In 1996, I had the honor of being the commencement speaker for Brown University’s graduate school. The challenge, as I discerned it, was that it is universally accepted that undergraduates are the understandable center of attention. The shared experience of graduate students and their spouses and even children along with parents and grandparents is markedly different than the bright college years of undergraduates. So, I tried to speak directly to the distinctive graduate school and Ph.D. experience. The best example I could invoke came from a Hollywood movie, “Marathon Man,” in which Dustin Hoffman was a Ph.D. student at Columbia University in New York City. Local teenage gangs never harassed him when he got off the subway because they figured anyone who was still “going to school” at age 30 had already suffered enough. Now, that was a bit of hyperbole but was still worth keeping mind.
Hibel: Who are your favorite commencement speakers or do you have any favorite speeches and why?
Thelin: Well, since I was born in 1947 I was a bit young to have remembered or even attended the Marshall talk. I do always laugh and appreciate the legendary talk attributed to novelist Kurt Vonnegut at the 1997 MIT commencement. Vonnegut’s litany of counter-intuitive nuggets of sound living and good advice included the admonition to be sure to wear sunscreen. In fact, it was a good-natured spoof that never took place and then blossomed as an urban legend. The author was Mary Schmich, a columnist for The Chicago Tribune. It so happened that Mary Schmich and I had been colleagues as admissions officers at Pomona College in California years earlier — and her remarkable wit and writing all made sense to me. The legacy was, I think, that a good speaker does not want to immerse the students in platitudes. So, how can one best avoid pretension and at the same time convey both the hope and uncertainty one faces after graduation?
Hibel: You have worked in college relations on campus including commencement planning. How does a campus determine who is the right fit for their institution’s ceremony?
Thelin: My experience is that this goes along with deliberations over who ought to be awarded an honorary degree. A candidate ideally is timely and also in tune with the principles of the college. Then, from within this designated small pool, the committee delves into more excruciating, thoughtful discussions as to who might be both appropriate and appealing as a speaker.
Hibel: How closely do institutions work with commencement speakers in terms of theme, message, delivery, etc. of commencement speeches?
Thelin: There’s always an element of uncertainty and risk. That is why the preceding step of the larger discussion about, e.g., honorary degree recipients, is crucial in finding the good and avoiding the problematic. I think university representatives would have trouble in trying to intrude in or censor a talk.
Hibel: As a higher education historian, how do you think people will look back in 25 years at the Morehouse commencement speech and the gift of giving forward?
Thelin: I think the Morehouse speaker and talk were newsworthy and exceptional. I like the idea of student financial aid as a priority of philanthropists. At the same time, I was (and am) wary of such an unexpected public pronouncement. It’s a bit like what Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes once said about the forward pass: “Three things can happen — and two of them are bad.” So, it was a generous gift and the public forum gave it publicity. I sure hope they get the details worked out happily and accurately. My preference, to paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt, is, “Speak softly and give a big gift …”
Hibel: What keeps you engaged in your work in academia?
Thelin: For me, it’s the enduring great relationship with students as they become alumni and “former students.” Watching their courage and commitment in their good works and explorations, and perhaps having been a small good influence, means that I have the greatest job and students in the world!