Announcement receives criticism
USC announced its slate of graduation speakers Tuesday afternoon, but some students criticized the lineup as ho-hum and a disappointment compared to previous years.
An NOAA administrator, a J.P. Morgan Chase regional chairman, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission chairwoman and three USC professors will speak at the university’s commencement exercises next month. Across town at Columbia College, former President Bill Clinton will deliver the commencement address. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is speaking at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“I realize it’s not a superstar lineup, but I’m comfortable with who they are,” Pastides said. “I’m committed to improving the process but I’m happy with the slate.”
Jane Lubchenco, the first female administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as its under secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, will address business, mass communications and information studies, nursing, pharmacy and public health graduates at 3 p.m. Friday, May 4, in the Colonial Life Arena.
Glenn Fletcher Tilton, chairman of the Midwest region of J.P. Morgan Chase and an executive committee member of the bank, will speak to South Carolina Honors College and College of Arts and Sciences graduates at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 5, in the arena.
Inez Moore Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, will speak at the School of Law commencement and hooding ceremony Saturday at 9:30 a.m. on the Horseshoe.
Walter Edgar, a USC professor of history and director of USC’s Institute for Southern Studies, will address education, engineering and computing, hospitality, retail, sport management, music and social work graduates.
Dr. Jim Chow, a USC clinical associate professor of dermatology, and James S. Cutsinger, a professor of theology and religious studies, will address medicine and doctoral graduates, respectively, at their commencements Saturday and Sunday.
When students heard the lineup, many took to social media to complain about the lack of big names, like speaker Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who spoke last May, or award-winning NBC journalist Tom Brokaw, who spoke in December.
USC administrators defended the lineup in interviews with The Daily Gamecock staff Tuesday night.
“They’re all extremely interesting and exciting,” said the board’s secretary Amy Stone, who is in charge of bringing in the speakers. “I think our students will be very excited to have someone of their caliber … It’s a great combination a scientist, a businessman, an author/historian. It should be a unique, great lineup for us. I think again, I think we have some outstanding speakers. I hope students and others will hold further comments until they hear their address. Give a little time, do a little listening, do a little research.”
Ryan Bowen, a fourth-year computer and information systems student, tweeted, “Skimping on all graduation speakers but dumping millions into programs like USC Connect. Typical.”
“I’m disappointed,” he said when reached Tuesday evening. “I’ve been talking to my friend over the past few weeks about how it was a few weeks away and we hadn’t heard anything. We were expecting a fairly big name. For all but two or three to be USC professors — I don’t see a whole lot of diversity in that.”
Stone stressed Lubchenco’s connections to South Carolina, Tilton’s friendship to the university and the accomplishments of Edgar and the other professors tapped to speak. But when asked if any student input had been incorporated into the decision-making process, she deferred to USC President Harris Pastides.
“First of all, student input is always welcome,” Pastides said Tuesday night. “It’s never been a topic students have approached me about. I’ve met with Student Government, with students I have on my student advisory council; never has the issue of who the commencement speaker is going to be been brought up to me.”
Pastides said he’d talked with other presidents of universities around the country and concluded that no perfect process exists for speaker selection. He stressed that the message, not the person speaking, should be the emphasis.
“Last year, I did say I do intend to come up with a new process where students will be solicited in a different way,” Pastides said. “Earlier in the year I want to hear from students about the kinds of speakers they want and even get the names on the table before they go to the board.”