Committee Forwards 12 Commencement Speaker Nominees

A preliminary list of 12 nominees for the May 2003 Commencement speaker was sent Tuesday to Chancellor James Moeser for his review, senior class officials said Wednesday.

The Commencement Speaker Selection Committee chose the nominees from a pool of 81 speaker candidates who were nominated by the rising senior class and faculty committee members.

The committee also sent the chancellor a list of eight UNC faculty members as candidates for the December 2002 Commencement speaker.

Last week, senior class officers invited rising seniors to nominate speaker candidates online. Rising seniors were asked to submit a short essay along with the nomination saying how the candidate would honor UNC and how the candidate would give an address geared toward the school.

Senior Class President Paymon Rouhanifard said he was impressed with the quality and quantity of the almost 200 nominations submissions he received. He said the short essays ensured that the individuals nominated were all strong candidates. "You couldn't just put down a name and sign off," Rouhanifard said. "Students put forth a serious effort."

Executive Associate Provost Bernadette Gray-Little, the selection committee chairwoman, said the faculty recognized the extra energy students put into their nominations, which she said facilitated a productive meeting.

"The list of student nominees had candidates everyone could see as a good Commencement speaker," she said.

Rouhanifard said 10 of the 12 candidates sent to the chancellor were taken from the list of student nominations. He said the remaining two candidates came from faculty suggestions of individuals already selected to receive an honorary degree from the University next year.

But Faculty Council Secretary Joe Ferrell, a member of the Speaker Selection Committee and the council's Honorary Degrees and Special Awards Committee, said he expects that any of the 10 student-nominated candidates could be considered for an honorary degree. ESPN sports anchor Stuart Scott, the May 2001 Commencement speaker, was met with some opposition from faculty and did not receive an honorary degree.

Rouhanifard said the candidate who received the most student nominations, entertainer Bill Cosby, was automatically added to the chancellor's list. He said the remaining candidates were chosen by having all committee members vote for their top five choices. "There are some names on the list that received multiple nominations (from students) and some that received just a single nomination because the nominations were so strong."

Gray-Little said that the Commencement speaker selection process usually does not start until the fall but that she is pleased to have a list ready early because many speaker candidates book their schedules far in advance.

Rouhanifard said he plans to meet with the chancellor Wednesday to review the list of December and May speaker nominations. He said he hopes the chancellor will select a candidate from each list to tap as the University's next two Commencement speakers.

"I don't know (the chancellor's) schedule for sure," Rouhanifard said. "But I would think he's going to try and extend an invitation by the end of the semester."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.