Albright to issue address

 

Madeleine Albright, the first female secretary of state, will deliver the spring Commencement address, officials announced Wednesday.

"I would call it a major coup," Steve Allred, executive associate provost and chairman of the Commencement speaker selection committee, said of securing Albright as speaker.

"She is a remarkably gifted speaker. She is direct, and she speaks from experience."

Albright served as the 64th secretary of state for President Clinton after being unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate and was once the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government. She's tied with current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for that honor.

Now a professor at Georgetown University, Albright has issued several Commencement speeches, including one in 2004 to Duke University graduates.

Allred said the selection fits UNC's goal of increasing globalization - a major talking point of Chancellor James Moeser's recent State of the University address.

"As Carolina becomes a more international university, it is fitting to have a secretary of state who has so much experience in international affairs," Allred said.

Prior to being secretary Albright served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as a member of Clinton's cabinet.

Student Body President James Allred, who nominated Albright to the committee, said he anticipates the former secretary will give students valuable advice about entering the international job market.

"We think someone like Dr. Albright with a global perspective will be able to address students' interests very well," James Allred said. "The idea of graduates working in a global environment is already at the forefront of graduates' minds."

"Few people in the world know as well as Secretary Albright knows what it means to be an American in a global setting," he said.

Selection of the speaker in recent years has been plagued by student dissatisfaction, with seniors saying they have no voice in the process.

But James Allred emphasized that this was not the case. He said that many students think "the administration goes in a dark room and picks a candidate," but that this does not reflect the actual process.

"This was something that was a student initiative," James Allred said. "It was the students' choice. We feel we had a good say in it."

The speaker is recommended to Moeser by a committee composed of four faculty members and four students - the student body president, the president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation and the senior class president and vice president.

"The students were extremely influential in drawing this up," said Karen Gil, chairwoman of the psychology department and member of the committee. "The students brought great leadership to this list and brought incredible ideas."

Seniors said they are excited about the selection and are looking forward to Albright's address.

"I'd be interested to see how political it's going to be," Senior Class President Meg Petersen said. "But my assumption is that it will be global-focused and inspirational."

"Hopefully this is something that's going to reach a wide variety of people."

Senior Sarah Ritzer expects to be one of them.

"I think that it's great," she said. "It's a lot better choice than last year."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.