Last week, the university unveiled its spring 2010 commencement speaker, Teach for America founder and chief executive Wendy Kopp, to a surprised student body.
Little discussion had surfaced about the speaker selection, and the vast majority of students were left in the dark.
Stephanie Quade, dean of students, said she didn’t even know about it.
Given the commencement speaker is speaking to the senior class, student input should be a given. The students should have a choice in who will bid them their final adieu.
The Office of the President does accept student suggestions; however, it needs to make the process more transparent and accessible.
We have no beef with Kopp. She started an organization stemming from her senior thesis that works to bridge the educational gap. Also, as the Rev. Robert A. Wild suggested in university News Briefs, Kopp’s an appropriate speaker, considering the Centennial Celebration of Women at Marquette and Milwaukee’s recent induction into TFA.
Kopp is obviously accomplished and fitting as a speaker — and she is worlds better than hosting, say, Rod Blagojevich.
However, given that Teach for America can be somewhat controversial, particularly among education students, more transparency would have been appreciated.
The Centenniel Celebration of Women at Marquette committee came up with a list of nominees and enlisted two student representatives, including Erin Shawgo, program vice president for Marquette Student Government, Shawgo said. The committee sent their list to the Committee on University Honors, which recommended the commencement speaker to the university president, who had the final say, along with the approval of the Board of Trustees, according to Quade.
The committee is composed of faculty and student representative Stephanie Stopka, who is also executive vice president of MUSG.
It’s open to student nominations, said Tim Olsen, communication manager for the Office of Marketing and Communication.
However, little publicity and broad student involvement are present throughout this process — a snag that ought to be fixed.
A better model for this selection would be the one currently in place for nominating the senior speaker. The process allows for student input every step of the way.
Seniors, faculty and staff can nominate senior speakers, who are then invited to apply. A committee, made up of one student from every college and three to four faculty members, narrows down about 40 applications to 10.
These nominees are placed on MUSG ballots for students to vote for their preferred speaker. The top three contestants prepare short speeches for the aforementioned committee, which they judge and make recommendations to the president, according to Quade.
In this way, students have a voice in who they hear in almost every step.
About 20 years ago, students didn’t have a voice in the senior speaker, but they rallied for change and gained a bigger role.
Let’s rally for the same change, so future classes can have more of a say in choosing their commencement speaker.