University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx, who greeted the class of 2008 in his first year as president, will speak at commencement on May 18 on the Bellarmine Lawn.
During his first year as president, von Arx was the speaker at the 2005 commencement, and made it a policy to have a person with Jesuit ties and a familiarity with the University speak at commencement.
British Robinson, senior advisor for public partnerships in the office of U.S. Global AIDS coordinator, received mixed reviews from students when she spoke in 2006. Beloved teacher Fr. Thomas Regan returned to campus last May to deliver a speech at graduation.
“The class of 2008 will always have a special place in my heart because they were so welcoming and helpful to me in my new role as president,” said von Arx in a University press release.
“I entered with this class and even though I don’t think I will be graduating, I wanted to speak to them at their commencement and share in their accomplishments. This is truly a very gifted class of students and it has been my privilege to witness their transformation and many accomplishments,” he said.
The commencement speaker is chosen from a pool of honorary degree recipients with recommendations made by the University president, according to Rama Sudhakar, vice president for marketing and communication.
“The honorary degree nominations and the commencement speaker recommendations are brought to the committee that is chaired by Fr. Charles Allen and includes faculty, staff and students as members,” said Sudhakar. “The committee makes final recommendations that are presented by the president to the Board of Trustees for their approval.”
Students, faculty and other members of the on-campus community are free to send suggestions and nominations to Allen, according to Sudhakar.
Nancy Habetz, director of media relations, said since she’s been at the University, anyone on campus can submit their recommendations.
In July 2004, von Arx was named the eighth University president. After graduating from Princeton University, von Arx joined the Society of Jesus and earned an M.A. and M.Phil. in history at Yale University. He completed his Ph.D. there as well.
While von Arx is a qualified candidate for this honor, many seniors expressed discontent..
“I would’ve wanted a speaker that we don’t see every day – someone who is not on campus speaking all the time,” said Dan Raymond ’08.
Raymond was unaware that students could send in suggestions or recommendations to the committee.
“We should get to vote on it,” he said.
Dan Rogan ’08 said the speaker should have been someone other than von Arx, but said it will be an interesting speech because von Arx was “essentially a freshman when we were freshmen as students.”
“I’m sure he will say that his development and the things he learned along the way will help in the future, just like ours will when applied to the ‘real world,'” he said.
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