In theory, a commencement speaker should be a highlight of the graduation ceremony, enlightening and inspiring classes of men and women on the brink of new endeavors. Unfortunately, there is little doubt that Fairfield’s past two commencement speakers fell quite short of this.
However this year appears hopeful, as Fr. Thomas Regan, a beloved former University professor and assistant dean, has been named as the 2007 commencement speaker.
Regan’s name has been praised by many and he just may be the speaker who does not simply bore the crowd with flowery rhetoric but rather inspires graduates while emphasizing the Jesuit ideals that have been the framework of the students’ past four years in college.
While this year shows promise, we wonder if future graduating classes will be as lucky.
University President Fr. von Arx’s system for choosing a commencement speaker leaves much to be desired. The search does not venture outside the range of Jesuit-minded intellectuals, leaning heavily towards Jesuits themselves.
Von Arx’s shortsightedness was never more evident than in his first year as president, during which he selected himself as the commencement speaker. And last year, von Arx disappointed many in the community by selecting British Robinson, a little-known official in the U.S. global AIDS office whose speech was more about her own personal life than Jesuit ideals.
Prospective candidates should practice the founding ideals of this University, but those who think outside the ‘Jesuit box’ offer diversity in thought and deserve, at least, consideration.
Restricting the search at the onset to simply Jesuits or individuals within the University community limits the field of potential candidates and places a handicap against equally respectable and perhaps more well-known speakers.
While there seems to be little chance that a celebrity will ever be chosen for such an honor, may we also remind von Arx that it would be great if students were actually familiar with and/or excited about their commencement speaker?
Thus, we applaud von Arx’s decision to invite Regan to return to campus and address the class of 2007, but we also challenge him to reconsider his decision-making model.
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