N.C. State students can rest at ease knowing that our commencement speakers address graduates without the allure of thousands of dollars.
Universities will often pay anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 for a commencement speaker, said president of AEI Speakers Bureau Mark Castell in a New York Times article. In 2011, Rutgers University paid Nobel Prize author Toni Morrison $30,000 to speak at commencement, according to the article. This combined with the payment of $25,000 for Kean University’s commencement speaker, John Legend, caused New Jersey officials to consider a bill to ban monetary remuneration for commencement speakers, according to the Huffington Post.
On the contrary, Enrollment Management and Services vice provost and University registrar Louis Hunt said it is not in the University’s practice to pay for commencement speakers, aside from travel expenses.
The lack of monetary compensation does change who the University can get to speak at graduation to some extent, Hunt said, but he sees no reason to change the policy. “I honestly think we get pretty good speakers. I’m always intrigued by who’s going to speak where, but year after year I’m impressed by the people who stand up and give our commencement speeches.”
Hunt said he has heard of some paid, big-name speakers not living up to their reputation. “Even if you go out and pay somebody a lot of money you never know who will be the good speakers unless you’ve seen them speak before.”
As for why the University does not pay for its speakers, Hunt said it is directly related to money allocation. “It’s a question of ‘is this a good use of limited resources?’ [Other universities] do what is good for them. We have so many fine people who come to speak without remuneration.” This is evidenced by the quality of the speakers’ addresses to the audience, according to Hunt.
There also seems to be shame associated with the payment of commencement speakers, as universities tend not to publicize the transaction. “Schools don’t like to talk about it, since there are people who object and have a perception that it should be pro bono,” stated President of Speakers Platform in San Francisco, Michael Frick according to the New York Times.
The commencement committee typically selects speakers from the pool of N.C. State alumni or those receiving honorary degrees to acknowledge a lifetime achievement, Hunt said. Selection also comes down to availability of potential speakers. Both students and faculty comprise the committee, and are able to nominate speakers as well. However, the chancellor makes the ultimate decision.
Past speakers at the ceremony included international dignitaries and famous athletes, but according to Hunt, the speakers with a connection to the University usually gave the best speeches. For example, Hunt said he could recall the speech Nobel Prize laureate and N.C. State alumnus Rajendra Pachauri because during the speech, he pointed out one of his former N.C. State professors, and said he would not have won the Nobel Prize without the professor’s help. Emmy and Peabody Award Winning Television Host Phil Donahue also made commencement memorable by giving a speech that caused some attendees to exit the room.
Ultimately, “It’s not really about entertainment,” Hunt said. “It’s an academic celebration.”
Each year, approximately five to 17 students audition to give a speech as well. This worked in the University’s favor in the Fall 2009 commencement, when the scheduled commencement speaker fell ill and could not make it to the ceremony.
