Attendees of spring quarter commencement saw acclaimed broadcast journalist and television news anchor Brian Williams take the lectern and deliver a speech garnered applause from the crowd of thousands.
The enjoyment and celebration that Williams created makes him a tough act to follow, and with commencement fast approaching, summer quarter graduates have started to ponder who that person might be.
"Spring quarter is the largest group of graduates, so higher profile guests are attracted to the large numbers and media attention that spring commencement gets," said Amy Murray, assistant director of media relations. "[For] other quarters you get a member of the community or a faculty member."
Ohio State has yet to announce a speaker for summer quarter, but the university has been searching for awhile, said Karen Patterson, senior director of internal communications. A committee works together to choose the speaker.
"The commencement committee is comprised of student groups, faculty and staff," Patterson said. "They bring a wish list of who they would like to have and then we think about how realistic it is."
"Everyone always wants Oprah or Obama, but you have to know someone who knows them," she said.
After the initial contact has occurred, the next biggest complication is scheduling conflicts.
"People see it as an honor to speak at commencement," said Lynda Farrell, associate director of commencement special events.
"Not very often do people decline, unless it is because of scheduling," Farrell said. A notable guest who had to decline because of scheduling is former secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
Commencement speakers are not paid or given any kind of compensation. Usually, the honor and prestige associated with being a guest speaker is enough, but sometimes speakers make additional requests.
OSU graduate and CBS correspondent Erin Moriarty requested that she speak to journalism students in addition to giving the 2004 spring commencement speech.
Previous summer quarter speakers include Michael Curtin, former vice chairman and COO of The Dispatch Printing Co.; Lee Shulman, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; and Carl Kohrt, president and CEO of Battelle.
Another notable summer speaker is Roger Blackwell, former OSU marketing professor who was found guilty of insider trading in 2005.
OSU will announce this summer's guest speaker in the next few weeks. Summer commencement is Sunday, Aug. 24.
David Surovec can be reached at surovec.1@osu.edu.
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