As we approach Oberlin's Commencement Ceremony (May 25th) I couldn't help but think about Commencement speeches that I've heard over the years. (One of the occupational hazards of being in academia is that you have to listen to a lot of speeches.) One of the best that I heard was at Colby College where I taught many years ago. Michael Barnacle from the Boston Globe gave a speech in which he effectively made the case that graduates from elite liberal arts colleges were a privileged group who had received a lot in their lives and it was now time to give some of that back to the world. The shortest speech I ever heard was from the philanthropist George Soros at the American University in Bulgaria. He was planning to give a real speech but by the time the local Blagoevgrad mayor finished an overlong speech that was further lengthened by sequential translation into English, the 35 C. temperature had taken its toll and Mr. Soros simply said something to the effect of "Congratulations! I know you've been sitting patiently in the sun for a long time waiting for the speeches to end so you can get your diplomas. If you really want to know what I have to say, read my book." The worst commencement speech I ever heard was from C. Everett Koop, who was the surgeon general of the United States at the time. He not only had little to say, he said it in the driest possible way and the sun was beating down on that day as well.
Oberlin's commencement speaker this year is Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Haass is an Oberlin grad (class of 1973). Before taking his position in the Council, Mr. Haass was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell and was previously special assistant to President George Bush, Sr. As Oberlin seeks to more fully internationalize, his special expertise seems particularly timely. To learn more about Mr. Haass, check out this page.
As you probably know, Oberlin College has a largely deserved reputation as being a very liberal college. The Princeton Review, for example, says that we put the "liberal" in liberal arts. So I think that it is particularly striking that Mr. Haass who has worked for two different Republican administrations is both an alumnus and our commencement speaker. This should indicate that Oberlin is a place for students of all political persuasions. It is also a place where diverse views are actively sought out and, perhaps more importantly, considered carefully by the campus community. Further evidence of this openness was a very well attended lecture by Newt Gingrich last fall.
After all, a college education is something that should leave you more knowledgeable and more capable of reaching your own informed opinion than when you left high school. It is hard to imagine how one can learn much when surrounded only by views the same as your own. Which leaves me to wonder what the protesters at Notre Dame's Commencement this past weekend were afraid of and how much they actually learned about dialogue as a form of learning during their four years there. It also leads me to congratulate the administration and board of the University of Notre Dame for their courage in bringing US President Barack Obama to campus for their Commencement.
