The announcement of this year’s commencement speaker has been delayed at the speaker’s request, said University President Henry Bienen on Monday afternoon.
“It’s the speaker who doesn’t want it known,” Bienen said. “He has not said to me by phone, letter or any other message as to why he wants to delay the announcement.”
NU selected a speaker to give the June 20 commencement address months ago, but “his schedule is not revealed until a day in advance,” said university spokesman Al Cubbage.
Still, Bienen did provide a few clues to the speaker’s identity. He is male, an “extremely well-known person” and somebody who “doesn’t make a habit” of giving graduation speeches.
“That may be part of the reason, because it’s not someone who does this habitually or at all,” Bienen said. “It’s not my secrecy; I’m just honoring a request.”
Traditionally, commencement speakers are announced either in Winter Quarter or early in Spring Quarter.
The 2007 keynote speaker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, announced she would be NU’s commencement speaker in November 2006 while on the morning talk show “Live with Regis and Kelly.” The announcement came before NU officials had released a formal letter.
NU officials announced 2005 commencement speaker Sen. John McCain in February of that year. Sen. Barack Obama was announced as the 2006 speaker that April.
SESP senior Alex White, a member of the committee to choose the student speakers at commencement, said he could sympathize with the challenges NU administrators are facing.
“As someone who’s booked concerts for this campus before, I know how difficult scheduling and coordinating an event can be,” said White, the outgoing A&O chairman. “However, my parents and family are anxious to know who they’ll be hearing at my commencement, as most other colleges have already found out.”
White is part of a student selection committee, a group of representatives from each of NU’s colleges, that chooses the three student speakers for commencement weekend. One welcomes parents and family at the beginning of the weekend, one introduces the keynote speaker and one acts as an alternate, he said.
Former Associated Student Government President Jon Webber said his fellow seniors are anxious to hear who will be addressing their class.
“It would be ideal if we could know,” the Weinberg senior said. “If we can’t then we can’t. We’ll just find out and be pleasantly surprised.”
This year’s 150th annual commencement exercises will be held June 20 at Ryan Field.
