Former Rice president Rupp chosen for commencement

By Sarah Rutledge     3/20/08 7:00pm

On Tuesday, the Commencement Speaker Committee announced former Rice president George Rupp will be the speaker for commencement 2008. Committee chair Michael Gustin said Rupp, who serves as CEO and president of the International Relief Program, seemed a logical choice for speaker because of his ties to Rice and the larger global community.Gustin said since the committee was formed late last semester, this pushed the process off and led to the late announcement of the commencement speaker.

The committee consists of three undergraduates chosen by members of the Student Association and one or two graduate students from the Graduate Student Association, as well as a faculty member serving as chair. Gustin said his position as Wiess College master made him more accessible to students' interests.

President David Leebron extended an invitation to the candidate Monday after the committee reached a decision.

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Lovett College senior Rachel Green, who served on the committee, said she did not notice any one name continually coming up in conversation.

"Since [the committee members] came with such varying backgrounds and various interests we wanted to see played out in a commencement speaker, we didn't really share a lot of the same candidates in our original thoughts," Green said.

Since several candidates must be booked months in advance, Assistant to the President Mark Davis said the Commencement Speaker Committee for 2009 will be formed in April.

Gustin said many universities search for big-name celebrities to keynote their commencements, but this is often implausible for Rice given the university's budget.

Davis said Rice does not compensate its speakers every year and that speakers often will deliver a speech without payment. He said Rice is offering Rupp a moderate payment.

Gustin said Rice does not typically allocate a large budget to pay for commencement speakers.

"I think we're a little more constrained in terms of budget," Gustin said. "I think the tradition at Rice has been to not break the bank, to not bring in a Stephen Colbert."

Historically, Rice has been academically oriented, with presidents of other universities speaking at the school's first few commencements.

"Our practice is not trying to be part of that escalating competition for a big name," Davis said. "I think Rice wants someone who would be very relevant to the current student population in some way."

Green said Rupp's involvement with IRC, which is a worldwide committee that works with global health issues and provides shelter to refugees, played an important role in the decision.

"We were very impressed with how he continued on past Rice with his humanitarian efforts," Green said. "We considered other people, but we thought he knew the Rice community well and could speak to that."

Green said Rupp has gone beyond Rice and offers a larger world view.

Davis said he agrees.

"The more you look at what the IRC does, the more it fits so closely with some of the undergraduate research opportunities and what people are interested in at Rice," Davis said. "Ultimately, I think Rupp was an ideal choice for Rice."

Davis said Rupp's involvement with the IRC, especially his involvement in global outreach, made him a good choice for commencement speaker.

"Sometimes [in] these committees, you get together [and] everyone wants the rock star, or these people that are clearly beyond our financial means, and these students were great," Davis said. "They had suggestions that were broad, more academically focused. They were looking for people who were doing meaningful things with their lives and able to share a message to the graduating class."

Green said though a celebrity speaker might draw a lot of attention from graduates' families she feels Rupp will deliver a good speech.

"I think if we really understand commencement as a period of transition from our Rice lives to the real world, Rupp . fits the role of this event perfectly," Green said.

Gustin said he predicted a mixed response from the graduating seniors. He said they might be skeptical because Rupp is a former Rice president, but he said seniors would be impressed by Rupp's knowledge and experience.

Gustin will also serve on next year's Commencement Speaker Committee.

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