Former Vice President Al Gore has been chosen to deliver this year's commencement address at the Undergraduate Diploma Ceremony in May.
The announcement came last week in an e-mail from Director of Student Involvement Jeffrey Groden-Thomas, who advises the Student Council and assists the senior class officers in the process of securing a speaker.
The Board of Trustees, which has the final say in choosing the speaker, approved the selection in December.
Senior Class President Payal Patel is excited about the decision, and has received an optimistic response from her classmates.
"I've gotten a lot of positive feedback, not only from students but from everyone who has found out," Patel said. "[Gore] is one of the biggest political names we've ever had."
According to Groden-Thomas, the process of finding a graduation speaker began in April 2004, as soon as the new StuCo officers were elected.
"Every year, the class compiles a list of 10 or 15 potential candidates, not necessarily ranked in any order," Groden-Thomas said. "Then we contact the person or their agent to make sure they are available."
When compiling a list of potential speakers, Patel was looking for someone very relevant for the graduating seniors.
"When I thought of 'graduation speaker' I wanted someone who we all grew up knowing, someone our parents would really like to hear from," Patel said.
According to Patel, Gore fit that description perfectly.
"I think he's seen it all," she said.
"At a time when our formative years were happening, he, along with President Clinton, was in charge of the country."
Over the summer, both Patel and President William Brody sent letters to all the potential candidates. Patel also brought the list to Jerry Schnydman, executive assistant to Brody.
"We don't make the decision," Schnydman said. "We assist the senior class with securing a speaker. If we have contacts with any of the speakers on the list, we help them out."
When Gore's name was brought to Schnydman, he realized that one of the university trustees "is very close to ... Gore."
According to Patel, that trustee, Dr. Sanford Greenberg, as well as his wife know Gore, and "were able to put in a good word."
Patel said Gore was excited from the start about the prospect of speaking at Hopkins.
The Board of Trustees voted in December to grant him an honorary degree, a distinction given only to exceptional speakers.
Unlike some universities, Hopkins does not pay for graduation speakers.
Schnydman conceded that this often leads to roadblocks, but feels it is well worth the search to find a good speaker who is willing to come to Hopkins without monetary reimbursement.
"Sure, we've had some people say, 'Okay, I'll speak for $100,000,'" Schnydman said. "But we have not gone in that direction. I believe there are good people out there willing to come speak. We always try to make [the graduation ceremony] as beautiful and thoughtful as possible, and paying for a speaker would put us over budget."
Both Patel and Schnydman are predicting that Gore will give a memorable speech, and feel that the former vice president can offer a valuable perspective for the graduating class.
"I would say that it's true of any speaker we've had," said Schnydman.
"They have all had interesting experience during their lifetimes - ups and downs, successes, interesting careers. We always hope that the speaker, because of the experiences they have had, can transform that into something the graduates, parents and guests can take with them."
Gore served as vice-president to Bill Clinton from 1992-2000.
After serving in the U.S. Army during Vietnam and later working as a newspaper reporter for the Nashville Tennessean, he represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1976 until 1984.
In 1984, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served two terms before being elected vice-president. Gore has run two unsuccessful campaigns for the presidency, once in 1988 and again in 2000, and currently teaches classes on family policy at Fisk and Middle Tennessee State University.
The Undergraduate Diploma Ceremony will take place Thursday, May 26 at 1:45 p.m. on Homewood Field
