The Daily last month revealed that Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will deliver this year's commencement address. Vest does not boast rock−star fame; he made his name mainly in academia. But we should not shun him out of hand.
When the university announced Vest as Tufts' graduation speaker, many students — seniors and non−seniors alike — criticized the choice. Graduating classes in prior years saw the likes of Meredith Vieira, Bill Cosby and Lance Armstrong. Vest's reputation is more than dwarfed by his predecessors, and students' reactions were to be expected. But a big name should not be the most important criterion in choosing a commencement speaker. A speaker chosen for fame alone is more apt to rely on his celebrity rather than eloquent prose. While it might be exciting to see a star, the chance is also high of getting a canned, cliche and impersonal speech.
Someone like Vest, on the other hand — who has garnered many achievements but is lesser known — instead relies more on the content of the speech and the message he or she wishes to deliver to make it a memorable experience. A speaker whose reputation doesn't precede him has more to prove and thus, we can hope, will make a more meaningful speech. To choose someone who is lesser known is certainly to take a bigger chance on the quality of the speech, but the payoffs are potentially much greater.
University President Lawrence Bacow, in partnership with the Board of Trustees, selected Vest because of the litany of accomplishments and innovations he has made in his field. They felt him equipped to provide lessons to departing seniors across various fields. Bacow said that during his time at the helm of MIT, Vest was regarded as one of the best college presidents in the nation. Vest's life experiences, and thus his words, are especially pertinent as science and technology become increasingly prominent in today's world. Vest is at the forefront of science. He chaired former President Bill Clinton's NASA Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station in the 1990s and won the National Medal of Technology in 2006.
Many students have expressed grievances about the speaker selection process. They have lamented that they do not have input on the decision as students do at other schools, like Smith College, where students are able to vote on speakers. At Tufts, the president and the Board of Trustees control the entire process. Students need not control the process, but they should have some input on the decision. Because Tufts does not pay commencement speakers, money would not be an issue. The Board of Trustees should produce a short list of candidates and allow seniors to vote for their choice.
The fact that Charles Vest is relatively unknown should not be considered a detraction; indeed, it could be an asset. But making the selection process more democratic would help eliminate any actual, or perceived, unhappiness.
