Before he steps down this year, President John T. Casteen, III will step up to the podium to give the class of 2010 a final goodbye as the University's 181st commencement speaker. The choice of the Public Occasions Subcommittee of the Commencement and Convocations Committee - the body of students and faculty members that selects the speaker - was unanimous. "It was the shortest meeting we've ever had on that committee," said Sandy Gilliam, University protocol and history officer. The graduating class is privileged to have Casteen as its commencement speaker, and the outgoing president should embrace this opportunity to come out from behind the scenes and offer a personal, forthright speech about his time at the University and about the institution's future.
Commencement speakers traditionally are selected because of their accomplishments, exemplary leadership, commitment to character - the list goes on. Speaker selection can be seen as emblematic of a university's prestige, as it often draws media attention and alumni scrutiny. Moreover, the culmination of four years of grueling finals and tedious papers, the commencement exercises are a rite of passage for graduating students, and the choice of speaker carries considerable importance.
This year, Casteen was the obvious pick. The outgoing president clearly embodies the qualities sought after in a commencement speaker, and as a three-time University alum, he can offer students a glimpse into how the University has affected his lifetime achievements. Those achievements are plentiful - earlier in the month, the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution commending him for making "the University of Virginia what Thomas Jefferson envisioned - the capstone of public education in Virginia." This resolution also recognized Casteen's successful work with secondary schools to "improve the quality of courses for students preparing for college" and for the creation of AccessUVa - the University's financial aid program that guarantees to meet 100 percent of demonstrated student need.
Perhaps his biggest accomplishment, however, was his remarkable effort to revamp the University's financial model during a period of declining state support. Traveling to all corners of the world for the University's capital campaign, Casteen and other University officials aim to raise $3 billion by Dec. 31, 2011. By the end of January, about 71 percent of this money had been pledged.
These efforts, though, have come with a price for the president. Oftentimes, Casteen has been required to be on the road four days of the week, and although most University students could pick him out of a line-up, his University-wide e-mails are the closest many students have come to interacting with him. Casteen should take advantage of this opportunity to walk into the limelight and embrace the community one final time before his retirement. From being the first in his family to attend college to becoming the University's seventh president, he can speak volumes about what a University degree can do for students.
Because Casteen has played such a vital role in both developing and preserving the University, he also should offer candid advice about how to handle its future. Those gathered on the Lawn this May will include a number of University officials and faculty members - not to mention thousands of soon-to-be alumni. It would be refreshing to hear Casteen's take on how these various stakeholders can impact the University community going forward.
The Public Occasions Subcommittee usually sends a list of about 10 potential speakers for the University president to choose from, Gilliam said. "This year, we only sent one name"
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