Students must not disregard Mary Karr’s selection as the 2015 commencement speaker because she is a faculty member at Syracuse University, regardless of how she was selected.

Graduating seniors have expressed disappointment about the commencement speaker selection since the announcement in mid-April. Students have said on social media and in interviews with The Daily Orange that they are disappointed that organizers failed to pick someone from outside of the university community.

But Karr’s qualifications to be the commencement speaker are reflected in her career. She teaches in the Creative Writing program and is the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of Literature. Karr is also the author of The New York Times best-selling memoirs “The Liars’ Club” and “Cherry,” as well as New York Times best-seller “Lit.” In the past, Karr has worked as a poetry columnist for The Washington Post.

Because Karr is a faculty member, she has the unique opportunity of being able to connect with the graduating class as a speaker who understands SU culture. Commencement speakers often face criticism that their addresses are too vague and lack specificity to the graduating school. But Karr’s relationship with SU may prove her to be a stronger choice as someone who can offer advice to students who share similar community values.

Despite the fact that Karr is qualified as an accomplished writer, the university’s selection of a faculty member for 2015 should not set the precedent that a commencement speaker should be a university employee.

The process to select the commencement speaker consisted of recommendations from 2015 class marshals Ashlee Newman and Ronald Taylor, along with one or two marshals representing each individual college at SU. Once the group of 20-30 marshals collectively decided on a list of recommended speakers, the list was submitted to the university administration who chose Karr as the commencement speaker.

The selection process is not particularly transparent, and when 30 people are recommending speakers for an entire senior class, it can be difficult to represent broader interests. Having more input from the senior class on who the recommended speakers are could correct this issue.

As a writer, Karr’s job is to deliver information that is compelling and engaging to audiences. While the planning of the selection of the 2015 commencement speaker can be criticized, students must be open to Karr’s address as an accomplished individual.

Published on May 7, 2015 at 2:02 pm