Editorial: Speaking of Mediocrity
Editorial Board
Issue date: 5/14/04 Section: Ed-Op
- Page 1 of 1
Drexel's choice of speakers for commencement is lacking this year. Students pay a good amount of money to attend Drexel for four or five years, and at the very least should be entitled to have a good commencement speaker. Seeing that Drexel's graduation is later in the year than most other universities because of the quarter system, it's not as if there is any competition in trying to get a prominent speaker.
The commencement is the final event in the Drexel experience for most, if not all, of the students. Students will be leaving Drexel after four or five years with a Drexel degree, and every potential employer will see that they attended Drexel. Graduation is a very important event for the students who attended this school, and the University should treat it as such. Drexel should have scheduled some prominent speakers as a final farewell to these students.
Drexel is reputed to be a top-tier technological school. Why couldn't the administration have gotten commencement speakers that would reflect this image? With Drexel's wide array of connections through its cooperative education program, it should be feasible to attain a CEO or a CFO of a corporation for the business school, or a record executive for a school like the College of Media Arts and Design. Peter Nero is an excellent choice for a school like CoMAD, but not for biomedical engineers. What does an engineer have to gain from the creator of the Philly Pops?
This year's commencement speakers are certainly disappointing in comparison to previous years when Drexel was graced by Patti LaBelle and the CEO of E-trade.com. Drexel's name and accomplishments are covered in newspapers like The Philadelphia Inquirer, and if Drexel's own claims are to be believed, it is an influential school. This seems to be an issue of Drexel not going the extra mile and making the effort to recruit worthwhile speakers for commencement. At the minimum, speakers from nearby Philadelphia Electric Company or Glaxo Smith-Kline would have been more than adequate.
In any case, it is difficult to fathom why we have an actor from the television series Dallas, which ended many years ago, speaking to the LeBow College of Business. If not a CEO, maybe a prominent businessperson should be speaking. What are the criteria for choosing a speaker, and why is relevance not a major factor?
This is a disappointment for the Class of 2004, and hopefully the University will learn from its mistakes for the future.
The commencement is the final event in the Drexel experience for most, if not all, of the students. Students will be leaving Drexel after four or five years with a Drexel degree, and every potential employer will see that they attended Drexel. Graduation is a very important event for the students who attended this school, and the University should treat it as such. Drexel should have scheduled some prominent speakers as a final farewell to these students.
Drexel is reputed to be a top-tier technological school. Why couldn't the administration have gotten commencement speakers that would reflect this image? With Drexel's wide array of connections through its cooperative education program, it should be feasible to attain a CEO or a CFO of a corporation for the business school, or a record executive for a school like the College of Media Arts and Design. Peter Nero is an excellent choice for a school like CoMAD, but not for biomedical engineers. What does an engineer have to gain from the creator of the Philly Pops?
This year's commencement speakers are certainly disappointing in comparison to previous years when Drexel was graced by Patti LaBelle and the CEO of E-trade.com. Drexel's name and accomplishments are covered in newspapers like The Philadelphia Inquirer, and if Drexel's own claims are to be believed, it is an influential school. This seems to be an issue of Drexel not going the extra mile and making the effort to recruit worthwhile speakers for commencement. At the minimum, speakers from nearby Philadelphia Electric Company or Glaxo Smith-Kline would have been more than adequate.
In any case, it is difficult to fathom why we have an actor from the television series Dallas, which ended many years ago, speaking to the LeBow College of Business. If not a CEO, maybe a prominent businessperson should be speaking. What are the criteria for choosing a speaker, and why is relevance not a major factor?
This is a disappointment for the Class of 2004, and hopefully the University will learn from its mistakes for the future.
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cardinal biggles
cardinal biggles
posted 5/14/04 @ 12:09 PM EST
"...it is difficult to fathom why we have an actor from the television series Dallas, which ended many years ago, speaking to the LeBow College of Business. (Continued…)
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