Higher Ed: Pomp And Commencement Speeches

Summary

Some are boring and not very memorable. Some are inspiring and stay with the graduates for years to comes. I am referring to commencement addresses. And during this 2018 commencement season, Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and I spend this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed” discussing the good, the bad and the memorable from commencement addresses. Southwestern University’s 2018 commencement speaker is Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton. She grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and was a member of the second class of African American students entering Little Rock Central High School in 1959. Ed is excited for the graduating seniors to hear Dr. Hampton’s inspiring story. Many commencement addresses are inspiring, and in this episode Ed and I recall some words of wisdom that have really made impact and some that were less-than-memorable. Ed also reflects on what he considers one of the most amazing graduation speeches he has ever heard. What made it so good? Listen to the full episode to find out and to get the solution to the most recent puzzler about math lovers who know how to to party.

This episode was recorded on April 20, 2018.

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