For Graduation Ceremonies, Ditch the Guest Speaker

A graduation ceremony is one of the most formulaic events in higher education. The main event at a graduation ceremony is a student getting their five seconds in the sun as their name is called. Then they stroll across the stage to receive the diploma they worked so hard for. At the end, students throw their cap in the air, and then everyone snaps photos.

Yet, every year a handful of universities botch the simple task of planning a graduation ceremony. The result is an unpleasant experience for attendees, unnecessary controversies, and sometimes wasted resources. With graduation season wrapping up, the press is reporting a steady stream of controversies surrounding graduation speakers. These controversies happen every year. It doesn’t have to be this way.

One of the biggest unforced errors universities commit is inviting a controversial speaker from outside the university community. Politicians are the best example. This year, California Representative Ro Khanna spoke at Suffolk University in Boston, even though he has no connection to the university. In 2007 and 2011, I had a double-whammy with politicians speaking at my bachelor’s and doctorate graduations: then-Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State James Baker. Neither had any direct connection to the university. Even if a politician gives an uncontroversial speech, their voting record, policy positions, and party affiliation are often enough to spawn protests and boycotts or to sour the experience for some attendees.

Controversial speakers are not limited to politicians, though. This year, Utah Valley University invited Sharon McMahon to speak at commencement. Self-described as “America’s government teacher,” McMahon was a controversial choice for Utah Valley University—the site of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in front of 3,000 people last September. Two days after Kirk’s murder, McMahon stated on social media that Kirk had “bigoted ideas” and that “a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words.” Needless to say, the university community did not react well to her selection as a commencement speaker. (Her speech was later canceled due to supposed security concerns, a claim which has not been verified.)

Even when a speaker is not controversial, they can often be a poor choice. McMahon is little more than an Instagram influencer and former high school teacher with no advanced education or practical experience in her purported area of expertise. This was the best speaker a university could find? Regardless of McMahon’s words, she was unqualified to address a university audience.

University administrators seem especially eager to invite unqualified speakers when the speaker is a celebrity. Hilary Duff—who never graduated from high school—was Northeastern University’s speaker this year. One wonders how Northeastern University’s graduates feel about being told that “Experience isn’t a substitute for education. It is the education,” by someone who never paid tuition and is not saddled with student loans to repay.

Celebrity speakers do not speak to graduates as a favor; they charge for the experience. In 2024, actor Rainn Wilson (famous for playing Dwight in The Office) was paid $125,000 to speak to graduates at Weber State University. The same amount of money could have given 19 in-state students a full scholarship for a year. Even though donors paid Wilson’s speaking fee, it is hard to argue that Wilson’s brief appearance on campus will benefit students more than a scholarship would.

It is safe to assume that a big-name celebrity is charging big bucks when they speak at a university graduation ceremony. Matthew McConaughey spoke at the University of Houston for $166,000 in 2015. Katie Couric was paid $110,000 in 2006 to speak at the University of Oklahoma. Octavia Spencer charged $100,000 plus expenses to speak at Kent State University in 2017. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn (who did not attend college) spoke at the University of Southern California this year, though it is not known whether she charged her typical speaking fee of $200,000 to $300,000. 

McConaughey and Couric both donated their fee to charity—which raises the question of why they charged a fee at all. Indeed, many celebrities with an intellectual image (such as Neil DeGrasse Tyson or Toni Morrison) also charge to speak, though rarely as much as A-list celebrities. Wasteful fees and unnecessary controversies are easy to avoid with one simple rule: don’t invite outsiders to speak at commencement. It is not a hard rule to understand, and yet every year universities break it anyway for no apparent gain.

A typical university community is full of potential speakers: administrators, faculty, alumni, and trustees all understand the university and can give an uncontroversial message tailored to its audience. Depending on how broad the university defines its community, this list can include people with a cultural or identity tie to the university (e.g., at an HBCU or a religious university). Moreover, these people rarely charge a speaker’s fee (and if they do, there are plenty of other speakers that can take their place for free).

To be fair, selecting a graduation speaker does not guarantee that the ceremony will be free of controversy. At this year’s graduation ceremony at Stanford University, students walked out in protest during the address from Google CEO (and Stanford alumnus) Sundar Pichai. After NYU psychology professor Jonathan Haidt was announced as that university’s commencement speaker, student government leaders protested the decision, saying in a letter that the choice was “regressive” because, among other sins, Haidt questioned the value of diversity initiatives. I

These examples show that a graduation speaker associated with a university is not a guarantee of a ceremony free of controversies. But that affiliated speaker is a known commodity. NYU knew exactly what Haidt’s ideas are, and they clearly have a place at the university. When a university platforms an internal speaker, it is easier to anticipate any controversies that might arise from their selection or speech.

But university-affiliated speakers can still cause problems at graduation ceremonies. This year, at the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony, faculty senate chair Derek Peterson encouraged students to “Sing for the pro-Palestinian student activists, who have over these past two years opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.” According to the University of Michigan, Peterson deviated from the speech he submitted to the university beforehand. (The university has apologized for Peterson’s remarks—which prompted further backlash.) 

However, universities have tools at their disposal to handle community members who introduce controversy. They can (and often do) approve the text of a speech in advance. In fact, at NYU student speakers now deliver their remarks through pre-recorded videos after a student made controversial remarks about Israel last year. Additionally, universities can have speakers sign a contract that inflicts penalties for deviating from approved remarks. Student speakers can have their degree withheld; faculty and staff can have a financial penalty taken out of their paycheck. Community members can have their reimbursement expenses or honorarium denied and an honorary degree revoked.

These consequences do not raise freedom of speech concerns because no one has a constitutional right to be a graduation speaker. Moreover, universities legally have a great deal of control over the content of a graduation ceremony, which includes selection of speakers and curating messages. And no one is forcing a speaker to accept an invitation that comes with strings attached. 

In response, a skeptic could say that most graduation ceremonies are vanilla events and that controversies are rare. They are correct, but in a time when public support for higher education is low, universities cannot afford any unnecessary controversies. Responsible leaders should do everything they can to reduce the likelihood that graduation becomes an unpleasant event that embarrasses the university or generates bad publicity. Besides, they owe it to their graduates and their families to provide a happy, celebratory experience.

Dr. Russell T. Warne is a former associate professor of psychology at Utah Valley University. He has published over 50 articles and is the author of In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths About Human Intelligence, published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. He has earned awards for his research from Mensa, the National Association for Gifted Children, the Southwest Educational Research Association, and more.