President John T. Casteen, III was named last Friday as the commencement speaker for the class of 2010. As he sends off the graduates, he will be moving on with them.
The Public Occasions Subcommittee of the Commencement and Convocations Committee, which consists of both students and faculty members, chose Casteen unanimously. Normally, the Committee sends a list of potential speakers to Casteen, who then makes the final selection. This year, only one name was submitted to the president.
"It was the shortest meeting we've ever had on that committee," said Alexander Gilliam, University protocol and history officer.
Gilliam explained that selecting outgoing presidents as commencement speakers is not uncommon at the University.
"It is a tradition that the retiring president conducts the commencement speech," he said. "Countless retiring presidents preceding Casteen have done the same - Bob O'Neil [and] Edgar Shannon, to name a couple."
This year's commencement will have extra significance for Casteen, who graduated 45 years ago this spring.
"It is a great honor to have been asked to be the Finals speaker, and I am grateful for the committee for giving me this opportunity," Casteen said. "The University has been my home for the past 20 years. I have had the pleasure of living and working among students, staff members, faculty members - the women and men of a community that we see as America's best. I will be pleased to salute the class of 2010."
Casteen received all three of his degrees at the University and returned to his alma mater in 1975 to become dean of admissions after a brief stint teaching English at the University of California, Berkeley.
As a dean, Gilliam said Casteen had a significant impact on the University even before his tenure as president.
"[He worked] to increase the diversity of the entering class," Gilliam said, adding that Casteen also "discovered that too many public high schools were not giving their students adequate preparation for college-level courses."
Thus, Casteen followed his stint as dean of admissions as the state's Secretary of Education from 1982-1985, choosing to focus on increasing the level of education that students were receiving in high school.
Once he returned to the University, he continued this focus on improving the quality of students' educational experiences, Gilliam said.
"He built and really improved the caliber of the student body," he said. "Where we are now is in large part thanks to him."
Casteen also made considerable efforts to bring more international students to the University and encourage students to spend more time studying abroad.
Many students and community members expressed that they were pleased at the prospect of hearing Casteen speak.
Assistant Dean of Students Nicole Eramo said she thinks the choice of Casteen is appropriate.
"The other two times, I wasn't really familiar with the speaker but I'll certainly remember this speech, and it's fitting that at my last graduation. he will be giving his send-off," she said.
Fourth-year College student Elise Jordan agreed that a parting speech from Casteen will be suitable.
"It makes a lot of sense since it's his last year here," she said. "I don't see anyone more fit to speak than him."
Gilliam noted that Casteen is known for his impressive public speaking skills but that he does not write speeches out ahead of time, opting to list bullet points instead.
"The rest is him up there ad-libbing, and he's so eloquent," he said. "They're fun
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