Final quiz: how to satisfy with graduation speakers

The wish list included six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart.

But when the graduating seniors at Rice University in Houston learned that their commencement speaker was going to be one of their own professors - popular and award-winning though she may be - disappointment spread quickly through the oak-lined campus.

Whispers in the student center turned to rants in the student newspaper as some seniors wondered why their class got shafted when other graduating classes had heard from former presidents Bush, Carter, and Reagan, author Kurt Vonnegut, and comedian Bill Cosby.

Psychology professor Michelle "Mikki" Hebl will be the university's first faculty member to deliver the commencement speech, and the controversy over her selection shows just how high the expectations for commencement speakers have become.

"It's ridiculous that a serious academic institution like Rice can't do any better," says Angela Aaker, who graduates Saturday along with more than a thousand other students. "If I had wanted to hear her speak, I could have gone to her class."

Even high-school seniors at Houston's Second Baptist School did better, she says, adjusting her cap for a yearbook photo. They will be hearing from Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane.

The challenge for universities is to find a balance between someone with enough weight to impress alumni and parents and enough personality to entertain graduates. But that can be costly. Some speakers charge six figures for a 15-minute speech. This year, Rice opted out.

"It's a complex issue," says Mark Scheid, assistant to Rice President David Leebron. "It's difficult to find someone who is going to be able to say something significant to a graduating class but who only has 11 minutes of significant statements to make - and who is not going to break your budget."

Many schools have advisory panels of students and faculty that send a list of suggested speakers to the president. In September, the Rice panel sent 20 names that included Dr. Hebl because she spoke to incoming freshmen four years ago.

Upsetting to some students here is that their new president didn't even contact anyone else on the list, fueling speculation that the university is more concerned with budgetary goals than with students' votes.

Mr. Scheid denies that, but adds, "With a typical commencement speaker's fee of between $25,000 and $35,000, you could hire an assistant professor for a year. And what education takes place in a speech like this? It is more of a showpiece."

He compares the commencement-speaker syndrome to the vicarious-athlete syndrome: If your team beats another, you feel superior to fans of the other team.

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