Op-Ed
Doctor of Journalism
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Cornell, according to the delicate geniuses over at Newsweek, is so hot right now. I can’t understand why; not when the University’s unsurpassed ability to choose staggeringly mediocre graduation speakers is a perennial embarrassment.
Of course, in the Annals of Completely Moronic Ideas (a leather-bound volume available in Olin and Uris libraries and by electronic reserve), Cornell’s entries are some of the most putrid stinkers of the lot. Like the Public Relations department’s decision to print up some totally spiffy “Hottest Ivy” celluloid buttons.
It’s this kind of narrow attitude and utter lack of foresight that leads to mistakes: mistakes like 12 shots of SoCo, the Iraq War and a convocation keynote by Soledad O’Brien.
While Cornell graduates putter around with passé C-listers like Soledad and Martin Luther King III, smaller, younger and less, ahem, well-endowed Brandeis University stands out in its consistent ability to attract top-flight graduation speakers.
This is a place that had the Massachusetts state supreme court judge who legalized gay marriage deliver a 2005 commencement keynote while NBC Nightly News Anchor Tom Brokaw cooled his heels on the bench; in 2006, a Jordanian prince addressed graduates while Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner manned the sidelines; in 2007, writer Joyce Carol Oates, architect Daniel Liebskind and two other honorees also spoke — but New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was the main attraction.
Brandeis’ success at attracting high-profile speakers to graduation is in part attributable to its tradition of granting honorary degrees.
Unlike many universities, Cornell refuses to grant honorary degrees. But let’s be real here: This fall, Cornell will see speakers including Salman Rushdie and Steven Colbert, and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the pleasure. At Brandeis graduations, the only payment speakers receive is a cute and completely meaningless piece of paper. With honorary degrees, Cornell could attract better graduation speakers, and could even get out of paying exorbitant amounts for other appearances during the year.
Cornell, according to our Newsweek friends, is known for its practical, land-grant mentality. But there’s nothing practical about a system that attempts to increase Cornell’s prestige by denying it a major prestige item: high-profile speakers.
Any attempt to revise honorary degree policy would require a faculty-wide referendum. And the prevailing outlook among the elbow-patched tweed blazer classes, Dean of Faculty Charlie Walcott told me, isn’t exactly open to the idea.
“You say you have a degree from Cornell, it means you earned a degree from Cornell. You can’t just get one in an awards ceremony.”
Charlie said a lot of profs think we need to “protect the value” of the Cornell degree.
Really? People are going to confuse a Fake Degree for a Real Degree? At age 10, for example, I was made a Junior Ranger at Yellowstone National Park. Do you think I’ve ever been confused for a Real Live Park Ranger? I’m sure that anyone who’s ever seen me near any kind of wildlife — The Sun’s mascot dog, Bear, is included in this category — would testify to my cool, intrepid attitude of terrified panic in the face of Mother Nature.
An honorary Doctor of Letters or Doctor of Science is in no way equal to a Ph.D. or an M.D., and everyone knows it.
Which is why the Medical College’s embryonic plan to revise their honorary degree policy makes so much sense, and ought to be adopted by Cornell as a whole.
In a two-page internal memo, David Hajjar — an academic boy wonder who was granted tenure at 33 and is med school Dean Tony Gotto’s right hand man — outlined a Medical College proposal to begin awarding honorary degrees.
According to Hajjar, the degrees would honor both scientists and their medically-minded benefactors. He named Brooke Astor and Bill Gates as examples — could a $100 million Sandy Weill doctorate be in the works?
The idea of pay-for-play degrees makes me cringe; but you can’t help but support the notion that Cornell ought to be able to honor important people it likes and bring them to campus to speak to students.
Unfortunately, to hear Hajjar tell it, the initiative barely stands a chance.
“I think it’s gonna be an issue because they’re very deeply baked in tradition on the Ithaca campus,” he told me.
The faculty’s certainly baked in something. Cornell isn’t about stifling ideas; it’s about a culture of inquiry. If honorary degrees are what it takes to bring A-listers to campus, so be it: Knowledge, practicality and an engagement in the wider world are Cornellian qualities. Self-righteousness, last time I checked, is not.
David Wittenberg is a Senior Editor at The Sun. He can be contacted at dwittenberg@cornellsun.com. The Scoop appears Thursdays.
Personally, I enjoyed
Personally, I enjoyed Soledad O'Brien's speech last May. I agree with Cornell's idea that honorary degrees cheapen the overall meaning of a Cornell degree. Sure, no one would be likely to confuse it with a real idea, but I like that we're one of the few universities who has some standards. Also, judging by the quality of speakers we get during the year, it seems Cornellians aren't hurting for a great live speech. If they aren't willing to attend speakers before graduation, it's their loss.
Bill Clinton was the speaker
Bill Clinton was the speaker in 2004, proving that not all Cornell convocation speakers are C-listers. Although I do realize he is the exception and not the rule, evidenced by the fact Danny Glover was the speaker in 2002.
Also, don't forget the difference between a convocation and commencement speech. In addition to not granting honorary degrees, Cornell does not allow outsiders to give the commencement address. Therefore, some speakers may not be willing to trek to Ithaca to deliver a pre-graduation address to 5-10,000 rather than a commencemnt speech to 30-40,000 people.
Doctor of Journalism
Interesting article and I understand what the writer is trying to say. However I do not think that Cornell should start giving out honorary degrees in order to attract "great" commencement speakers. I am proud of the fact that when you meet or hear of someone with a Cornell degree you know they earned it "the old fashioned way". After all there are some people who treat their honorary degree as something they really earned.
Ed, Class of '77
i don't understand...
...the yearly whining about commencement speakers. three years ago it was bill clinton. two years ago it was gen. wesley clark, former commander of nato forces and presidential candidate. i could barely hear his speech and i certainly don't remember anything he said. in the years since, i don't recall anyone asking me who my speaker was, and i don't recall bringing it up in conversation.
if your four years at cornell are going to be encapsulated by a celebrity pissing contest against your friends at other prestigious universities, i think you are indeed missing the point...
Doctor Colbert of Journalism
You missed the episode when Steven Colbert burnt his honorary degree from ?Which university? (Relax, it was metallic rather than sheep skin, and will probably go right back to the bottom of his drawer.) The point is would any worthy speaker be lured by a Honorary Degree from Cornell? Shame we cannot ask Kurt Vonegurt any more.
Arcadia, CA
David: I graduated last May,
David:
I graduated last May, and after having sat through Soledad O'Brien's convocation speech, I couldn't disagree with you more. Everyone underestimated Soledad -- many of my peers didn't even show up for the ceremony because they were so appauled by Cornell's inability to get a high-profile speaker. I think they missed out on an inspiring speech by an authentic, accomplished woman.
She was an unexpected breath of fresh air, and the most valuable lesson she taught the Class of 2007 (and our parents who underestimated her) was that flashy "high-profile" titles aren't so important. Cornell should keep that in mind this year as it reacts to it's newly branded title of "Hottest Ivy."
And I agree with the University's policy: a Cornell degree should be hard-earned. Not given away in exchange for an hour-long speech. Nice job, Cornell. Keep it real.
Honorary degrees
Re: "Doctor of Journalism," August 30, 2007, Sun. I don't think Cornell, or any other institution, should pander to notables by awarding them honorary degrees. Have you ever sat through the blather the recipients routinely spit out? I have. It's embarrassing.
Other universities, e.g. MIT, Stanford, Penn State, and the University of Virginia, also do not award honorary degrees and their prestige is doing just fine, as is Cornell's. There have been famous people, such as Richard Feynman, who have refused to accept honorary degrees. Good for them.
Cornell's right in not granting honorary degrees
## With honorary degrees, Cornell could attract better graduation speakers, and could even get out of paying exorbitant amounts for other appearances during the year. ##
Paying to listen is a less a price to pay that lose your honour and integrity when you dish out paper qualifications to less deserving. I think Cornell is right in this sense.