After nearly a year of deliberation, the Senior Class Council (SCC) has chosen mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NY) as the keynote speaker for this year's commencement ceremonies.
The process began last spring with a long list of names proposed by members of the SCC, including President Barack Obama and both Hillary and Bill Clinton, which was then whittled down according to concerns such as financial constraints, practicality and strength of affiliation with the University.
Bloomberg was a top candidate due to his relationship with the University - he graduated from Hopkins in 1964 and has since remained a loyal alumnus — but this was by no means an "easy choice," according to Affan Sheikh, SCC president.
"We hope we represent the student body in this decision - we solicited recommendations from the [senior class] Facebook group, we met with people in President [William] Brody's office and we are very happy with how it turned out," Sheikh said.
A call typically resounds for big-name entertainers, but movie stars are not a practical choice for Hopkins for a multitude of reasons.
Unlike many universities, Hopkins is not able to offer monetary compensation for the keynote speaker - the candidate will instead receive an honorary degree and hopefully decide to "speak out of the good of their heart," according to Sheikh.
"Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart were on our list and obviously we'd like to see them, but they both charge over $100,000 and that's just impossible," Sheikh said. "I'm sure [Colbert and Stewart] were both on the short list of every university — everyone wants the same five people."
Politicians are legally banned from accepting payment for graduation speeches, hence the honorary degrees.
Bloomberg was chosen over Obama and the Clintons due to his affiliation with the University and his remarkable oratory abilities, according to Sheikh. Though the mayor spoke at Hopkins' 2003 commencement ceremonies, each student from that year has since graduated.
"The question of why repeat a speaker came up on our meetings, but Bloomberg is such an important part of this University," Sheikh said. "He has given so much to us and I think it would be a very nice way to leave this place, to see someone who went to this school as we did and has since contributed so much worldwide."
The current mayor of New York City has not always been a political figure - after receiving his B.S. in Electrical Engineering, he attended Harvard Business School and went on to found Bloomberg L.P., a financial news and information services media company. Bloomberg L.P. is now valued at approximately $22.5 billion, of which the Mayor owns 85 percent.
Though he was a lifelong Democrat before seeking public office, Bloomberg switched to the Republican Party in time to run for New York City's 2001 race for mayor. In 2007 he declared himself an Independent.
Bloomberg's financial success and political legacy have allowed him to donate an astounding $300 million to Hopkins, a sum divided among various schools including the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"He may be our most recognizable alumnus in the world," wrote University spokesperson Jerome Schnydman in an e-mail to The News-Letter. "I expect most everyone will be delighted with our choice."
Sheikh admitted that political figures can often provoke a divisive reaction, but he does not expect this to be an issue.
"With any politician it's hard to make everyone happy across the board, but I hope that what he has accomplished and his connections with Hopkins will supercede any political qualms anyone might have," he said.
Sheikh said the SCC has no regrets regarding the process. He said that much depends on whether anyone in the Hopkins community has a personal connection with a public figure — for this reason, potential speakers such as J.K. Rowling and the Clintons remained more distant, although Sheikh said Bloomberg was above them on the list regardless.
"Our vague, broad goal is to reach out to a big name that everyone will like," Sheikh said, "but from there on out, the process is so much more complicated than anyone could imagine."
