Bill Cosby will be the commencement speaker for the Class of 2001. During last week’s town meeting, President Jackson announced that Cosby had accepted her invitation and will attend.
The 195th commencement ceremonies will be held on May 12 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. Cosby and Harvard Professor William J. Willson will be the recipients of honorary doctorates from Rensselaer.
The selection process, which started in October of last year, involved students, faculty, staff, and the president.
The Office of the President compiled a list of names from suggestions by the president and students, and information was gathered on each speaker. The list then went on to the president’s committee on honors and the Faculty Senate committee on honors with a series of votes and deliberations each generating a new list.
"The list we got was long, and it took us a long time to negotiate this through," said Henry Scarton, chairman of the faculty committee. Ultimately, the president made the final decision after reviewing the list submitted by the faculty committee.
Cosby is widely known as one of the country’s richest entertainers. In the ’50s, Cosby dropped out of high school and joined the Navy. Years later, he went to college on a football scholarship. After college, Cosby joined the entertainment industry, succeeding in a way that was, at the time, a breakthrough for blacks.
In the ’70s, Cosby went to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to get his doctorate in education. "Going back to college after attaining such wealth and stature speaks out on how much he values education," said Eddie Knowles, interim vice president for student life. Cosby is also well-known for his generosity towards higher education.
Cosby will make the choice on the topic of the speech; no information has been released about it yet.
"I heard him speak before. No speaker can get a message across with humor like he does," said Knowles.
Chairman of the Faculty Senate Prabhat Hejela said that Cosby "was an excellent choice." He also added that his visibility as a speaker, his humor, and his support for education are some of his most admirable qualities.
Scarton, who did a lot of biographical research on Cosby, said that one thing that caught his attention in particular was that Cosby "once said that the beginning letter ‘E’ in all of his five children’s names stood for excellence."
Many students responded favorably to the Cosby selection. "It’s an awesome choice for a graduation speaker—I am very excited to hear him," said graduating student Kristin Davidson.
Osagie Erhabor, a computer systems student who will be graduating this May, said that he looks forward to Cosby’s knack for humor.
"He is humorous, charismatic, and he supports education. He will be interesting to hear," said senior Emerald Lai.
