When the procession of students and faculty makes its way through the Carrier Dome during the 2003 Commencement, a former president of the United States will be among them for the first time.

Former President William Jefferson Clinton will give the commencement address during the graduation ceremony this year. Clinton will be the first former president to serve as commencement speaker, said Syracuse University spokesman Kevin Morrow. Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave the address as the governor of New York in 1930 and John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave the address as a senator from Massachusetts in 1957, both before they became president, Morrow said.

“Quite frankly, we didn’t have high expectations we were going to be able to get Mr. Clinton,” Morrow said. ”He is definitely an A-list speaker.”

The process that lead to Clinton’s selection has been altered from past years, now including an online suggestion phase, narrowing of choices by class and school marshals and ultimately, a final decision by Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw based on availability and cost, said Mary Jane Nathan, director of special events at SU.

This year, 15 names were given to Shaw’s office. The names were then reviewed in order to determine which candidate would be possible, Nathan said.

Nissa Monrad, one of the senior class marshals and co-chairwoman of the group of students that narrowed the list of candidates for Shaw’s office, said the group met once and started discussing possible candidates. The group then met again after doing research and narrowed the list.

Monrad, a chemical engineering major, said she will be very interested in what Clinton has to say.

Josh Friedman, the other senior class marshal and co-chairman of the group, said Clinton was on the list because he fit the criteria the group set of someone who would be able to give students a positive message as they begin a new phase of their lives.

The group also took into consideration the controversy that resulted from the choice of Rudolph Giuliani as last year’s speaker, said Friedman, a film, drama and philosophy major. The group thought Clinton would be a popular choice with students because of his popularity ratings during and after his presidency.

Ryan Colombo, the president of the College Republicans at SU, said a speaker of Clinton’s caliber is good for SU and its reputation.

“I don’t agree with his politics, but it’s always great to have someone who served as president speak,” said Colombo, a junior political science and history major.

Friedman said he will be interested in Clinton’s ideas for the future and about young people. He seems to be able to relate to young people because of his daughter, he said.

“I look at him as sort of a parent and sitting in the audience as if we were his own,” Friedman said.

Published on February 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm