I served as a college president for nearly two decades – I know choosing the right commencement speaker can be fraught with risks

Some students walked out on Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s commencement speech at Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2024. The Washington Post via Getty Images by Walter M. Kimbrough, University of Southern California The 2024 commencement season has been one of the most contentious in recent memory. Amid pro-Palestinian protests at campuses nationwide over the war in the Gaza Strip, some universities – such as Columbia University and the University of Southern California – have canceled their commencement ceremonies. Others, such as Duke University, have drawn sharp rebukes and condemnations from students due to their university’s choice of a commencement speaker. Still others, such as Xavier University of Louisiana, have rescinded invitations to commencement speakers deemed too controversial. To gain insight into the challenges that colleges face in choosing a commencement speaker, The Conversation reached out to Walter M. Kimbrough, a longtime college president who currently holds an executive appointment at University of Southern California. His thoughts are reflected in the following Q&A. How are commencement speakers typically selected? There are a range of ways schools select commencement speakers. For some campuses there is a university-wide committee which will make a selection for the president to approve. Some campuses survey students...