Roger Scruton, a conservative writer, intellectual, and professor, has been chosen as the 2012 commencement speaker.
Scruton is “a friend of the college” and is known by many faculty members, said Douglas Jeffrey, vice president of external affairs.
Scruton is the author of more than 30 books, including “Culture Counts: Faith and Healing in a World Besieged,” “The Uses of Pessimism and the Danger of False Hope,” and “I Drink Therefore I Am: A Philosopher’s Guide to Wine.”
Scruton has taught as a visiting professor at the University of St. Andrew’s, the University of Oxford, Boston University, and Princeton University. He is also a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
Scruton also publishes frequently in journals and newspapers and writes columns for “The New Statesman,” a British magazine, and for “The American Spectator.” From 1982 to 2001, he was editor of “The Salisbury Review,” a quarterly conservative journal.
Provost David Whalen said he is pleased with Scruton as the choice for the commencement speaker.
“Roger Scruton is that rare thing: A genuine and original philosopher whose clarity and grace of expression runs as deep as his thought,” Whalen said. “Whether one agrees with him or not about this or that — and his thought ranges from ethics and epistemology to art, science and law — he is always engaging and always deserves the best reflection of his readers and hearers.”
Scruton was chosen though a joint effort of the senior class officers, the External Affairs office, the faculty, provost, and the college president.
Class officers sought to choose a candidate who could best articulate the liberal arts and give a speech directed at the graduates, said senior class president, Dina Farhat.
Senior Catherine Sims was part of a group that recommended Scruton to speak. She is familiar with both his writing and book reviews.
“He is very eloquent and a great speaker, which are traits necessary for a commencement speaker,” she said. “An intellectual can talk about unifying themes, which at a graduation is inspirational and appropriate.”
To choose a speaker, the class officers created a list of potential candidates and watched videos of each speaking. They then presented the list to the office of external affairs and college President Larry Arnn.
After that, Whalen presented the candidates to the faculty, who were allowed to give input. Finally, the candidates were asked to speak.
“It is a relief to have it all done,” Farhat said.
Both the External Affairs office and the class officers believed an intellectual, rather than a politician, was the best choice for Hillsdale’s commencement address.
“A plus is that with an intellectual we know he will give a good talk that lines up with the principles of the college,” Jeffrey said. “With politicians you don’t know what you will get.”
Farhat also agreed that someone less well known among the student body would make a good speaker.
“It will be good to go in with everyone not knowing him and have them come out loving him,” she said. “I look forward to the speech.”
