Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram was recently selected as Hillsdale Academy’s commencement speaker for the 2014 graduating class.
In June, Wolfram will join the ranks of the academy’s past commencement speakers, such as columnist Jonah Goldberg, historian Victor Hanson, Congressman Tim Walberg, and College President Larry Arnn.
“It’s an honor to be the commencement speaker,” Wolfram said, “and it’ll be nice to speak with my son in the graduation class.”
Although Wolfram has not begun writing his speech, he wants to stress the importance of using the education from Hillsdale Academy through college and beyond. He wants to remind the graduates to stick to their goals and remember what they learned throughout their lives. He also wants to warn them of what they will experience in college, sending them from their graduation with a final piece of advice.
“I plan to talk about what they need to maintain from their current education as they move on to college,” Wolfram said. “Most of the academy kids are going into college, and I want to give them a little bit of a sense of what college is going to be like.”
Wolfram is no stranger to public speaking. He has delivered keynote speeches for organizations such as The Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley and routinely speaks at college events.
“I hope that Dr. Wolfram will send our graduates into the world with a word of encouragement and a charge to uphold the principles of Constitutional government,” Academy Headmaster Kenneth Calvert said.
Wolfram has a long history with the academy. Mary Wolfram, head of economic development for the city of Hillsdale and Gary Wolfram’s wife, worked as Hillsdale Academy’s 7th grade teacher for 10 years. The Wolframs have sent three children to the academy, including Liam Wolfram, who is a graduating senior this year.
“In addition to the family connection is the fact that Dr. Wolfram is wellknown across the nation for his work in support of limited government and free markets,” Calvert said. “Hillsdale Academy, as a department of Hillsdale College, is keen to endorse these principles in its commencement ceremony.”
Wolfram earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley after undergraduate study at UC Santa Barbara and has taught at Hillsdale for more than a decade. He is the author of “A Capitalist Manifesto: Understanding the Market Economy and Defending Liberty.”
“We have a strong graduating class. These seniors have helped to keep Hillsdale Academy ranked among the top high schools in Michigan,” Calvert said.
The majority of the graduating class will attend Hillsdale College.
