KRT CampusFormer U.S. House minority leader Richard Gephardt will take the lectern in the Quadrangle in late May to deliver the 2005 Commencement address.
Gephardt represented Missouri’s Third District in the House of Representatives for nearly 30 years before stepping down in 2004. During his political career, Gephardt ran for president twice and was chosen as majority and then minority leader by Democrats in the House.
In addition to addressing the graduates, Gephardt will accept an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. The University’s 144th Commencement ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 20 in the Quad.
Senior Brandon Gustafson said he was glad that the University had invited a local son to speak.
“I’m glad the University is bringing a local Missourian to speak at Commencement, although I would have hoped for a conservative or Republican, seeing how Missouri is a red state,” he said.
Senior Rob Collins, though, said he would have preferred an entirely different kind of speaker.
“I think they should get a pop-culture icon to be the Commencement speaker,” he said. “If Gephardt speaks, I think a dozen people might go up to meet him. But if someone like Nelly were to speak, I think half the class would try to go up and meet him.”
Since leaving office, Gephardt has enjoyed a close relationship with Washington University. This announcement comes after the University released plans for the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service, which could be up and running on campus as early as next semester. Gephardt will serve as advisory board chairman to the institute.
Professor Emeritus of Political Science Jim Davis, who will direct the Gephardt Institute, said the former congressman would make a highly relevant speaker.
“He’s absolutely a very good choice because he’s a very good speaker, because he’s familiar with the current political policy issue scene and he can speak effectively to young people,” said Davis. “He can speak effectively to the whole audience.”
While the former congressman will spend minimal time at the institute-about a half-day every three months-his friendly relationship with the University is evident. The St. Louis native recently donated $400,000 to the Gephardt Institute after a successful fundraiser last year.
“I certainly think his [giving the Commencement address] conveys his interest in the University and his support for higher education,” said Davis.
Chancellor Mark Wrighton called himself a longtime supporter of the former congressman and said that since the inception of the Gephardt Institute, the two have been in frequent contact.
“He’s a congressman who has extremely high integrity, and he’s personally very interested in the University,” said Wrighton, noting that Gephardt’s daughter received a degree from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.
At last year’s ceremony, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist Thomas Friedman gave the Commencement address, in which he discussed U.S. relations with the Arab world and his support of the war in Iraq. In 2003 Madeleine Albright, the secretary of state under former president Bill Clinton, spoke to graduates about testing the limits of society and the importance of the United Nations in the new age of terrorism.
Former congressman Gephardt was traveling yesterday and could not comment on his upcoming speech.
After growing up in St. Louis, Gephardt received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 1962. He then earned a law degree and took a job at a firm in St. Louis, where he also served as an alderman.
Gephardt began his career in Washington, D.C. in 1976, when he was elected by Missouri’s Third District to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, the congressman gained the support of labor unions across the country.
In 1988 he staged an unsuccessful presidential bid. Then last year, despite wide support from labor unions, Gephardt’s second bid for president also ended in disappointment.
Since stepping down from office, the former minority leader has considered engagements in both the public and private sectors. Gephardt is reportedly close to signing a contract with Goldman Sachs, a high-power investment banking firm.
The former congressman will also sit on the board of Anheuser-Busch in addition to lecturing on the speakers circuit.