February 16, 2012
On Feb. 6, the Hamilton community received an email announcing, for the second time in three years, that there will be no Sacerdote Great Names speaker for the 2011-2012 academic year. Disappointment and frustration reigned on campus. Students, faculty and the community as a whole look forward to the speech each year to stimulate conversation, foster new and different ideas and to expose the community to a significant and successful public figure.
“I am disappointed with the decision,” said Chelsea Ziegelbaum ’14. “I feel as though one of the benefits to going to such an elite school is to have the opportunity to listen to influential figures.”
The Sacerdote Great Names series, established in 1996, brings national and international leaders to campus in a wide variety of fields. Bonnie and Peter Sacerdote, and their son Alex Sacerdote ’94, donated a generous gift to make the series possible. Since its launch, John Stewart, Elie Wiesel, Colin Powell and 15 others have come to campus as Great Names.
Matt Seaman ’12 said, “I feel cheated and let down. This is the second time this has happened in my Hamilton career, and it sucks. Great Names is supposed to be an annual thing and it seems like they just keep dropping the ball.”
The process for choosing a Great Names speaker requires a lot of time and patience. The process begins with Lisa Magnarelli ’96, associate dean of students for student engagement and leadership, who request suggestions for potential speakers from various community members. Then she contacts speakers’ bureaus to assess availability and pricing. After reaching out to offices on campus that might have connections to a particular speaker, a long list of candidates is created. It can take months for a special selection committee to pare down the list. Once a shortlist is created, the appropriate agencies are contacted again to ensure pricing and availability remain the same. While there is usually a clear-cut front-runner, availability of the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House sometimes limits potential dates for the Great Names speech. This can sometimes lead to complications with the availability of the best choice for the speaker.
Keith MacArtney ’13 said, “While the lack of a Great Names speaker this year is a major disappointment for all, I would rather see a truly great name come to the Hill than see the Sacerdote funds wasted on a less than reputable guest.”
This year, the selection committee was able to shorten the long list of names to a list of potential guests. Magnarelli explained: “When we narrowed down the short list, it was determined that one possible speaker was out of our price range, another wasn’t available and another wasn’t quite the caliber we were hoping for. We decided it was best to hold off for the year and focus our energy and resources on the fall.”
The money from this year’s efforts will be saved for next year. Because the money was gifted for the express purpose of obtaining a Great Name, it can only be returned to the original fund. After the announcement, rumors circulated on campus that the funds will be used to attract a special Commencement speaker. Hamilton does not pay its Commencement speaker; therefore this year’s lack of Great Names speaker will have no bearing on Commencement.
Due to the complicated, drawn out process of acquiring a Great Name, it is impossible to ensure that a speaker will come every year. Whether negotiations go on too long, or no candidate is suitable for the title of a Great Name, predicting the outcome of the Great Names search can be futile. Sometimes waiting a year can ensure a better speaker will be available or within the price range.
Jacob Kleinrock ’11 said, “I think the Great Name Speaker Series should be about quality, not quantity. I was disappointed when they skipped a year, but I think they made up for it by getting Jon Stewart the next year. I would much prefer they get someone truly great every other year than someone mediocre every year.”