"After hearing so much interest and curiosity from the students about who the commencement speaker was, we were excited to let the cat out of the bag," Sansone wrote.
Daley, 66, was elected mayor of Chicago in 1989 in a special election, and has since won re-election five times, most recently in 2007. His father, Richard J. Daley, served as mayor for 21 years until his death in 1976.
Chicago has undergone significant change during the current mayor's tenure. Daley overhauled the city's public school and public housing systems, with mixed results. He has also supervised new infrastructure projects, including the construction of Millennium Park and the ongoing expansion of O'Hare International Airport.
A Democrat, Daley won re-election in 2007 with more than 70 percent of the vote and has received numerous awards for his work. But many critics have accused Daley of disregarding opposing views on important issues and point to allegations of cronyism and corruption within city government. The mayor has been linked to several former officials indicted or convicted on corruption-related charges, including Robert Sorich, a former patronage chief sentenced to 46 months in prison in 2006.
NU wanted a speaker who had a connection with Chicago, Cubbage said.
"It is the 150th commencement, and so we were looking for someone who represented the university and its history here in Chicago, and certainly Mayor Daley has been very supportive of Northwestern in a variety of things, particularly on the Chicago campus," Cubbage said.
Last year's commencement speaker was former "Seinfeld" actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Communication '82. She was preceded by two 2008 presidential contenders: U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., spoke in 2006 and U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2005.
Though he lacks the name recognition of Obama or McCain among students, Daley could deliver a more compelling and informative address than either politician, said Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, a frequent critic of Daley and City Hall.
2008 Woodie Awards
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 336
Sajid
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:03 PM CST
Lame
cough cough
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:08 PM CST
... so lame...
BS DETECTOR
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:10 PM CST
Naturally it makes sense to choose someone who has been very supportive of the Chicago campus to speak at the EVANSTON graduation.
A good effort though, Cubbage. (Continued…)
Jennifer Simpson
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:17 PM CST
Extremely disappointed.
Matt
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:19 PM CST
Horribly botched by the university. Beyond that, the mysterious hype Bienen tried to generate appears misleading and deceitful.
The last four years included McCain and Obama, the two likely presidential candidates. (Continued…)
anon
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:26 PM CST
Are you kidding me? Commencement is the last chance for Northwestern to redeem itself after four years of shoddy undergraduate representation. Aside from academics, the administration has failed to provide us with anything of value. (Continued…)
2010
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:27 PM CST
While I feel bad for the seniors, it makes me feel better as a sophomore knowing that I won't have Dreyfus OR Daley as my commencement speaker. Lame lame lame. (Continued…)
umm
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:32 PM CST
is this a joke?
Senior
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:37 PM CST
Daley went to DePaul (not that smart), got his job through family connections (not that impressive), and kind of sucks at it (not that talented). Is this really the best NU could do? Sad. (Continued…)
Senior
posted 5/27/08 @ 2:41 PM CST
Northwestern- this is the final letdown. After four years of shitty quality of living, complete neglect by the administration, and horrible abuse by NU deans this year, this is it. (Continued…)
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