Liberty Baptist Church Hickory Nc

Subdued Beginnings | The John William Pope Center for Higher ...

For the second year in a row, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The focus of college commencements in North Carolina in 2011 has been on the kids, not on the flamboyance, notoriety, or political passions of the speakers who launch them into the post-academic world. Whether you chalk it up to the somber state of the economy or to the changeover to conservative political control in the state, the selection of commencement speakers this season was “fair and balanced” when viewed as a whole. (Scroll down to see the list.)

Looking over the choices at the 54 four-year colleges and universities listed below (some schools do not have outside speakers, or even formal commencement lectures), I was struck by the number affiliated with the armed services.  Specifically, they are: Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus (East Carolina); Vice Admiral William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff (Elon); Navy Commander Porter Halyburton  (Ret.), a former prisoner of war in North Vietnam (Greensboro College); Sally Brice-O’Hara, U. S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (Meredith); and Major General Ronald L. Bailey, Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Western Recruiting Region (St. Augustine’s).

Perhaps the most famous speakers were E.O. Wilson, biologist extraordinaire, at UNC-Chapel Hill; cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong at High Point; Nelson Mandela’s widow, Nomzamo Nobandla Winnifred Madikizela-Mandela, at Johnson C. Smith; and education secretary Arne Duncan at Fayetteville State.

Fame is an elastic term, and others in the list below can claim it, too. From political figures to business executives, plenty of people had the knowledge and experience to inspire the class of 2011. And the members of that class will need inspiration, as they enter a sluggish economy with a highly uncertain trajectory.

Editor’s note: Jenna Ashley Robinson, Ashley Russell, and Duke Cheston contributed to this report.