Originally published on Jan. 30

The surprise choice of Dana Gioia '73 as Commencement speaker on Monday had students scratching their heads and searching Wikipedia for more information about the poet and chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. As University and student leaders praised the Bush appointee, immediate reaction from the senior class was mixed.

"The fact that a lot of us don't know who he is," said Susan Rodriguez '07, "is not a good sign."

A native Californian of Italian and Mexican descent, Gioia received bachelor's and business degrees from Stanford before earning a masters degree in Comparative Literature from Harvard.

In addition to publishing three full-length poetry collections, Gioia has contributed to the New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

In 2003, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts and, earlier this year, received unanimous confirmation from the senate for his reappointment.

"Dana Gioia's life story is one of an unyielding thirst for knowledge and relentless dedication to the art of the written word," Hennessy said in a statement. "His experiences are a testament to the fact that education is a lifelong journey and that taking on new challenges, while risky, can open doors to remarkably rich existence. I believe such life lessons are of tremendous value for those about to embark on a new phase of life, and I am eager to hear his words of wisdom for our graduating students."

Many said that in such a heated political year, it would have been more pertinent to bring in a figure with a background in government or foreign affairs.

"I am impressed with his credentials and his experience," said Sasha Buscho '07. "But given everything that's going on in the world with the current war and the upcoming elections, it would have been more effective to have a political figure that could inspire us about the present issues."

Mike Lazar '07 expressed disbelief that Stanford could not exercise its apparent clout to choose a more prominent Commencement speaker.

"I'm really surprised that Stanford couldn't leverage it's reputation to find a more prominent and well known speaker," he said.

Senior Class President Vivek Agrawal said that while some students may not be directly familiar with Gioia's work, the poet's background in both business and art would allow him to share a unique perspective with graduating students.

"We feel that come commencement, he will give a truly memorable speech," Agrawal said. "He has spoken at alumni reunions before and the audience found him quite personable. He really targeted issues that people were feeling regarding life after Stanford."