The view on commencement day. Photo credit: Nick Romanenko, University Photographer, Creative Services
On September 27, 2005 at the opening of the exhibition of the newly purchased East Jersey materials held at Morven Museum and Gardens in Princeton, Richard P. McCormick, distinguished professor of history at Rutgers, presented remarks on the extraordinary acquisition of colonial New Jersey documents from Christie’s. “What a glorious day!” McCormick stated at the beginning of his address. I’m sure that, as a Rutgers University historian, he would have felt the same way about Commencement in 2016.
Indeed, it was a “glorious day” for the entire university community. To have the first sitting President of United States present the Commencement address was perhaps the signature event in the year-long celebration of Rutgers’ 250th anniversary.
As a member of the Executive Planning Committee for Rutgers 250, I was involved in early discussions and was delighted to hear Matt Weismantel, Senior Director of Rutgers 250, was considering extending an invitation to President Barack Obama. We knew it was likely a far-fetched idea, given the complexity of scheduling and the number of invitations a president receives for such occasions, but there were numerous factors that weighed in favor of Rutgers, particularly its celebration as the eighth oldest college in the nation and its distinctly diverse student population. A three-year campaign, as highlighted in President Obama’s commencement remarks, resulted in a last-minute acceptance and dramatic preparations for a presidential visit to the Banks of the Old Raritan.
I was fortunate to contribute to the events of this remarkable day. On the Friday preceding commencement, I received a call from Greg Trevor, director of media relations, asking if I would do an interview with WNYC (NPR) about Rutgers history. I told Greg that I would be more than willing to participate and that evening I participated in a five-minute conversation for a segment of “All Things Considered” that aired the following day at 5:30 p.m.
During our preparations for the “All Things Considered” interview, I mentioned to Greg that I did not have a ticket for Sunday’s ceremony. If anything, I thought he might be able to get me a ticket as a professional courtesy, so I could observe this historic moment in my capacity as the university archivist. But Greg went one step further and added me to the Media Relations team that assembled in the press box at High Point Solutions Stadium.
So, in addition to being a spectator, I also contributed to the event by informing the media about Rutgers past. During commencement, I was interviewed by both print media (the Star Ledger, Home News, Bergen Record, among others) as well as broadcast media (WCTC and WRSU).
As I sat in the box at the 50-yard line looking at the crowd and listening to a wonderful commencement address, I kept thinking about Richard P. McCormick and wondering what his reaction would have been. To me, it was one of the most significant days in Rutgers history and I’m sure Richard McCormick would have agreed!
“What a glorious day!” indeed.
