Rutgers president not backing off decision to have Condoleezza Rice speak at graduation

Rutgers University President Robert Barchi reaffirmed the decision to make former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commencement speaker in a letter to the Rutgers community Friday that addressed the “spirited discussions” surrounding her invitation.

“Whatever your personal feelings or political views about our commencement speaker, there can be no doubt that Condoleezza Rice is one of the most influential intellectual and political figures of the last 50 years,” Barchi said in his first public statement since a faculty group passed a resolution calling for Rice’s invitation to be rescinded.

Rutgers Prof. Rudolph Bell, one of the authors of the resolution, said more than 350 tenured faculty members signed the petition objecting to the Board of Governors’ decision.

Bell said that Rice played a prominent role in advancing the Iraq War by misleading the American people into believing that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Further, Bell said that Rice supported enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, a human rights violation the faculty council does not endorse.

But not everyone at Rutgers shares the same views about the first female African-American national security advisor and secretary of state speaking at the 2014 commencement.

Joe Cashin, Rutgers University senior and student representative to the Board of Governors, said those in opposition to Rice represent a vocal minority.  “Most of the graduating seniors that I’ve talked to are very excited that she’s coming,” he said. “She definitely embodies Rutgers’ mission of diversity.”

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