Dear DKU Class of 2024 Students, Faculty, and Staff,
DKU’s third graduating class, the Class of 2024, is set to graduate in about 3.5 months!!! There is a commencement committee of faculty, staff, and students hard at work on the details of the commencement. One of the important tasks remaining is to select the undergraduate student commencement speaker to represent the Class of 2024.
We are writing to invite you to submit nominations for the UG student commencement speaker for the 2024 commencement ceremony in May 2024. We plan to have one UG student speaker this year.
You may submit nominations here no later than 5 pm China time on Friday, Feb 23, 2024.
- Nominations received after the deadline will not be considered.
- All nominees must be UG students who will graduate in May 2024.
- Only DKU students in the class of 2024 and DKU faculty and staff may submit nominations.
- Students are allowed to nominate themselves.
- You may submit more than one nomination, but note that your nominees will be competing against each other. You will need to fill out a separate nomination form for each nomination.
In addition to providing the nominee’s contact information, you will also be asked to answer the following two questions:
- Why is this the ideal person to represent the class of 2024 at commencement?
- Please describe their contributions to and involvement in the DKU community during the past 4 years.
Note that the responses to these questions will be the most important part of evaluating the nominees to narrow down the list. Please make sure to provide sufficient justification in support of your nominee to ensure that your nomination is competitive.
The nominations will be reviewed by a Speaker Selection Committee (comprising four Class of 2024 students nominated by the students on the Commencement Committee and 3 faculty and staff). The committee will narrow down the list to approximately 4-5 finalists, who will then each be asked to submit a draft speech and a video of themself delivering the speech. The Speaker Selection Committee will review the drafts and videos and rank them. The recommendations from the committee will be submitted to Chancellor Yaolin Liu, Executive Vice Chancellor John Quelch, and VCAA Scott MacEachern for the final decision.
Top finalists for the UG student speaker honor will be considered for the position of gonfalonier at commencement. Gonfalon flags, or university banners, will be carried into the commencement ceremony and placed on the stage to represent DKU’s academic divisions (Arts and Humanities, Natural and Applied Sciences, and Social Sciences) and the Language and Culture Center (LCC). The gonfalon bearer, known as the gonfalonier, will receive special acknowledgement at commencement for their achievements at DKU.
Thank you for your assistance in identifying the UG student speaker and gonfaloniers for the class of 2024 commencement ceremony!
Best,
Marcia France, Associate Vice Chancellor for UG Studies and the LCC, Dean of UG Studies
Christopher Van Velzer, Interim Dean of Student Affairs
