James Baker to address senior class

Three-time presidential cabinet member and co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group James Baker will address Penn's 251st graduating class, University officials announced yesterday.

Baker will speak at the University-wide Commencement ceremony, which is scheduled for May 14.

He will be joined by six honorary degree recipients, among them Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and R&B; songstress Aretha Franklin, who will be awarded honorary doctorates of laws and music, respectively.

"It's not often that you get a former secretary of state, a Supreme Court justice and the queen of soul on stage together," Penn President Amy Gutmann said of the occasion.

Baker will take center stage as the only guest delivering a speech.

And although he has worked under several Republican presidents, Gutmann praised Baker's ability to work across ideological boundaries.

"He's held an incredible range of positions and, at the same time, he's a noted expert on world affairs," Gutmann said.

In addition to serving as White House chief of ataff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Baker has held multiple cabinet positions: secretary of commerce under Gerald Ford, secretary of the treasury under Reagan and secretary of state under the elder Bush.

Most recently, he is serving as the co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan congressional panel commissioned to study the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq.

University Secretary Leslie Kruhly - whose office oversaw the decision - said she hopes Baker will appeal to students "entering the world at a particularly interesting and difficult time."

Last year's choice for commencement speaker, Jodie Foster, raised controversy among the senior class, which initially expressed disappointment with the University's decision.

"Every year's decision is in contrast to the year before's decision," senior class president Andy Kaplan said of this year's more "serious" choice.

Kaplan, a Wharton senior, said he is confident that the senior class will be impressed by Baker.

"It was important to have someone who had contributed [to public life] over a long period of time," Kaplan said.

And for some, this year's selection is an improvement.

"I think it's better than Jodie Foster," Wharton senior Jared Abelman said, adding that Baker is someone with "the most influence on our everyday lives."

But Abelman noted that Baker's stature might not necessarily translate to name recognition for the majority of the senior class.

This was the case for Wharton and Engineering senior Jared Bernheim, who said Baker's name was familiar but couldn't immediately place his accomplishments.

Still, Bernheim said he finds Baker's career impressive, something "I can tell my grandkids."

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