Chris Pan gave bizarre Ohio State commencement address — here's who he was picked over
Michelle Obama, Lizzo, LeBron James, Michael Phelps and Trevor Noah topped the list of prospective speakers for Ohio State University's 2024 spring commencement ceremony, according to commencement speaker recommendation lists obtained by The Dispatch.
Absent from those lists was Chris Pan, the social entrepreneur and Ohio State alum who was ultimately selected to deliver the commencement address. Pan was listed as a possible Ohio State commencement speaker for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, but not for the 2024 spring commencement.
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Pan delivered a polarizing speech during Sunday's spring commencement ceremony that some on social media called disrespectful, embarrassing and bizarre.
The speech included two brief musical numbers, to "What's Going On?" by the 4 Non Blondes and "This Little Light of Mine" written by Harry Dixon Loes — and espoused how he thinks Bitcoin is "a very misunderstood asset class," which was met by groans from audience members. (He promised everyone in attendance a free bracelet from his company, MyIntent, "as an apology for listening to me talk about Bitcoin.").
Pan said before Sunday that he was high on ayahuasca, a psychedelic liquid made from heating or boiling multiple psychoactive plants from South America, while drafting his speech, according to posts on his LinkedIn and Instagram accounts. Pan also said he tried using ChatGPT and artificial intelligence to write his speech.
"Got some help from AI (Ayahuasca Intelligence) this week to write my commencement speech for 60k grads and family members at Ohio State University next Sunday," he wrote in a LinkedIn post before graduation.
How did Pan end up being chosen to be commencement speaker?
Many have questioned how and why Pan ended up being chosen to give the spring commencement address in the first place.
Ohio State President Ted Carter told reporters on Wednesday that Pan was on a nomination list of possible commencement speakers dating back to 2019.
According to the 2019-2020 commencement speaker recommendations, Pan was listed as a possible speaker for OSU's summer and winter graduation ceremonies. He was listed again the following year for summer and winter graduations. Pan had not been a recommended speaker for any commencement ceremonies since.
Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said the process for selecting a speaker is cumulative and speakers can be drawn from previous recommendations.
"The Office of the President, Commencement and Special Events makes the final decision to match potential speakers with spring, summer or autumn commencement based on a variety of factors, including speaker availability," Johnson said.
How are Ohio State's commencement speakers selected?
The selection process for who will be Ohio State's spring commencement speaker begins the previous winter.
The university charges a Commencement Speaker Advisory Committee, compromised of a rotating list of students and employees, with developing a slate of potential speakers for its December, May, and August Commencement ceremonies.
An online nomination portal is open year-round. This year's final slate of speaker recommendations was drawn from nominations submitted between Feb. 1, 2022, and Jan. 31, 2023.
Next, the Commencement Speaker Advisory Committee reviews the nominations and provides feedback on them. The committee meets to discuss nominations and share any additional comments. Final recommendations were made by the committee on Feb. 15, 2023.
While all three of the university's graduation ceremonies draw thousands of graduates and their guests, spring commencement holds special significance.
"Given the importance of the May Commencement as a major event for the university, the committee will seek to identify a slate of speakers of national or international stature befitting a ceremony celebrating 10,000+ graduates," according to the committee's website.
Potential speakers, according to the committee, should be or have the following qualities:
A good public speaker;
In a position to deliver a meaningful message with relevance for our graduating students;
A leader in their field or linked to important and compelling issues;
Name recognition (especially for May Commencement);
Core values consistent with those of Ohio State’s mission, vision, and values.
Who was recommended to speak at Ohio State's spring commencement?
According to this year's commencement speaker recommendations, the committee developed its short list of speakers using the following characteristics: "Dynamic and energizing; someone who has an important message to share, humble; down to earth, evokes emotion, builds on good logic, relevance of character; well-rounded, energetic, experienced speaker; celebrates students; well known; authentic; natural and conversational; short, concise, and to the point."
While many people were listed as prospective speakers, it is unclear whether any were offered to speak or were available and willing to do so.
This year's committee said former First Lady Michelle Obama was its No. 1 pick for May graduation, as she "outperformed other nominations in terms of interest" and was "almost two times as popular" as other nominees.
Her husband, former U.S. President Barack Obama, gave the spring commencement speech in 2013.
Two speakers who appear on both lists were Harvard Professot Mahzarin Banaji and NBA player and Akron native LeBron James. Both "should be prioritized for the May commencement but would also be suitable speakers for the August and December commencement ceremonies," the committee said.
"There was strong interest in LeBron James, so he was placed high on both lists, with the understanding that his availability may be challenging for certain ceremonies while he is still playing in the NBA (playoffs)," the committee said.
Three committee members said U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps "would carry a strong message for young graduates, especially regarding mental health and resilience."
One of the student members "noted that the graduates of the August and December commencement ceremonies deserve as notable of speakers as the May commencement ceremony, and that there shouldn’t necessarily be a distinction between the ceremonies."
Committee members also recognized that a student voice at graduation, either in introducing the commencement speaker or in giving a short speech themselves, "would be deeply empowering."
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
@sheridan120
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Chris Pan wasn't on OSU A-list of possible spring graduation speakers
