Grounds groomed to perfection. Construction completed. Sound system in place. Several weeks of hard work, attention to detail and mounting excitement followed by last-minute checks culminated in the 156th Commencement Exercises.

But this year brought with it additional anticipation as the Central Intelligence Agency took large steps to ensure the safety of the class’ keynote speaker, John E. McLaughlin ’64, deputy director of the CIA.

McLaughlin is only the fourth Wittenberg graduate to speak to the seniors in the last 30 years.

The actual tradition of inviting a speaker to the ceremony started with the college’s first Commencement, held at the new city hall in Springfield on Sept. 12, 1851, according to Harold Lentz in his A History of Wittenberg College (1845- 1945).

Through the years, clergy, academics, politicians, authors and members of the press have been among those who have accepted the senior class’ invitation.

During the last 50 years, many of Wittenberg’s keynote speakers have discussed events, which have influenced society’s modern history.

A handful of alumni, however, have added a more personal touch by recounting memories of their own days on campus. A majority of these alumni speakers have also incorporated humor and career advice into their words.

“[The senior class] must figure that intelligence officers can’t say too much in public and therefore have to be brief,” McLaughlin said as he began his speech.

Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy Benjamin T. Hacker ’57, who addressed the Class of 1987, also peppered his speech with humor.

Hacker, who served on the Wittenberg Board of Directors from 1988 to 2000, shared with the graduates how he sought the advice of a friend as he considered what he should say in his speech.

The friend, an alumna, extolled the virtues of Wittenberg and asked if he knew about them. “Yes, I know, but what do you think I should talk about?” he said to her.

She replied, “Oh, I think about 10 minutes.” At the same time, Hacker discussed the serious decline in the educational system in America, concluding his remarks by praising his Wittenberg education.

“I also want to take this opportunity to selfishly acknowledge with appreciation the historic and continuing commitment to academic excellence, which characterizes the Wittenberg experience,” he said at the time.

In 1995, just two weeks before President Baird Tipson’s inauguration, the senior class welcomed another alumnus, President Emeritus William A. Kinnison ’54, who urged the graduates to remember this day as a rite of passage.

“A lot of days pile on top of one another, and they seem quite the same,” he said. “But every now and then there is a day that you know is different because it sets you apart, and it helps you to see yourself and to know yourself.

And this is one of those.” Six years later, Chicago sportswriter Fred Mitchell ’69 encouraged the class to appreciate the moment.

“It hardly seems as though 31 years have passed since I took part in a similar commencement ceremony in this very same Hollow,” Mitchell said.

Such personal recollections of their college experiences have added a different dimension to Commencement ceremonies of years’ past.

Standing before the seniors, these alumni show the strength of a Wittenberg education, and each has been grateful for the opportunity.

They also all tend to agree with McLaughlin when he said: “When you someday retrace your path as I have, you will find your Wittenberg heritage woven through it like a constant thread.”

— Phyllis Eberts ’00