Colleges pay hefty fees for heavy hitters to speak

Some have spent over $100,000 for graduation speeches

BOSTON — When colleges pick their graduation speakers, many strive to put a celebrity behind the podium. It can bring prestige. It can bring publicity. And it can bring a steep bill.

This year, for instance, the University of Houston paid $35,000 to book retired astronaut Scott Kelly as its commencement speaker. Rutgers University paid $35,000 for journalist Bill Moyers, who spoke at one division’s ceremony after the schoolwide keynote speech from the unpaid President Barack Obama. Kean University in New Jersey paid $40,000 to each of its two speakers.

Their costs were detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press through records requests. The AP asked 20 public universities that hired notable speakers to provide the costs for their services since last year, including speaking fees and travel expenses.

As many colleges struggle with tight budgets, some have drawn sharp criticism for paying hefty speaking fees. The University of Houston, which increased tuition this year, paid $166,000 to bring Matthew McConaughey to speak last spring. The University of Oklahoma paid $110,000 to book journalist Katie Couric in 2006. Both speakers donated their fees to charity, but their costs sparked a debate about whether colleges pay too much for pageantry.

“To the outside world, somebody giving a speech and getting paid $40,000 for one hour seems ridiculous,” said Michael Frick, CEO of Speaking.com, a booking agency. “But in our industry, it’s just capitalism and supply and demand.”

Colleges that pay for celebrity speakers say they can impress donors and pique the interest of potential students. Plus, the speeches are meant as a reward for graduates.

“Our students worked very hard, and they deserve it,” said Margaret McCorry, a spokeswoman for Kean.

Some universities have been paying their graduation speakers for at least 20 years, while others have started to more recently. Rutgers first paid for a commencement speaker in 2011, when it spent $30,000 to bring author Toni Morrison.

But some experts have noticed a reversal in the trend. In the past few years, the booking agency All American Entertainment has received fewer requests for paid graduation speakers, said Margo Sarlo, director of accounts. She attributes it to the backlash over fees paid by some colleges.

Of the 20 universities that provided records about their costs, 16 said they didn’t pay speaking fees this year.

Some colleges justify speaking costs by saying they are paid with private money. That’s the case at Rutgers. But some use public money supported by taxpayers. At Kean this year, $40,000 came from the school’s general fund, and student groups raised another $40,000. It paid to bring two speakers: retired astronaut Mark Kelly (the twin brother of Houston’s speaker) and Brandon Stanton, a photographer and founder of the website Humans of New York.