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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Paralympian Chris Waddell '91 will give commencement speech

Chris Waddell ’91, the most decorated male skier in Paralympic history and founder of the nonprofit One Revolution, will address the class of 2011 as the commencement speaker on May 22. Waddell is one of six honorary degree recipients, including economist Padma Desai, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), volunteer service activist Dottie Neuberger ’58, geneticist Edward Rubin and civil rights activist Maxine Atkins Smith.
In past years, the commencement speaker has been announced as early as December, but according to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz, the administration was waiting to release the commencement speaker with all of the honorary degree recipients.

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“We wanted to wait until we heard from the full slate of honorary degree recipients, and some honorees needed more time to get back to confirm their ability to attend our commencement,” said Liebowitz.
Dean of Planning and Assessment, Director of the College's Self-Study, Professor of Psychology and Liaison to the Ad Hoc Honorary Degree Committee Susan Campbell pointed to the challenge of arranging for all of the honorary degree recipients to be present at commencement.
“It often takes quite a while to finalize the full list of honorary degree recipients,” said Campbell. “Given the busy schedules of those we seek to honor, individuals sometimes need time to arrange their lives so that they are able to attend commencement.”
This year, the honorary degree recipients will play a larger role in the commencement weekend as students, their families and the Middlebury community will have a chance to interact with them in a series of “Conversations with Honored Guests” scheduled for Saturday, May 21. Traditionally, Liebowitz has hosted a private dinner on the eve of commencement to honor the degree recipients, and Vice President for the Administration and Professor of American Studies Tim Spears said that the idea for a less structured event grew out of the dinner.
“The idea for having these conversations on Saturday afternoon stemmed from everybody’s awareness that this event that takes place on Saturday night is really special,” said Spears. “There was the sense that we bring these extraordinary people on campus, they come up on stage, they get their degrees and off we all go. It’s been a missed opportunity.”
The plan for these conversations has not yet been finalized, but each degree recipient will likely give a short speech followed by open discussion according to Spears.
“In particular we want our degree recipients to talk about how they came to the position they now have, how they’ve made their way in the world — the kinds of things that you think that graduating students would want to hear about,” said Spears. “We wanted to create a chance for people to get to know these honorary degree recipients.”
The Honorary Degree Committee, made up of the Board of Trustees, Stephanie Halgren ’11, Sara Cohen ’12, Assistant Professor of English and American Literature Dan Brayton and Professor of Japanese Studies Stephen Snyder, selected the degree recipients from a pool of nominees recommended by the College community.
“We try to choose individuals whose accomplishments are significant and who have contributed to society in a meaningful way, and to select a Commencement speaker who can speak to the challenges facing today’s Middlebury graduates,” said Campbell. “This year’s slate of honorees represents all of these qualities and will be inspiring to all those in attendance.”
The extent of the recipients’ accomplishments is not the only factor in the selection process; the diversity of professions and fields of interest among the degree recipients is also important, and it is meant to reflect the diversity of interests among the student body.
“Middlebury students graduate with different interests and different aspirations —there are lots of different ways to make an impact and change the world — and that’s what’s cool about the honorary degree recipients,” said Spears.
Commencement speaker Waddell was a talented skier at Middlebury when a 1998 skiing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was back on the slopes again a year later, and two years after his accident he became a member of the United States Disabled Ski Team. He has since won 12 medals over four games in his 11 years on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, and in 2009, he became the first paraplegic to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro unassisted. In 2010 he was inducted into both the Paralympic Hall of Fame and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.
Waddell frequently speaks about the resilience of the human condition; his signature motto is: “It’s not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.”
“I think that it is implicit in the [Commencement] ceremony that honorary degree recipients at a place like Middlebury are there to inspire graduates to go off and make the most of their lives,” said Spears. “The commencement speech itself — it’s job is to send people off with a message and even a mission, and I think we’re definitely going to get an inspiring one from Chris Waddell.”
Liebowitz agreed in his statement for the official press release.
“Chris Waddell has lived his life in an inspiring and thought-provoking way,” said Liebowitz in the release. “He has demonstrated that practically anything is possible as long as one remains determined and open-minded. It is an honor to have him speak at commencement and we are proud that he is a Middlebury alumnus.”
More than 5,000 family and friends are expected to attend the commencement ceremony, which will be held on the quad behind Voter Hall at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 22.

Look for extended coverage of the honorary degree recipients in our April 14 edition of the Campus!


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