WORDS GRADS WILL REMEMBER - MAYBE THE BEST COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER MAY BE FAMOUS OR JUST BLESSEDLY BRIEF.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

The U.S. Naval Academy got President George W. Bush. Harvard University got actor John Lithgow. Northwestern University got U.S. Sen. John McCain.

In the world of academia, such commencement speakers are among the cream of the crop - nationally prominent individuals who reflect and add to a university's prestige.

But not all universities are created equal.

With graduation season approaching, luring stellar names to the stage frequently hinges on connections or cash, something that smaller colleges and universities - even in mogul-laden locales like Los Angeles - simply don't have.

``The big-name political people ... use (commencement speeches) to make some sort of political statement, so they try to find the most prestigious university or the one the press will most likely cover,'' said Darroch ``Rocky'' Young, the new chancellor of the nine-college Los Angeles Community College District.

``It isn't so much community colleges versus four-year universities,'' he said, ``but high name-recognition institutions versus institutions with less name recognition.''

Community colleges produce many graduates who gain the national spotlight - witness Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who attended Santa Monica College.

And many San Fernando Valley colleges and universities have had prominent speakers in the past. Actor Ed Begley Jr., who attended Valley College, spoke at the college's 2003 commencement. ``Star Trek'' actress Nichelle Nichols has also spoken at a commencement at California State University, Northridge.

But many institutions are left to rely on lesser-known, albeit successful, local political officials or alumni.

This year's lineup in L.A.'s community college district, which doesn't pay its speakers, features mostly local government and district officials, including Pierce College's Joe Hurley - a longtime Pierce supporter and executive director of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, which works with nonprofit organizations - and Mission College's Maribel De La Torre, the mayor of San Fernando and a Mission alum.

College officials note, however, that more important than a speaker's name is whether the speech will be meaningful - and brief.

``Most people go to graduations to see their family member graduate. They don't go to hear the speaker,'' Young said dryly. ``Most people would be grateful if the speaker would be very short and get on with the program.''

Maureen Brooks, president of Brooks International, a Denver-based company that books corporate and commencement speakers, said schools without connections can expect to pay anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 for a decision to book a big-name speaker.

But even that amount doesn't ensure a top choice. Some celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey, simply don't do speeches. Others want to speak at only at universities that have some relationship with them.

Brooks said some of today's most popular speakers are actor Bill Cosby, columnist George Will, journalist Cokie Roberts and actor Ben Stein. But, she said, students are not looking just for inspiration, but for real-world insight.

``They all ask for Alan Greenspan,'' she said. ``The kids who are on these committees are the serious kids. They want Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Sen. John McCain, leading economists, the head of the New York Stock Exchange. These are thrills to these kids. They want to know what's going on in the economy, what's in store for their future.''

That relevance is what drove Robert Rosen, dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles, to choose Fay Kanin - Oscar-nominated screenwriter, playwright, film preservationist and four-time president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - as the school's speaker this year.

Actor Anthony Hopkins also will be honored with the UCLA medal, and Geoffrey Gilmore, director of the Sundance Festival, will receive an alumni award.

``We look for people who stand for what we as a school stand for,'' Rosen said. ``Their ideals are our ideals. The other thing is these are people who have a commitment to that next generation of artists and critics.''

Officials at some some colleges with large graduating classes decide just to skip competition to land a top-notch speaker in favor of calling each graduate forward by name for handshakes from the faculty.

``Our view has always been that it's better to maintain that personal contact with students than have somebody they don't know or have never heard of give a long speech,'' said Dean Fred J. Evans of CSUN's College of Business and Economics, one of several CSUN colleges taking this route.

But David Baird, dean of Pepperdine University's Seaver College, thinks that trend is too bad because a good speaker can enhance the occasion.

``It's sort of the capstone to the college experience,'' Baird said. ``Students do look forward to having somebody speak who does them justice and recognizes the significance of the moment.''

Rahshaun Haylock, 21, of Northridge, who is graduating from CSUN with a degree in broadcast journalism, agrees with Baird.

``This day is one we're going to remember and cherish for the rest of our lives,'' Haylock said. ``We'd hope we'd take some advice, something other than just the memory of walking across the stage and getting our diploma.''

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

GRADUATION CEREMONIES