Governor Janet Napolitano

Two of the state's biggest political names will address graduates Saturday, the first time in two years that UA will host commencement speakers at the spring ceremony.

Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano will speak at the morning ceremony and Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, a UA alumnus, will speak in the afternoon.

Their speeches will mark the return of speakers to UA's spring commencement, after administrators last year said they wanted to make the ceremony more student-centered.

President Pete Likins said he was "tickled" the university was able to land such high-profile speakers, and emphasized the importance of bringing speakers from both ends of the political spectrum.

"As much as we love Governor Napolitano, we're pleased that in the afternoon the commencement speaker is of a different party," Likins said.

Napolitano, who won't stay for the entire morning ceremony because of other engagements, will also address graduates of the James E. Rogers College of Law later on Saturday.

"(Napolitano) likes to give commencement speeches. She is able to get away from the political talk and talk more about real life," said Paul Allvin, the governor's speechwriter and a 1993 UA journalism graduate.

Allvin said he has spoken with the governor about the speech but that he's not willing to give anything away. However, he did say Napolitano understands college graduations and wants to keep the speech short.

"She doesn't want to bore or lecture anybody," he said.

The daughter of a former professor and medical college dean, Napolitano was elected governor last fall after edging Republican Matt Salmon in one of the tightest gubernatorial elections in Arizona's history.

Since then, she has voiced support for the $1,000 tuition hike, attended two Arizona Board of Regents meetings and worked to protect the universities from legislative budget cuts.

University support was a theme she repeated throughout her campaign, and higher education leaders from around the state have been thrilled with the support she's given them.

"I will fight, fight, fight for the universities and community colleges," Napolitano said during the campaign.

Recently, Napolitano called for the state's universities to offer free tuition to children and spouses of Arizonans killed in battle. Regents will likely pass that policy in June.

While Napolitano has fought for UA, Kyl has a different connection: He graduated from UA.

Senator Jon Kyl

"Jon Kyl has a long background at the university and he welcomes the opportunity to speak," said Hank Kenski, the regional director of Kyl's Tucson office and a longtime friend of his.

Kyl has already put a considerable amount of time into his commencement address, wanting to make sure it has a positive effect on his alma mater's graduates, Kenski said.

"(He) has been working on his speech for about a week already. He really is a true Wildcat."

Kyl graduated in 1964 with a degree in political science and a minor in speech communication. Two years later, he graduated from UA's law school.

Kyl is one of 10 men who have represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate since 1912, and only one of two who graduated from the UA. The other was Dennis DeConcini, who has a building on campus named after him.

Kyl was elected to the U.S. Senate in Arizona in 1994 and then re-elected in 2000, after serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before beginning his political career, Kyl was a lawyer with Jennings, Strouss & Salmon in Phoenix from 1966 to 1986.

Despite the prestige of the commencement speakers, Shelly Pappas, a graduating communication senior, said she would rather save some time and not have speakers at all.

"It will make graduation shorter if they don't have one, and no one really listens to them anyway. We don't need someone to come in and give advice," she said.

Pappas also said a speaker would be more appropriate at schools that have small, more personal, ceremonies, where the speaker has a personal connection to the graduating class.

Past UA commencement speakers include Microsoft Vice-President Deborah N. Willingham (2001), U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (1999), NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin (1998) and Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times Reporter George Ramos (1998).