Bradley Whitford, the actor best known for playing White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on "The West Wing," will deliver the Class Day address on June 4, Class of 2007 president Jim Williamson announced this morning in an e-mail to seniors.
"For his success as an actor and commitment as a philanthropist, we are honored Mr. Whitford will be joining the senior class to help us celebrate the end of our college careers," Williamson said in his email to the Class of 2007.
Whitford, currently stars in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," won an Emmy in 2001 for his "West Wing" role and is involved with the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, a charity that benefits children.
His character on "The West Wing," Lyman, was a fictional alumnus of Harvard College and Yale Law School.
Whitford was selected to speak by the Class Day chairs, seniors Chris Chaney, Joe Franken and P.G. Sittenfeld.
"When we looked at all the names submitted and all the possible candidates, we really felt that Bradley Whitford's wit and humor would lead him to be a great Class Day speaker," Franken said in an email. "He will deliver an amazing address, and we really felt that is the most important thing."
But some students said they were disappointed with the choice, citing Whitford's lack of broad name recognition, especially in comparison to last year's Class Day speaker, former President Bill Clinton.
David Rosenthal '07 created a facebook.com group titled "Dean Fred for Class Day 2007," decrying Whitford's selection and suggesting former dean of admission Fred Hargadon as a replacement. The Class of 2007 was the last class Hargadon admitted before retiring.
"My initial reaction was 'who is Brad Whitford?' " Rosenthal said in an interview. "I don't really think there's anything he could say given his stature that could have any reflection on our class' time at Princeton."
By contrast, Rosenthal said, Hargadon is "a perfect example of someone that would be easy to get but would really resonate with the class."
Other students, however, said that Whitford was a good choice.
"I think it's great," said Nate Harbacek '07, who has seen the last three Class Day speeches as a member of the Orchestra. "He's a pretty smart guy and ... it will hopefully be a pretty entertaining Class Day."
Franken, the son of comedian and recently announced Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken, said Whitford stood out because of his intelligence and sense of humor. "We tried to develop as many contacts as possible ... to find the person who we thought would give the best speech," he said. "[Whitford] is a smart person, and he knows comedy. We feel confident that he will give one of the best Class Day speeches ever."
It was also unrealistic to find another speaker who could equal Clinton in stature, Franken said, so "this was a shift of the focus of Class Day back to its roots as a lighthearted way to celebrate our years at Princeton."
Chevy Chase, Jon Stewart and Jerry Seinfeld gave the addresses in 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively. Other speakers have included Bill Cosby and former Secretary of State James Baker '52, who spoke as a member of the Class of 2002's grandfather class.
"I think people should wait until after the speech to fully judge our choice," Franken added.
— Princetonian senior writer Maxwell Weidmann contributed reporting to this article.
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