Dive Brief:

• With Condoleezza Rice bowing out as commencement speaker for Rutgers University, the school has lined up Thomas H. Kean, former New Jersey governor.
• The choice of Rice, the former U.S. secretary of state under President George W. Bush, had drawn fire from critics of her involvement in the Iraq war. She announced Saturday that she would step aside as speaker.
• Kean has his own connection to the Bush Administration years, when he was appointed by the former president to serve as chair of the commission that investigated the 9-11 attacks.

Dive Insight:

In addition to serving as governor from 1982 to 1990, Kean was president of Drew University from 1990 to 2005. According to The Star-Ledger, Rutgers will save on the $35,000 speaking fee that Rice was scheduled to receive, since Kean will not accept speaking fees. Also, Kean already has an honorary degree from Rutgers, so he won’t receive one at the May 18 ceremony. Meanwhile, the Rutgers College Republicans and other student groups have sent a letter to Rutgers President Robert Barchi, asking him to speak out against the Rice protests that created a “hostile campus environment.”