Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the Philippines, United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of an educational institution. This honor is traditionally based on grades along with grade point average (GPA), but consideration is also sometimes often given to other factors such as extracurricular activities. The title comes from the salutatorian's traditional role as the first speaker at a graduation ceremony, delivering the salutatory (where the valedictorian, on the other hand, speaks last with his/her valedictory). In a high school setting, a salutatorian may also be asked to speak about the current graduating class or to deliver an invocation or benediction. In some instances, the salutatorian may even deliver an introduction for the valedictorian. The general themes of a salutatory are usually always of growth, outlook toward the future, and thankfulness, usually the same things in a valedictory.

Latin salutatorian at Princeton University

Princeton University chooses a "Latin salutatorian" based on the ability to write and deliver a speech to the audience in that language; thus, the speaker is typically a Classics major. The tradition dates from the earliest years of the university, when all graduates were expected to have attained proficiency in the "Learned Languages," i.e., Latin and Greek. Of course, this traditional use of Latin for the salutatorian's speech at Princeton has become problematic as Latin has become the province of the Classics department rather than a required competency for all graduating seniors. In the late 1980s this problem was addressed by providing the graduating seniors with their own version of the program. The seniors' version differed from the version handed out to the parents in the audience by containing the entire speech printed out in Latin, complete with footnotes (also in Latin) instructing the seniors to "Clap here," "Cheer here," "Boo here," etc. This allowed the festivities to proceed despite the fact that only a small percentage of the seniors had the slightest idea of what it was that they were laughing about, cheering for, or booing at.

Notable salutatorians

• Georgie Anne Geyer, journalist and foreign affairs columnist (Calumet High School, Illinois, Class of 1952) [61790]
• Evan Mecham, former Governor of Arizona (Altamont High School, Utah, Class of 1942) [61791]
• Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States (Whitney Young High School, Illinois, Class of 1981) [61792]
• Bettie Page, former pin-up model and Playboy Playmate (Hume-Fogg High School, Tennessee, Class of 1940) [61793] [61794]
• Robin Roberts, newscaster (Pass Christian High School, Mississippi, Class of 1979 )
• Erich Segal, author and screenwriter (Harvard College, Massachusetts, Class of 1958) [61795]
• Carrie Underwood, singer-songwriter (Checotah High School, Oklahoma, Class of 2001) [61796]
• Alex P. Keaton, character from the 1980's sitcome Family Ties. It was featured in the episode The Graduate of season two. (Harding High School, Class of 1984.)

[61797]

See also

• Class rank
• Grade inflation
• Latin honors
• Salutation
• Salutatorian - Wiktionary definition
• Valedictorian - the highest ranking graduate

References

1. What is a Salutatorian? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-salutatorian.htm
2. Example of a Valedictorian Speech http://www.best-speech-topics.com/example-of-a-valedictorian-speech.html
3. Salutatorian Speech: 10 Speech Ideas http://www.speech-topics-help.com/salutatorian-speech.html
4. Charter of the College of New Jersey (1746).
5. [1] July 14, 2009