Commencements, whether at a high school, college, university, military academy or any other educational institution, are special events in so many ways. They mark the successful completion of a rigorous academic exercise and, at the same time, the beginning of new opportunities and new responsibilities.

Sunday’s commencement at Kansas University is different from the usual ceremony in that it will mark the end of the 14-year chancellorship of Robert Hemenway. The Nebraska native is the 16th chancellor in the university’s 143-year history.

This is a time of significant change at KU with Hemenway leaving and Provost Richard Lariviere leaving KU to become president of the University of Oregon.

Being a chancellor is a tough job because he or she has the challenge of meriting and earning the respect, admiration and leadership of the faculty, inspiring students, pleasing parents, state legislators, donors, athletics zealots and many others, as well as being able to pay the bills and keep the school going.

It’s a 24-hour-a-day job, and in today’s economy, all universities — whether state-aided or private — face additional challenges.

Hemenway should be thanked for his service to the university and the state and leave his Strong Hall office with best wishes for much happiness.

It is ironic that, at the time Hemenway is carrying out his final responsibilities, members of a search committee have been meeting with a number (some suggest eight) of individuals seeking to become the school’s 17th chancellor. These people made the first cut of applicants, and it is believed that, of those being interviewed this week, the names of three to five will be forwarded to the Kansas Board of Regents. The regents, in turn, will make the final selection. According to those close to the situation, these names will not be ranked in order of preference.

So, it will be up to the regents to make the final selection. Perhaps this is the reason Regent Jill Docking and regents President and CEO Reggie Robinson were placed on the selection committee. They should be able to share their impressions of the candidates with the regents, rather than have this body make such an important decision without having a firsthand impression of the candidates.

This being the case, Docking and Robinson will have a tremendously important role in who KU’s next leader will be.

It’s no secret that there is not the enthusiasm, excitement, vision and leadership at the university that many desire.

KU is a good state-aided institution. Whether it is a great or excellent school is a matter of debate.

There is little doubt, however, that it enjoys tremendous alumni support, its alumni and friends have been extremely generous in their fiscal support, it has many outstanding, nationally recognized faculty, the record of its graduates is impressive and the school enjoys a long and storied history.

This weekend is a moment of hope and promise for the graduates, their parents and friends — and hope that those on the selection committee have conducted a thorough, exhaustive search and did not rely on the professional headhunter to locate truly top-flight candidates for the KU chancellorship.

There is hope that the regents will select a superior individual to lead the university, hope that alumni, friends, faculty and others will come together to support the incoming chancellor and hope that the new leader will have the ability to lead the university to new levels of academic excellence and make it a nationally recognized comprehensive research university.

To a large degree, the future of the state depends on the excellence, vision, enthusiasm and commitment of those graduating not only from KU but also from other state universities, community colleges and other excellent schools, such as Baker University.

Congratulations to these graduates, to Chancellor Hemenway and KSU President Jon Wefald for their years of service to the state and hundreds of thousands of young men and women and to the parents who made many sacrifices to make it possible for their sons and daughters to earn a college degree.

Now, at this challenging time for our state and our nation, and with the potential and opportunities KU offers, it is critical that those in the chancellor’s search and selection process do, indeed, offer the job to a truly outstanding individual.

KU deserves and needs something more than just a good, average or acceptable individual. “Exceptional” should be the measuring stick!