Rainn Wilson will speak at Weber State graduation, how much did it cost the school?

OGDEN, Utah — Weber State University is shelling out big bucks to have Rainn Wilson, also known as Dwight Schrute from “The Office,” speak at their graduation commencement on Friday. $125,000 to be exact.

Weber State public relations manager Bryan Magaña said while expensive, this serves a higher purpose. The choice to bring in Rainn Wilson doubles as advertising both for students and the university.

“[We want to] get more eyes on our graduates … Of course that gets more eyes on Weber State, which is a great thing because we want to show people that Weber State is a place where people can accomplish their college dream,” he said. “It’s [also] an opportunity to potentially recruit prospective students.” 

A private donor is covering 70% of the fee. Magaña said they’ve been able to use some savings to cover the rest of the cost, so it’s not a burden for the school or students.

Wilson’s speech isn’t only bringing attention and potential students to WSU, Magana said, having a celebrity speaker was the graduates’ number one request. 

“We took a poll and found that people just want to bring in a celebrity, students want to make their big day even more memorable, so Weber State is delivering,” he said.

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