Quincy Jones has been chosen to give the 1997 Class Day oration, and we are more than pleased. Jones' background provides him with plenty of ammunition to present the graduating class with an inspiring message, and we trust that his speech will prove both entertaining and enlightening.

Jones' address to the Class of 1997 will occur as part of the Commencement Week festivities, just one day before graduation. He follows Tom Brokaw and Hank Aaron, the last two Class Day orators.

While we are confident that Jones will deliver a strong speech, this is not the only reason his selection ought to be seen as laudable. A man who has continually found ways to blend the artistic, professional and socially conscious, Jones' remarkable achievements demand the attention and consideration of graduating seniors.

At various times during his career, Jones has been both composer and CEO, artist and entrepreneur. He has raised the technical field of musical production to the level of an art form and created pop stars in the process.

In the meantime, he has made a priority of taking on projects with social relevance, such as the formation of the Institute for Black American Music and the foundation of Chicago's annual Black Arts Fest.

In recent years, Jones has also shown his commitment to Harvard. He recently gave a guest lecture in an Afro-American Studies class, and before that, played a key role in endowing the Quincy Jones visiting associate professorship of African-American Music that brought the popular Dwight D. Andrews of Emory University and his course Music 131: "History of Jazz" to Harvard students.

Finally, Jones' selection represents a fine complement to the choice of of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright for the traditionally staid Commencement address, which will take place the day following Jones' Class Day oration.