The University of Houston cannot even hire a commencement speaker without screwing up.  UH hired actor and University of Texas alumnus Matthew McConaughey to speak at its commencement ceremony in May.  But, UH refused to disclose how much it intends to pay the actor after the Houston Chronicle requested the information last month.  It turns out that UH’s contract with McConaughey’s booking agency, Celebrity Talent International, includes an almost unheard of confidentiality clause.  UH was required to provide notice to McConaughey’s agency if information about the actor’s fee was requested and give the agency an opportunity to object to the release of their information.  The agency is now attempting to keep the information quiet.

The agency argues that “a reporter or someone else” might create “unfair negatives online and take things out of context.  . . . We all have seen this with reporters and individuals on a daily basis in the news and is very sensitive now with celebrities who are unfairly targeted often.”

One can only speculate whether UH (a bastion of secrecy) is complicit in not wanting the public to know how much money it is wasting on paying for a celebrity commencement speaker.