Abstract

In the paper “The Opening Speech in Romanian Public Universities” we aim to examine the opening speeches delivered in Universities for special occasions such as the beginning of the academic year and the inauguration of a new faculty, a new area or sector of a university. Speeches are an important way for any organization to build and maintain their public image, and they also are an important part of the organizational culture of an institution. These speeches usually mention the mission, vision and values of the organization in one way or another, in order to have continuity and cohesion in all the ways the organization communicates; when someone checks all the speeches, press releases and the such coming from the organization, they will have a clear and whole picture of what the organization is about. In this paper, we will firstly bring into discussion a content analysis of two opening speeches from different Universities, where we will focus on the kind of style, tonality, symbols and references they use, on whether they have any recurrent elements or special kind of elements mentioned, and also, whether they mention tradition, among others. Secondly, we will compare the elements studied in the content analysis to see how the two speeches mention those elements and what we can infer from it, whether they use different tones, styles and elements. Finally, we shall draw a conclusion based on the information we have gathered. I believe this topic is a very important one for Universities especially, as it helps them in designing their speeches in a more cohesive manner and in preserving communication continuity.