President Kermit L. Hall
Undergraduate Commencement Speech
May 15, 2005
 

In the past few months, my new job has reminded me that leading a great university is a daily challenge, a task that often depends on quick wits.

For instance, a president is expected to be able to think fast. Take the couple who were asleep in their bedroom when an intruder came in with a gun.

"Now that you've seen me, I've got to get rid of you," he said.

Pointing the gun at the woman, he added, "I like to know the names of my victims. What's your name?"

"Gertrude," she replied. The intruder said "I can't go through with this. My mother was named Gertrude."

He then pointed his weapon at the man, a university president. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Joe," the president said. "but all my friends call me Gertrude."

*****

I must admit, though, that I feel a sense of trepidation because I remember my own Commencement in photographic detail:
  who was sitting next to me;
  what I got as presents;
  where my family went for lunch afterwards;
  everything except who the speaker was,
  and what the speaker said.

With that knowledge, then, I presume to deliver an address that by its nature evaporates as soon as it is given! Graduates, I promise you this: my speech will be mercifully short, so at least there will not be a lot to forget.

*************

We are here to celebrate your success.
You have worked hard.
You have overcome many obstacles.
We are all immensely proud of you.

But you haven't done it alone. Your have had the support of many people, and let's take just a moment to recognize some of them.

The faculty are the heart and soul of any university and the University at Albany is no exception.

The University has superb faculty who deliver the best education. Would all University at Albany faculty please rise and be recognized?

Thank you for showing your support for our students as we send them on to the next phase of their lives.

The building behind me is another part of your support system. With more than two million volumes, the University libraries are, in fact, a great resource for our campus and for scholars from around the world.

Shortly after commencement Distinguished Librarian and Dean of Libraries Meredith Butler retires. Through her vision and hard work, Meredith has enhanced the University Libraries and, was, in fact, the primary force behind the construction of this impressive building.

Meredith and her library colleagues are what makes our library the great resource that it is. Since we're celebrating this special day outside the library, I think it's fitting that we thank those ever-patient people inside who keep the library up to date and who have guided your research.

Would Meredith and all of the members of the library staff (I believe some of you are over here to my right, and others are out on the lawn volunteering) please stand and be recognized?

A Commencement is a great and glorious day in the life of a University. It marks that one moment in an academic year during which all the human components of the university - students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and friends - come together. A moment at which the whole university celebrates its life and continuing mission.

And we have much to celebrate.

Today's 1,800 undergraduates have earned degrees in more than 50 different majors, with the largest numbers in
  Psychology,
  Business,
  Communication,
  English,
  History,
  Political Science
  and Sociology.

53 percent of you are women.
You range in age from 20 to 59 with the mean being 24.
There are 20 military veterans in the Class of 2005.
You hail from 43 foreign countries including China, Japan, Cyprus and Ghana, as well as 19 states of the union.

Seven graduates have a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Would they please stand and accept our congratulations.

Let's put some faces on these facts.

Siqi Zhang graduates with a double major in accounting and Japanese, plus a double minor in statistics and mathematics. She grew up in China and was told by her high school guidance counselor that her English was not good enough for her to go to a university. But our Educational Opportunity Program offered her a chance that she grabbed. She graduates with a near 4.0 average and is headed for an accounting job with a top-name firm.

Andy Allstadt made impressive strides too - through woods and fields, around tracks, and all about our campus. This spring, he captured victory in the 10,000-meter run at the America East Conference track and field championships. He has a 3.6 GPA in biology, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and has been accepted into the University's biology graduate program.

Marjorie Zitomer, a mere 59, happens to be our oldest grad. She is actually receiving her second bachelor's degree - in art - a few decades after receiving her first in English literature. She's a painter, delighted to have an incredible second opportunity in life, and she's planning to further cultivate her talent in our master of fine arts program.

Susan Perdomo is a busy single mom but she has achieved a near perfect GPA in her major - linguistics. On the way to her degree, Susan worked with faculty and other students on a study of Trique (tree-kee), a language spoken in Mexico. Their research may result in a book published through our Institute for Meso-American Studies.

David Fronk is graduating as an honors student in political science. He was home schooled for all four of his high school years, and arrived here well-prepared. Just last Thursday, at the 2nd Annual Undergraduate Honors Conference on Research and Creative Expression, David delivered a paper based on research conducted with Professor Anne Hildreth titled "Hijacked -- Abortion, Intense Opinion, and How the Public Became Lost in the Middle."

Richard Strain is graduating as a psychology major but he has also made his mark through his many plantings of native species on our campus. He devoted many volunteer hours to that effort and won a Campus Ecology Fellowship from the National Wildlife Federation that helped fund his project. The result is a more beautiful University landscape.

And finally, Jennifer Adams graduates with a major in math after her body was shattered in a September 2003 car accident. For several days, she lay in a coma. She lost a full year of school and when she returned this past fall, Professor Tim Lance warned her that two courses she was taking were among the toughest. Still having memory problems, Jen nonetheless persisted and graduates today with a GPA above 3.9.

Some of our graduates are athletes, who have learned the value of team work on the athletic fields. In the America East Conference this academic year, men's lacrosse, women's volleyball, men's outdoor track and field, and women's softball all captured conference championships.

Every one of you can take pride in your accomplishments. Many of your experiences have been events of the mind; your memories, however, will always be treasures of the heart. Guard them appropriately because today is about passages and about honoring those who are leaving us.

I remind you of the words of Harry Truman - "There is nothing new in the world except the history that we do not know."

The world, of course, is much different from what it was when you began your educational journey. The only constant in life is change and the time that you have been here reminds of that truth.

Let me share these examples.

We have said goodbye to Adriana, Friends and the Terminator
  and said hello to the Osbournes, Survivor and Governor
  Schwarzenegger.

Tiger earned his fourth green jacket at the Augusta junction
  while Janet Jackson suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

Howard Dean was a frontrunner before Americans grew wary
  which led to the headline reading Bush over Kerry.

Big media eroded with the expansion of cable
  while Dan Rather imploded with the tale of a fable.

Being Googled is a way to fame.
  Ask Paris Hilton, who has no shame.

Kobe Bryant wriggled off the hook,
  while at Camp Cupcake Martha Stewart cooked.

We said goodbye to JLo and Ben and sadly of course Brad and Jen.
  But fear not, the future looks bold, Brad is back with
  Angelina, I'm told.

Hi tech cell phones, laptops, wi-fi,
  Sidekicks, ipods, blackberries...oh my!

While all of you will surely be hired
  Avoid the Apprentice or "You are fired!"

Lance Armstrong's yellow bracelets were the rage
  with six Tour yellow jerseys he is the racing sage.

Barry hits homers at a pace record-breaking,
  Now we all wonder just what he's been taking.

The Red Sox broke through, saying goodbye to the Bambino's curse,
  Which prompted the Yankees to open their purse.

Usher, Simpson, and Eminem
  have all replaced R.E.M.

And the World Trade Center has disappeared,
  Osama Bin-Laden still breeds fear,
  the American spirit has reappeared,
  and the Freedom Tower will soon be here.

Many of you were freshmen, away only a short time from homes not so far from the World Trade Center.

The night of September 11, you gathered for a candlelight vigil around our fountain, taking comfort in each other and beginning to comprehend the horror of the day.

Since that day, we have heard a lot about freedom - its costs, its value, and its meaning to people around the globe.

But what is freedom?

Let's take this compelling example:

A century ago in our nation's capital, a boy was born to a hard-working African-American family.
The mother was a domestic.
The father worked for the government during the day and in the evening was a waiter at the White House.

Washington, like most of the South, was harshly segregated. The father entered the White House by the back door and dreamed that one day his son would enter by another.

Indeed the son did. In 1969 he passed through the White House front door - to be honored by the president of the United States with the Medal of Freedom.

The son's name was Edward Kennedy Ellington, best known across the world by his nickname "Duke."

Duke Ellington was a founding father of jazz and one of the greatest musicians America has produced. He and his band traveled the globe as good-will ambassadors for his music and his country, even as he and they were unable to sleep in hotels in the South.

In receiving the Medal of Freedom from Richard Nixon that evening, Duke Ellington quoted his close friend and arranger, Billy Strayhorn, in explaining what freedom meant to him.

It meant, he said:

• Freedom from hate, unconditionally. There can be no excuse for hate; it is the hater who inevitably suffers most.
• Freedom from self-pity. Self-pity separates its victim from reality and is self-destructive. The following is harsh but usually true: "laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone."
• Freedom from fear of possibly doing something that might help someone else more than it would help you. Think about it: the happiest people are those engaged in a worthy cause, serving others. If, instead, you win the rat race - you are still a rat.
• Finally, freedom from the kind of pride that could make a person feel that he is better than his brother [or sister]. Shakespeare summed it up when he said "small things make base men proud."

As you embark on the next stage of life's journey, reflect from time-to-time on the Duke's words:

1. Freedom from hate.
2. Freedom from self-pity.
3. Freedom from fear.
4. Freedom from pride.
   

If you do so, you will know the meaning of freedom and understand why September 11 continues to ring so powerfully in our memories.

*************

It will become our tradition to leave our graduates with some handy personal advice. Here goes:

• Always carry a safety pin.
• Don't tell your mom her diet's not working.
• Be nice to nerds; someday you will work for one.
• Forget trying to understand your cat.
• When riding a bike fast, turn your head before you spit.
• The one thing that unites human beings is the deep belief that we are all above-average drivers.
• Remember the cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.
• Don't smoke unless you're on fire.
• The most powerful force in the universe is gossip
• If the person sitting next to you is a crash test dummy, get out of the car.
• Never pierce anything you can't hide in a job interview.
• Say hello at least once a day to a stranger.
• Don't confuse your life with your career.
• Laugh often.
• Make a difference.
• Stand for something, even if you stand alone.
• And, always, always remember your Alma Mater - we will never forget you.

I offer you:

• my personal congratulations,
• my respect,
• my affection,
• my gratitude,
• and my thanks for the honor of serving you as your president.

God's speed your remarkable journey ahead.

Thank you.