President Kermit L. Hall
Undergraduate Commencement Address
May 21, 2006

Welcome to the 162nd Commencement of the University at Albany! Class of 2006, please accept our warmest congratulations.

As is our tradition, please join me in a moment of silence to remember our colleagues, friends and alumni who are no longer with us. And let us at the same time pay tribute to America's service people around the world.

Today, we celebrate the success of each and every member of the Class of 2006.

No one was more important to your success than the faculty, the heart of our University. They have awakened your joy in knowledge and expanded your minds. And as Oliver Wendall Holmes observed: "The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size." I ask all faculty members to please rise and receive our thanks.

Next let us recognize the people who help make our University your home away from home. You went to them with questions about life in your residence hall or about life in general. I ask that our residential life staff please rise to accept our applause.

Today you leave with a degree and many indelible memories. Who can forget, for example, the fun we had the last time we gathered in the rain - for our celebration of Fountain Day?

And who can forget March 11? - the day our men's basketball team soundly defeated the University of Vermont and won its first-ever Division I NCAA tournament berth.

Look who turned out to be our opponent - UConn, the No. 1 seed. We saw all the news stories that said a No. 16 seed - like us - had never defeated a No. 1 seed. But we decided "Why Not Us?"

We threw a real scare into Conn, but more importantly, we threw a real sense of pride into our entire University at Albany community.

I would offer those three words - Why Not Us - as a rallying cry for the entire university.

Now let me tell you a bit about yourselves.

• You are 1,800 strong.
   
• 55 percent of you are women
   
• You hail from 52 countries, 17 states of the union and Puerto Rico.
   
• You count more than 500 communities in New York State as your home towns.
   
• And, eleven graduates have a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

But you are much more than numbers. Together you have written a novel of success. I offer one chapter as an example.

Six years ago, Carolina Zamora Rocha withdrew from the University when she lost movement of her hands and later her whole body. Carolina's doctors told her she would never walk again. She underwent surgery for spinal cord tumors, and then began intense rehabilitative therapy -- always with aspirations of returning to school.

Ladies and gentlemen, Carolina did persevere and today she walks again and joins the class of 2006. She is - in her own words - "walking on clouds." Her next step is law school. Carolina is an inspiration to us all.

Inspiration is the quality that drives success. Today we begin a new tradition to honor teachers who inspired our graduates during their high school years.

Dan Rather once observed: "The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth.'"

The teachers we honor today have surely used sharp sticks and tugs and pushes to inspire those entrusted to their care. They are truly - as we call them - "Teachers Who Inspire." And each spring, we will recognize three such teachers.

Today's honorees were chosen on the basis of essays written by members of the graduating class.

Kathleen McClain, a Spanish teacher at Arlington High School in LaGrangeville, New York, was nominated by Erin Messick. Erin began her nomination by saying that high school was one of the worst things that ever happened to her and that she was a "bitter, violently angry, and depressed teenage loner." Mrs. McClain, she recounted, "was one of the first people to reach out and sincerely try to help." Today, Erin is graduating summa cum laude in Biology. In addition to her teaching, Mrs. McClain founded a cultural diversity organization at the high school that promotes tolerance and respect.

Mrs. McClain, would you please stand?

Richard Perry, an English teacher at Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York, was nominated by Cory Gimbel, who is graduating in Business. Cory says Mr. Perry was more than just his teacher - he was also his mentor and his friend. Cory credits Mr. Perry with always encouraging him to follow his dreams. When Cory was trying to decide whether to go away to college, it was Mr. Perry who listened and talked with him and ultimately influenced him to come to this University. Mr. Perry currently teaches eleventh grade English. He is co-adviser to Calhoun High's mentoring program and adviser to the school's student-run newspaper, the extracurricular activity through which Cory came to know him best.

Mr. Perry, would you please stand?

Stephen Swinton, science supervisor at Shaker High School in North Colonie, New York, for 14 years, was nominated by Alison Horton, who is graduating summa cum laude in Geography and Planning. In her nomination, Alison spoke of Mr. Swinton's endless "kindness, generosity, wisdom and selflessness." Alison noted that in addition to the periodic table of elements, the laws of Newton and the geological time scale, Mr. Swinton "taught the values of morality, determination, self-confidence and integrity."

Stephen Swinton's untimely passing last spring left a huge void in the lives of his students, family and friends, but does not diminish the inspiration he gave to a generation of students. His widow and sons are here today to receive our recognition on his behalf.

Mrs. McClain, Mr. Perry, Mrs. Swinton, thank you for joining us today and reminding us all of the power of inspirational teachers.

Finally, let me honor another tradition and leave our graduates with some handy personal advice. Here goes:

• Always carry a safety pin.
   
• Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't be mean when you say it.
   
• Remember, flexible people never get bent out of shape.
   
• Think big thoughts and relish small pleasures.
   
• If at first you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you.
   
• If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.
   
• Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
   
• Make a living by what you get, and make a life by what you give.
   
• And finally, never forget your alma mater. We will never, ever forget you.