Delivered on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 11 a.m.
Entry Plaza
Good morning. Muy buenos dias.
Esteemed faculty, honored guests, alumni, family, and friends – welcome to the University at Albany. Thank you for being here today to celebrate the Class of 2024!
Graduates – I am so happy to be here today to celebrate all you have accomplished. Congratulations! Felicidades!
But before we celebrate, it is our tradition to take a moment of silence to remember our family members and friends, colleagues, and alumni who are no longer with us.
This year, let us also take this moment to acknowledge the grief and pain that many in our community and around the world feel as a result of the enormous human suffering that is occurring in the Middle East, and in many other parts of the world where armed conflicts, poverty, and hunger claim the lives of so many.
This year marks the University at Albany’s 180th commencement.
For 180 years – since 1844 – UAlbany has been turning talented, driven students into globally engaged citizens. This year’s class is no exception.
Today, we will confer bachelor’s degrees on the 2,934 members of the Class of 2024.
- 34 percent of you are the first person in your family to earn a college degree.
- 27 of you are veterans – from one veteran to all our veterans, we are grateful for your service to our nation. Thank you.
- The youngest among you is 19 and the oldest is 68, proving that it is never too late, or too early, to pursue an education.
- You hail from 21 states and 26 countries.
- You have interned at our state capitol and the nation’s capital.
- You have conducted award-winning research.
- You have served our communities.
- You have won championships and broken records.
- You have developed friendships that will last a lifetime.
But your path to today’s celebration was marked by challenges.
During your senior year of high school in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed our lives.
Many of you finished high school virtually. One day you saw classmates and teachers in person and the next you only saw them in the digital boxes of a zoom meeting.
The typical milestones many experience at the end of high school – attending proms and graduations, signing yearbooks, celebrating athletic and academic achievements – were adjusted and abbreviated as we all navigated fears of the spreading pandemic.
As you prepared to begin college, we wondered if this incoming class of first-year students would be disconnected from each other.
Would the six feet of social distance have a long-term psychological impact, stunting your ability to form friendships?
Would taking courses via zoom instead of in lecture halls hinder your ability to learn and find meaning in your work?
But when I look out at this impressive group gathered today, I know those fears were unfounded.
You are resilient. You are accomplished.
You have formed deep bonds with each other that will last long after today’s ceremony ends.
You have thrived, not despite the pandemic that marked your entrance into adulthood, but because of it.
You are deeply empathetic because you witnessed the adversity and grief that your peers and neighbors faced during the pandemic.
You understand how interconnected this world is and the opportunities and challenges that it presents.
You have a keen awareness of world affairs and a deep-seated sense of duty to use your privileges to benefit your community.
Yes, we know, you are graduating into an imperfect world.
But all of the things that make this class uniquely special – your resilience, your values, your empathy, your thirst for understanding – will serve you well as you work toward greatness.
I know many of you feel disappointed about the state of the world.
Inequality abounds, conflicts bring despair and destruction, and global leaders seem unable to come together to solve the many problems we face.
I’ve been around for a few decades longer than you and I’ve seen my share of intractable problems. I urge you not to become jaded.
Keep the sense and desire of making a difference when you see an injustice and let it fuel your passion for equality.
Embrace your curiosity and let it lead you toward discovery.
Face the challenges ahead and let them drive you toward greatness.
And most importantly, hold tightly to your hope for the future.
Change requires the capacity to envision a different, better outcome and turn it into reality.
180 years ago, the 29 students and two instructors who founded this institution could not have imagined the University we would become.
But they held tightly to their hopes for the future and spun them into reality. Their leap of faith grew into our University at Albany.
The work we do today at UAlbany in areas like AI, nanotechnology, cultural and gender studies, cybersecurity, emergency preparedness, RNA, the arts, social and health welfare, business, climate and weather, and public policy would be unfathomable to our founders.
Our commitment to diversity and equity would also have been unimaginable in 1844. Our founders would not have imagined an institution in which more than 40 percent of our students are from underrepresented communities.
The UAlbany of today is built on the foundation established in 1844. Without that small group of educators and students coming together to start a college, we would not be here today.
The foundation they built was nurtured by successive generations. Growing and expanding to meet the needs of their community.
As graduates, you are now a part of the foundation upon which future generations of Great Danes will build their successes.
Parents, family members, friends, and loved ones who supported these students on their journey to graduation – today’s celebration belongs to you, too.
You provided these students with the moral support they needed to have big dreams and persevere toward achieving them.
UAlbany faculty and staff, today’s celebration is yours, too. The advisement, instruction, and support you provided these students throughout their time at UAlbany has led them to today’s achievement.
Before I conclude, let me ask something of all of you today…our graduates, family members, faculty, staff, and friends.
Better yet, let me challenge you. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Within each of you is the capacity to be that light.
So wherever you see darkness, shine a light.
Wherever you see war, seek peace.
Whenever you see oppression, work to ensure freedom.
Whenever you see enemies, strive to establish friendships.
Wherever you see hate, advocate for love.
Wherever you see racism or discrimination, demand acceptance.
Wherever you see fear, seek understanding.
Wherever you see loneliness, provide connection – a hug or a word of encouragement.
Whenever you see anxiety and despair, provide hope.
At UAlbany, we have worked hard to foster a culture in which everyone is welcome.
Let’s stand together as a community against hate, intolerance, and violence.
As you leave our university community, please take this challenge and commitment with you.
Wherever you go next or whatever your future may bring, work to create communities built around mutual respect, dignity, and empathy.
Foster dialogue and facilitate inquiry around complex and challenging issues.
Don’t be afraid to challenge others, but do so with the understanding that they also have valid opinions and their own belief systems.
Every single person and every graduate here today plays a critical role in making this happen…let’s change the world for the better.
Graduates, I am so very proud to count you among our Great Dane family.
I cannot wait to see the greatness you will unleash on the world.
Before I leave the podium, let’s give a shoutout to our men’s Lacrosse team who moved on to the NCAA First Round.
They have advanced to take on #1 Notre Dame this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. in South Bend, Indiana.
Today, like every day, it is truly a great day to be a Great Dane.
Go Great Danes!
Muchísimas gracias.