Graduation Remarks

Remarks at the College of Social Work Commencement Ceremony

May 11, 2007

On behalf of the Chancellor, the faculty, and the staff on the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee, I want to welcome you to the commencement ceremony for the graduating class of 2007.

I know that today is a special day for most of you because you’ve finally made it. After hard years of work and worry, after many sleepless nights and anxious moments; after chewing at your nails and pulling out your hair; after fretting and scheming, after hopes and prayers, after too much coffee and too little rest, you’ve now arrived at the final goal. You probably think I’m talking about the graduates. Not at all. I’m really referring to their parents, their relatives and their friends, who have helped the graduates endure and persist through their years of study and achievement. You mothers and fathers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins and friends, wives and husbands, can all breath a bit easier now. And for all their patient suffering, for all their support and encouragement in your times of need, perhaps the first order of business is for the graduating class to recognize with a round of applause all those in attendance today and those who could not be here today who have made your education possible.

But the celebration and the congratulations today do not really belong to the parents, relatives, and friends of the graduates, but to the students themselves, who have achieved so much and who have reached a milestone in their education. When you entered this institution I’m sure that this day seemed far off; some of you may have even thought that it would never come, or that you wouldn’t make it through the rigors of a Tennessee education. Now, however, you can take pride in your accomplishments, knowing that you will shortly be receiving a degree from one of the finest colleges at one of the best public institutions of higher education in the country. For this you too deserve congratulations!

The opening speaker is charged with welcoming everyone, but also with saying something inspirational. But looking around me at the institutions from which I could have drawn inspiration in the past, I found none, or too little. Politicians and politics, whether local, state, or national, can hardly be regarded as inspiring these days; there are enough scandals among businessmen to sour me on that sector of our public life; to be sure, there are some inspiring athletes (especially here at Tennessee), but there seem to be just as many who are self-centered and arrogant, deluded about themselves and their importance; the legal system gives me scant inspiration and seems to be more politicized than ever before; and in journalism, which is supposed to inform and educate the citizenry, I too often find entertainment and a focus on peripheral issues unrelated to the public weal.

Luckily I have another source of inspiration, and that source is sitting in front of me this morning. You, the graduates of Tennessee, who have chosen the field of Social Work for your concentration, provide me and all of us with hope for the future and faith in what we are trying to accomplish in higher education.

There are two features of this group that I find particularly inspiring. The first is your diversity. As Dean Sowers has informed me, by Knoxville standards the graduates represent a more diverse group than the norm. I believe that I capture the general sentiment of Knoxville’s administration when I say that diversity in the student body is a primary concern for the campus and that we are committed to a university that is truly representative of the citizens of the state. I also believe that you can help us achieve this goal. In a moment you will cease being our students and will suddenly be transformed into our alumni. I ask you to become advocates for the university, to support us in our efforts to attract and educate a broadly diverse student body. You can do this by being an example for the type of individual we educate at Tennessee, but you can also play a more direct role by helping us with outreach and with other related activities in the community.

This thought brings me to the second feature that inspires me: social responsibility. You have chosen a field not by default: yours is a major and a degree of commitment, not convenience. Since most of you will go on to be Social Work professionals, your major resonates with the obligation you have assumed to make your community, your state, and your country a better place, and to helping people less fortunate than yourselves to realize their potential. There is no major at the university that is more in keeping with the highest principles of service than the programs in Social Work. When you become our alumni in a few minutes, you will embody the most exemplary values of the University of Tennessee and its concern for social justice.

I am delighted that I can draw my inspiration from you since you are truly the future for our campus, our state, and our nation.

Your time as students here is drawing to a close. In a few minute you will be flipping your tassels from the right to the left side of your cap, and your years at Tennessee will be over. Please remember us as you go on to greater accomplishments. We are proud to call you our students and grateful for your inspiration, but we would like to think that we can expect from you continued support and inspiration in the future. Congratulations! Veritatem cognoscetis et veritas te liberabit. That’s the motto of the University of Tennessee: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Go Vols!

Posted: May 14, 2007