Dr. David Kessler the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, who led the agency's effort to regulate the tobacco
industry, told graduates at June's Commencement to “be willing to pay the
price for something that is right.”
Kessler delivered the Commencement address and received an honorary doctor of laws degree.
“Are you willing to take risk, endure insecurity, and sacrifice comfort to take on something that matters?” Kessler asked the more than 600 students receiving degrees.
Kessler, now the dean of Yale University School of Medicine, said that a young public affairs officer at the FDA first suggested that the agency “take on tobacco.” But a number of people within the FDA — including Kessler himself — thought initially that the fight would be too difficult, perhaps even unwinnable.
One of those who convinced Kessler to
pursue the issue was a colleague who said, “If you're willing to take on
tobacco, I'm willing to spend the rest of my career working on it.”
Eventually, the FDA proved that for years the tobacco industry knew that nicotine was addictive, that it knew how to make tobacco more potent, and that it knew how to attract new users. Under Kessler's leadership, the FDA placed new restrictions on tobacco vending machines and advertisements in an effort to stop children and teens from smoking. He also led the way to other FDA regulations, such as improved standards for mammography, improved nutritional labels on products, and speeding up the drug approval process.
Kessler cautioned the students that they will not always find a clear path to their goals and dreams. And to be
successful, he added, there is a question that everyone must face – “Is the challenge worth the price? That is something each and every one of you will
have to decide for yourself.”
The citation for Kessler noted that he had, as an undergraduate at Amherst, realized that he was interested in broad
scientific, social, and legal issues. “The ideal of healer took you to medical school; the ideal of the advocate took you to law school; the ideal of spokesman for the greater good took you to service in government and, now, to one of the country's most distinguished medical schools. Skillful with words as well as scalpel, organizer of others as well as self, you expanded the outreach of your concern and conviction as a leader for greater and better medical research and service. Perhaps there is no better example of your concern, conviction, and moral courage than your willingness to challenge the tobacco industry. We honor your devotion to the afflicted, and we present your dedication not only to admire but to inspire.”
Commencement notes
— The College awarded 262 bachelor of arts degrees, 157 bachelor of science degrees, 17 bachelor's of civil
engineering, seven bachelor's of computer systems engineering, seven bachelor's of electrical engineering, seventeen bachelor's of mechanical engineering, one bachelor of arts/bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, and 143 graduate degrees. One degree was awarded posthumously, to Lee Nicolai, an engineer with the General Electric Co. in Schenectady who died two weeks before Commencement. He had been taking courses part time over the past ten years and had fulfilled the requirements for his degree in electrical engineering.
— Twenty-four students graduated summa cum laude, thirty-two were magna cum laude, and eighty-five were cum laude. Thirty-five graduated having been elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
— The co-valedictorians were Mariya Gueorguieva, who transferred to Union in 1999 after a year of study at the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, and Mark Ando, a thirty-nine-year-old native of Schenectady who has spent the last ten years working toward a bachelor's in electrical engineering, first at Schenectady County Community
College and, since 1995, at Union.
Gueorguiva said she was most excited about having her parents at the ceremony. “It's their first time out of the country and their first visit to the U.S.” After graduation, Gueorguieva took her parents on a tour of New York City. She majored in managerial economics and minored in German, and accepted a position as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan Chase in New York City. Ando earned his degree while working full-time as manager of a materials testing laboratory for Knolls Atomic Power Lab in Niskayuna. He and his wife, Anne, have two children — Chris, who just received an associate's degree in industrial technology from Hudson Valley Community College, and Lisa, who in May earned a bachelor's degree in business from the State University College at Oneonta.
— The salutatorian was Tania Magoon, a chemistry and classics major who reads the Iliad – in Greek – to relax. A native of Pittsfield, Mass., she received the Robert M.
Fuller Prize for experimental work in chemistry and the Robert G. O'Neale Prize for the highest standing in classics. She will use a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship to pursue her Ph.D. at Harvard University.
— The student speaker, Jon Tower, offered words of advice gleaned from conversations with alumni — follow the idea of “just do it,” have passion,
learn how to take responsibility, don't fear attention and recognition of
ability, recognize the significance of family, dream, strive to attain
knowledge about oneself and others, and always give back to the institutions
that nurtured and cultivated your mind. A magna cum laude graduate, he received
a bachelor's of science degree in biochemistry and was selected to speak by a committee of students and faculty.
— James P. “J.P.” Sletteland
'01, of Lawrence, N.Y., is believed to be the College's first “double
legacy.” Both his parents — Jeryl (nee Proce) and James P., Sr. — graduated in 1974. But what may be more surprising is that both father and son
had the same advisor — James Underwood, professor of political science. “I see a lot similarities between them,” recalls Underwood. “If
you give them a hard job to do, they will go out and do it.” Mrs.
Sletteland, an American studies major, also knew Underwood quite well. While
students, the elder Slettelands were babysitters for Underwood's children, and James Sr. helped around the house when the professor was laid up with back
problems.