to the late Fred Rogers of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Joining Joanne Rogers are Bob DeMichele ’66, vice chairman of the Board of Trustees, and President Hull.
It was, everyone agreed, a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
On one of the few Sundays all spring that was filled with sunshine, Commencement 2003 honored Fred McFeeley Rogers-better known
as Mr. Rogers.
The host of “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood”, the longest-running show
on PBS, had agreed to be the speaker and accept an honorary degree from the College. He died on Feb. 27 at the age of seventy-four after a brief battle with stomach cancer.
“To honor the life and work of a man who has meant so much to so many is the right thing to do,” said President Roger Hull. “I felt strongly-and our students agreed-that while we could not enjoy the company of Fred Rogers at Commencement, we could use his words to convey his meaningful messages about kindness, compassion, and learning. All the things that Fred Rogers stood for-especially his strong advocacy for children and his passionate belief that television can be an instrument of nurture-will long be remembered.”
Instead of the usual commencement address, Dean of Students Fred Alford and seniors Pooja Kothari and Katrina Tentor read a tribute that included some of Rogers's words. Mrs. Rogers accepted his degree, an honorary doctor of humane letters, and changed the lyrics of one of her husband's signature songs to remind the graduates-as her husband would have-that what makes them special is what's inside.
Quoting from “It's You I Like,” Joanne Rogers added, “It's not your diplomas, they're just beside you.”
She also quoted from one of her husband's favorite phrases, a line from The Little Prince: “What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”
“What is invisible about you?” she asked the graduates. “There is at least one person… who believed in you. We don't get to be confident human beings without someone investing in us.”
Mrs. Rogers closed her remarks with a story her husband liked to tell about himself and a case of mistaken identity: Once, while boarding a plane, Mr. Rogers saw a flight attendant carefully watching him. When he approached, she excitedly remarked, “Oh, I just love your popcorn.”
“We called him 'Orville' for quite some time,” Mrs. Rogers said, referring to popcorn magnate Orville Redenbacher. “Now they're both in heaven having a good laugh over it.”
The citation for Mr. Rogers noted: “The dictionary offers a half-dozen definitions of the word 'neighborhood,' but to children of all ages, the word neighborhood means Mister Rogers. When he invited us to be his neighbor, promising us a beautiful day, we happily left our living rooms to join him in his. His compassion and commitment to all that is best in us led to an astonishing range of honors, from the Presidential Medal of Freedom to being called a 'hero' by Esquire magazine. We eagerly looked forward to having him to our neighborhood, and we add our voice to the many who mourn his passing. For his unceasing efforts to teach our children to love themselves and each other, we are proud to make him an honorary alumnus of this College.”
In his charge to the graduates, President Hull said, “While you were here we came together as a country better than we had in sixty years. However, that unity was all too fleeting. Some rightly focused on matters of national import; others were focused on themselves and taking unsavory shortcuts.
“Indeed, hardly a day goes by when one does not read of a scandal of some sort. Hardly a day goes by when I don't think that we should be handing out lanterns and, like
Diogenes, looking for an
honest man or woman.
“Yes, the pressures upon you are great, and the temptations for shortcuts great, too. You want to be happy and successful, and I wish you happiness and success. More than that, though, I want you to live honestly and compassionately. Take a page, take several pages, from Fred Rogers. At the beginning and at the end of the day, and at any other time that you look in the mirror, you will then like what you see. Live your life so that, if Diogenes saw you, he could stop his search for an honest man or woman. In that way, you will always feel that your best days lie ahead.”
Jeffrey Silver, a theater major, was selected to give the student address. In his remarks, he said, “I very much wish Mr. Rogers could be here with us today, because he is the godfather of friendship. But if he were here, I'm sure he would agree with me-the most important lessons learned in college, exceeding any engineering design or history thesis, are friendship and care towards one another. In that regard,
I think we have all succeeded.
As Mr. Rogers would say, we turned Union into our own 'land of make-believe.'”
The College awarded 123 master's degrees, 249 bachelor of arts degrees, 171 bachelor of science degrees, and 68 bachelor of science in engineering degrees. Two students earned two degrees each.
Christopher Roblee, of Waltham, Mass., was valedictorian. The computer engineering major and mathematics minor plans to pursue a master's degree and perhaps a Ph.D. in computer engineering at Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering. Dmitry Abramov, a biology and political science major from Guilderland, N.Y., and Richard Misiaszek, a biochemistry major from Marcy, N.Y., were co-salutatorians. Abramov is enrolled in the eight-year Leadership in Medicine Program, a joint degree program with Albany Medical College. Misiaszek will work on cancer research with the chemistry department at New York University.
As part of the festivities, the Office of College Relations invited graduating seniors and their families to attend the Garnet Gala on the evening before Commencement. More than 1,300 guests celebrated the accomplishments of the Class of 2003 with food, a band, and dancing beside the Nott Memorial-a fitting way to celebrate four years of work and to bid good-bye to Union
-at least until ReUnion.
For more information and Commencement photographs, see www.union.edu.