Roger H. Hull Commencement Address
June 12, 2005
Faculty. Staff. Trustees. Alumni. Friends. Grandparents. Parents. Aunts. Uncles. Brothers. Sisters. My mother. My sister and brother-in-law. My sons. Roberto and Mac. Fellow graduates of the great class of 2005!
I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak to you today on an occasion that means so much to you. Before I do, though, I ask you to think of families for whom this ceremony is not joyous and to join me in a moment of silence for your classmates Jeremy April and Craig LeDuc and Kyle Schrade, and for Christie Sorum, Union's Dean of Faculty.
Well before most of your parents were in college, a president could gather students at any time and say what was on his mind. In fact, at colleges like Union, there was mandatory chapel, where, once a week, the president would speak on a range of issues. Times have changed; everything changed with the Vietnam War. Mandatory chapel is no more, and college presidents generally get to speak only on occasional formal events such as opening Convocation or Founders Day or at Commencement where they issue a parting charge. So I thank you for the opportunity to do something more because Union has been my home (and my sons' home) for the past 15 years.
Let me begin by reflecting with you on what we have been through together. For you, life at Union began at one of this nation's most traumatic moments. When the Twin Towers came down on 9/11, so did our national veil of innocence. Since then, we have gone to war and have had nearly 1,700 young men and women lose their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since then, we have gone through color codes, threats, and warnings. Since then, we have heard the word “sacrifice” used over and over by politicians. And yet, since then – incredibly, within weeks of the tragedy – most Americans have reverted to the life that they had led prior to 9/11.
Yes, many did step forward right after 9/11, but, for most, the commitment was shortlived. Despite the rhetoric, sacrifice on a continuing, day-to-day basis has been rare. Why? Why do so few of us care? Why don't more of us share the burden? As I have said on those rare occasions when I do speak, I believe that we all – individually and institutionally – have an obligation to contribute to the communities, states, and nation of which we are a part. How we do it is irrelevant to me; that we do it is not.
From my perspective, we would benefit mightily as individuals and as a nation if we had some form of mandatory service. Whether before or after college, if all Americans put in two years of service – in the military or in social programs, in our cities or in the country – America would be well-served. It is, I believe, time for Congress to put a mandatory service program in place, a program that would allow each person to decide how he or she would serve for a two-year period. In the interim, it is time for more Americans to serve voluntarily.
I trace my conviction back 45 years to a refugee from Nazi Germany named Ludwig Stern. Ludwig Stern had been the co-founder of a small political party in Germany and a leader in the formation of the Reichsbanner, a paramilitary group that was founded to combat the Nazis. Writing to his grandson, he said that “To love father and mother is not enough. To have a wife and children is not enough. In addition, every man must love his country, work for his community in one way or another. Be a politician, but an honorable one. Then and only then have you the right to be proud.” Now the name Ludwig Stern won't mean anything to you, but he did to me. Ludwig Stern was my grandfather, and those words he wrote in 1959 have had a lasting impact on me. Since then, I have sought to make the communities of which I have been a part better – and, whenever possible, I have encouraged the same attitude in my sons and in the young men and women at the colleges I have served.
As you prepare to leave this campus, let me share with you four words that are important to me – words that may possibly resonate with some of you in the same way that my grandfather's words resonated with me. In doing so, I know that I am falling into the Commencement speaker's trap of “advice-giver.” However, I care about you and have high hopes for you, and my hopes for you revolve around those words. So I will become – briefly – an advice-giver, and I will try to reach at least a few of you.
Passion. Whatever you tackle from this day forward, believe in it, do it with conviction. Only then will you have real satisfaction and look forward to each day. As you, as I, leave this magnificent college, we both face uncertainty. My hope for you, though, is that, just as I look forward to the challenges and the uncertainties that lie before me, so will you. If you are passionate about what you are doing, uncertainty will evaporate. That passion may be ignited in unusual ways. For me, the road to a college presidency was paved by an appointment as a 27 year-old to a college board of trustees, which led me to change my professional goals, to abandon my legal career, and, 11 years later, to assume my first college presidency. More recently, fate touched me again, when a call from a Supreme Court Justice, about a program I created 17 years ago for at-risk children, led me to decide to replicate that program across the country as the next step in my professional life. So, be willing to switch course and make change a friend, not a feared enemy. And, whether you switch course or stay the course you first choose, push your limits to know what those limits are and refuse to concede that something cannot be done.
Accountability. Remember that you are – we are all – accountable for what we do. During your years at Union, you have witnessed business scandals that have affected the lives of tens of thousands of people and political scandals, on both sides of the aisle, that have touched us all. Yes, we have had scandals before, but what is particularly shocking today is the arrogance of those involved and the refusal on their part to accept responsibility for their actions. Unlike our counterparts in other parts of the world, we seem more interested in denying than accepting responsibility. Where is the outrage? Not enough people seem to care. We should care; we should recognize that we are responsible for the decisions that we make; and we should always – always – be held accountable for our actions. While we have no-fault insurance throughout the land, we should not sink into the moral abyss of a no-fault society. Remember, at the end of the day, when you look back on your life, you should have lived it with full responsibility for your decisions and your actions, because you – and our business and political leaders – are responsible and will ultimately be held accountable.
Compassion. Not compassion in the sense that appeals to liberals and is abhorrent to conservatives, but empathy, sympathy, and tolerance for others who are unable to help themselves. I was moved, in the horrible aftermath of 9/11, to see so many people seek to do more for others – even if their efforts were temporary. And I have been moved that so many of you – more than 60 percent of you – have helped make Schenectady, and, more importantly, the lives of the people in Schenectady, better. During your time at Union, I have also delighted in the fact that 65 percent of you have been able to travel abroad and that most of those of you who have taken advantage of that opportunity have sought not simply to go on shopping sprees in Europe but learned both how lucky you are and how connected we are to others throughout the world. The world is shrinking; it is a dramatically different world from the one that your parents and I grew up in; and it is one in which the plight of the person across the globe has an effect on you almost as much as the person who lives next door. You have responded in Schenectady, and you have responded to a tsunami. My hope is that you receive the joy that these good works provide, and I hope, too, that this joy and these works will be part of your life from this day forward. What will your reward be? The opportunity to do more. There is much to do, much injustice to undo. May you always seek to right the wrongs that you encounter!
Truthfulness. More than two millennia ago, the Greek philosopher Diogenes roamed the countryside with a lantern, looking for an honest man. May you never need a lantern; may you simply have to look in the mirror to see an honest person. Shortcuts will always present themselves; temptations will always abound. However, whatever success you attain by taking a moral shortcut and giving in to temptation will haunt you for a very long time. You cannot hide the truth, certainly not from yourself. So, despite desires that you have (and that I have for you), don't let your proverbial desired ends validate your means. Rather, when you reflect on your accomplishments, know that you have been successful because you have done things in an ethical way. Even if no one else is aware of what you are doing, even if no one else is looking, be honest and true to yourself.
Passion. Accountability. Compassion. Truthfulness. Simple words. Words that I hope you will keep in mind. And, I am happy to say, many of you already have exhibited these characteristics, for many of you have been leaders in the changes of the past four years at Union. From Converging Technologies to research, from the Minervas to service on and off campus, you have made Union and Schenectady better. Change does not come easily – not to individuals or institutions, not to communities. However, you have not only weathered change, you have helped bring it about. In the process, you have made things better for others and for yourselves.
It has been an honor – and a delight – for me to serve at one of America's oldest and most distinguished colleges for the past 15 years. Yet the real delight over the years has been to get to know so many of you and those who preceded you, to cheer your successes on the field and in the classroom, and to continue to stay in touch with students as they join the ranks of alumni. We share in common a love for this wonderful college and an appreciation for the many people who make it so special.
It is my fervent hope – it is our fervent hope – which Union continues to prosper. And prosper it will, so long as the faculty and students and staff and alumni and trustees are willing to change. Our strides have been extraordinary, and you have witnessed them and benefited from them and been prepared by them for the challenges of this complex, interconnected world. However, even though we are at the start of our third century, I strongly believe that we have just begun, for there is so much more to do and so much change for which we must prepare – from the explosion and acceleration of knowledge, to new technology, to changes in demographics, to the ongoing issue of cost (with which your parents are all too familiar).
For three centuries, Union has met challenges, that, at the time, seemed daunting; and, for four years, you have faced numerous personal and academic challenges – challenges that you have met, as the diploma you will receive today will attest. Just as it is my hope – and belief – that Union will have many, many more triumphs in the decades ahead, so it is my hope – and belief – that you will also have many, many triumphs – and you will, if you will live lives filled with passion, accountability, compassion, and truthfulness. As Union continues to succeed, as you succeed, I will be able to reflect not only on a college that has made its mark but on a group of graduates who will do much in this world.
Four decades ago, Martin Luther King said that anybody can serve and that you don't have to have a college degree to serve, if you have a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love. Well, you will shortly have your degree, and you are now prepared to serve. All you need is the requisite grace and love. Find it within yourselves. Make a “PACT” with yourself to serve your community, state, and nation and tackle the next stage of your journey with passion, accountability, compassion, and truthfulness. Then and only then, as my grandfather said, will you have the right to be proud.