See video footage of Commencement at: http://www.union.edu/N/DS/s.php?s=7278
At Union’s 213th Commencement ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson gives 500 graduates advice on the bedrocks of an ethical life
ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson, a familiar face to millions, officially became part of the Union College community at the College’s 213th Commencement in mid June.
“Were it not for this institution, I would not be here,” Gibson told students, families and friends gathered in Hull Plaza on June 17, which was also Father’s Day. He recounted that his father, Burdett Gibson, Class of 1923, married his roommate’s sister.
Gibson outlined five ethical imperatives for students: compassion, honesty, fairness, trustworthiness and respect for others. Gibson addressed about 500 students and hundreds of friends and family gathered on the walkway in front of Schaffer Library.
“If those things are not the bedrocks of your life, you will suffer from their absence in time. And, I would wager, you won’t much like yourself,” he said. “As you leave here, you need to know what it is you stand for – because out there, the choices are not going to be easy. You will find times when you’ll be asked to choose between your values and expediency.”
He added, “You have a good solid base. And you have a Union education. It served my father well, and it will do the same for you.”
Prior to Gibson’s speech, President Stephen C. Ainlay, in his first Commencement ceremony, presented Gibson with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Later, citing a “remarkable act of generosity,” Ainlay announced that Gibson helped College officials establish a scholarship in memory of his father. The eponymous award will be given each year to a student in financial need.
“We are so pleased that today you join your father and uncle (Charles D. Gibson, Class of 1920) as members of the Union family,” Ainlay said.
In appreciation, Ainlay gave Gibson a copy of the 1923 Union Yearbook and a framed copy of Burdett Gibson’s Yearbook entry. Noting that the elder Gibson was cited for “coming out of the most overwhelming situations unscathed,” Ainlay said, “I hope he passed along his secret to you.”
Gibson, 64, was introduced by his good friend, Trustee Emeritus Phil Beuth ’54. Beuth, a retired television executive, helped launch Gibson’s anchoring career by hiring him to co-host ABC’s Good Morning America in 1986.
“Our paths crossed about 21 years ago when he satisfied our need for an interesting, intelligent, curious and credible host of Good Morning America, a position that he embraced and enhanced. It was like we found the Energizer bunny and he had a Jeopardy-quick mind,” Beuth said. “He has brought ABC News a brand of credibility that carried with it a message that he continues to deliver now every night, and that message is: It’s all about the news folks, it’s not about Charlie Gibson.”
In his remarks, Ainlay underscored that members of the Class of 2007 “have walked the same pathways as did many illustrious graduates,” from Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, Class of 1820, to MacArthur “genius” and public health researcher Sue Goldie, Class of 1984. [See Ainlay’s speech in sidebar.]
Before the ceremony began, Ainlay, Gibson and another featured guest, noted classicist and scholar Richard Sorabji, arrived on campus in a 1914 Duplex Drive Brougham Detroit Electric Automobile once owned by Union Professor and Electrical Engineering wizard Charles Proteus Steinmetz.
Sorabji, professor emeritus of philosophy at King’s College London and former associate professor at Cornell University, received a Doctor of Letters. He urged students to turn to ancient philosophy for suggestions on “how to deal with problems and how to deal with life.”
Karyn Amira, a political science major and psychology minor from Newton, Mass., gave the student address. Amira, whose father, Stephen, was a member of the Class of 1971, had enthusiastic praise for the Class of 2007’s achievements, including environmental advocacy, fundraising for cancer and autism, and the launch of the Dutch Oven, which she called “perhaps the funniest publication at any college or university.”
Ainlay closed Commencement 2007 ceremonies by paraphrasing a charge to students issued by Union’s first president, John Blair Smith, more than two centuries ago: “As you leave this place, do so ready to live a useful life.”
Excerpt from President Stephen C. Ainlay's Commencement speech
After today, you join the legions of those who have graduated from Union College. Hopefully you carry with you memories, friendships and commitments that will literally last your lifetime. As I’ve traveled the United States this year – visiting alumni clubs in New York, Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Naples, Fla., Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago and other great cities – I have been struck by the hold that four years at Union has on people. Fifty years from now, I think I can safely predict that some of your best friends still will be members of the Class of 2007. Indeed, in times of both joy and sorrow, you will likely pick up the phone (or whatever communication device exists then) and talk to one of your classmates. That is part of the legacy of Union in your lives.
Over the past four years, you have walked the same pathways as did many illustrious Union graduates: Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward (Union Class of 1820); our 21st U.S. President, Chester A. Arthur (Union Class of 1848); the designer of the first New York subway system, Solomon Deyo (Union Class of 1870); the inventor of the laser, Gordon Gould (Union Class of 1941); Nobel Prize winner, Baruch Blumberg (Union Class of 1946); the head of morning and late night programming for ABC, Phil Beuth (Union Class of 1954); the winner of an Oscar for Best Picture, Robert Chartoff (Union Class of 1955); the winner of a National Book Award, Andrea Barrett (Union Class of 1974); and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient, Sue Goldie (Union Class of 1984).
Walking the same pathways they walked, joining the same community that they joined, has been your privilege as a student at Union College. After today, this too becomes part of Union’s legacy in your life. And, it becomes your obligation.
Now it is your turn to realize your dreams; now it is your turn to invent things that will improve people’s lives; now it is your turn to lead institutions, both for profit and nonprofit; now it is your turn to mend lives and heal wounds; now it is your turn to educate; now it is your turn to take responsibility for the welfare of the communities in which you will live. Now, in short, it is your turn to make a difference.
I closed my inauguration ceremony last fall by reading a charge issued to Union students by the first president of Union College, John Blair Smith. I close today’s Commencement ceremony and send you on your way, by paraphrasing President Smith’s words, which continue to reverberate over the now two centuries since he issued his charge: “As you leave this place, do so ready to live a useful life.”
Best wishes to all of you, and Godspeed.
Snapshots from the Class of 2007: Two high-achieving gradutes talk about Union and what's next
Valedictorian Jonathan Young
As a high school senior choosing a college, Young thought the perfect fit was 3,000 miles from his southern California home.
Four years later, Young came tantalizingly close to perfection.
The 21-year-old biology and economics major got straight A’s, except for an A-minus during his term abroad in China between his sophomore and junior year. Young’s academic prowess earned him the title of valedictorian for Union College’s Class of 2007.
“I have really enjoyed my time here at Union,” said Young, who lives in Walnut, Calif., with his parents, Robert and Antonia, and younger sister, Jocelyn. “The College offers tremendous opportunities in research, as well as extra-curricular activities.”
Young is a member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma XI (scientific research) and Omicron Delta Epsilon (economics). He presented his thesis at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and took second place at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Science Research.
At Union, he won the Stephen F. Leo, M.D. Prize and the Elias Peissner Prize for top pre-med student and economics student, respectively. He also received the Rosenthal Prize, given to a pre-med student by the Biology Department for excellence in academics and contribution to the College community.
He credits his two thesis advisors, Brian D. Cohen in the Biology Department and Younghwan Song in the Economics Department, for much of his success.
“They sacrificed many long hours to help me get where I am today,” he said.
Young is returning west to attend medical school at UCLA in the fall. Even so, Union won’t be far from his thoughts.
“I’m excited to go back home, closer to my family, but I loved my four years here,” Young said.
Saluatorian Leigh Ann Holterman
For Leigh Ann Holterman, the path to high grades was clear from day one of her first year at Union.
“I made sure I was on top of my work. I spent a lot of time figuring out what needed to get done, and I got it done,” Holterman said. “I also paid attention in class, and I really threw myself into the work and learning process.”
But class work is just one side of Holterman’s life at Union.
The psychology major also had a range of other interests, like starting a student-run babysitting service for College faculty and staff; booking comedians, including The Daily Show’s John Oliver, to perform at Memorial Chapel; and working as an Admissions interviewer senior year. And as a French minor, she completed a term abroad in fall 2005 at the University of Rennes 2.
“I am grateful that I had the chance to do it all at Union," Holterman said. “I think it gave me a good, strong background in different areas, so when I go out into the real world, I will be able to pick and choose from those experiences. And also, it was a lot of fun getting to know different people.”
Holterman was the 2007 Lisa S. Gerhan Memorial Award winner, given to a Union student who shows academic excellence, a commitment to the field of psychology and the potential for future contributions to the field.
She is now working as a research assistant at the Burlington, Vt., offices of Macro International, Inc., a research and consulting firm. Holterman plans to pursue a doctoral degree in industrial and organizational psychology in the fall of 2008.