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UD celebrates newest grads
UD President David. P. Roselle welcomed the audience of more than 5,000, which included family and friends of the Class of 2005, as well as the newest graduates and UD faculty, administrators and members of the UD Board of Trustees. The ceremony, which was webcast live on the Internet, also will be available as a podcast for the first time. Of the 1,300 students who completed their degree requirements in August and December, more than 500 attended the ceremony.
William B. Chandler III, chancellor of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, continued a tradition of UD distinguished alumni serving as guest speakers at Winter Commencement ceremonies. Commencement ceremonies, Chancellor said, should be viewed not as a beginning or an end, but rather as a milestone during a life of continuing education. “This great University has prepared you for an education that is only just beginning,” Chandler said. “Ceremonies such as this are a chance to pause, to celebrate what you leave behind and to reflect on what lies before you.” In congratulating the newest group of Blue Hens, Chandler recalled his experiences when he “first walked this campus as a freshman, with flowing blond hair that used to get in my eyes and on my collar. You get the idea, a long time ago.” Chandler told the newest UD graduates that they also will reach a time in their lives when they reflect on their UD education and the choices it offered them on what was then a new and uncharted road of life. “Sixty years from today, unimaginable as it seems, your future self is waiting. That old crone or codger is a stranger to you now, but trust me, be kind,” Chandler said. “Her pains and joys, his satisfactions and regrets, will be yours. Take care to look out for that old person who will one day sit and remember this day.” Citing “The Road Less Traveled,” a poem by Robert Frost, Chandler described the poet’s conception of the road of life as a journey through uncharted territory with no guarantees about where each individual path might lead. “Today, you are in the spring of your lives, and the wood through which that part runs is obscured by foliage thick, fresh and green, so dense that it is hard to see the trees, let alone that pathways through them,” Chandler said. “Sixty years on, in that winter of your life, the trees will be stripped bare. And, looking back, the path that you have taken will be clear. Those odd twists and turns, if you could imagine them today, would amaze you.”
In sharing his ideas on how to make the best possible choices on the road of life, Chandler recommended that the graduates start by seeking out a guide or a mentor. “No matter how bright, how well-educated and self-sufficient you may be, the wisdom of a guide on those forest paths can be invaluable,” Chandler said. “No one can choose the right path for you, but a true mentor can help you discover things about yourself that you might never otherwise learn, or that would only come to you through bitter experience.” Chandler recalled the invaluable mentoring he received from James R. Soles, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations. "He [Soles] has been a mentor to me and to countless other graduates of this University," Chandler said. "He has improved my life and has had more influence on me than any adult other than my parents. And my wife." Besides seeking and heeding the advice of a lifelong mentor, Chandler also advised graduates to deliberately walk their own paths and to be active participants in choosing from among the many paths presented during the course of a career or a lifetime. “If you do not choose your road, you will be borne along one path anyway,” Chandler said. “There is no stopping or turning back. If you abdicate your choice, it will be made for you.” In making such choices, Chandler urged the graduates to “have courage, choose well by your own lights, accept responsibility and move forward.” Chandler also advised UD’s newest graduates to be aware of and open to all the possibilities that lie along the journey. “Believe in luck and do not fear chance,” Chandler said. “A life lived only on the safe and well-traveled highway can become a long littleness. Be open to the side roads; choose for or against them. Do not be swept along with the crowds. Remain unprepared, magnificently unprepared, for life’s long littleness.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do,” Chandler said. “You will never be satisfied with your accomplishments, you will never achieve greatness, without loving your work and feeling that your are producing or doing something worthwhile.” Also during the ceremony, Robert A. Fischer Jr., vice chairman of the Board of Trustees, conferred an honorary doctor of laws degree upon Wilmington attorney Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Jr., who served as a member of UD’s Board of Trustees for 21 years, including 11 years as chairman. “With your vision and perseverance, you led the University to a place of true distinction and prominence among institutions of higher education,” Fischer said. “During your tenure, more than 30 buildings were acquired, built and dedicated, including such impressive facilities as the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center, Gore Hall, Trabant University Center and Rullo Stadium. The quality of these facilities is a witness to your unwavering commitment to provide the best living and learning environment for our students and faculty.” “This is truly a celebration for me, for which I am very grateful,” Kirkpatrick said. “However, the greater celebration today concerns the award of diplomas to those of you who are graduating.” Kirkpatrick told the graduates that among the challenges they face are “threats of massive destruction more mysterious than we have ever faced before,” including pandemic diseases and terrorists. “Do we need a Patriot Act? Are some unsupervised wiretaps necessary? Who should continue to enjoy the traditional rights of a suspect? “These are largely new questions for our society,” Kirkpatick said. “Working through all the alternatives and finding the right balance between liberty and security will take investigation, experience and innovation,” Kirkpatrick said. “You who are graduating, with your educational advantages, will inevitably have a role in carrying out the awesome responsibility of striking that right balance. That is something for which we salute you today and for which we wish you well tomorrow.” Lori Jennifer Marateck, a music education major and a member of the Class of 2006, sang the national anthem and the alma mater at the ceremony.
Article by Jerry Rhodes and Larry Elveru |
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