Commencement speaker welcomes new Blue Hens

Charles Cawley (left) congratulates Alexander Fortunatus Giacco, who was awarded an honorary degree.

More than 1,400 new members were welcomed into the University of Delaware Alumni Association at Winter Commencement ceremonies, held Jan. 6 in the Bob Carpenter Sports/ Convocation Center.

UD alumni now number more than 115,000, with 70 percent of them having earned their degrees in the last 20 years.

President David P. Roselle welcomed the graduates and their guests, reminding UD's newest alumni that their family, friends and faculty had opened doors and helped them receive their education.

"I hope you appreciate the sacrifices that have been made for you," Roselle said, "and that you will take the time today to thank those who have helped you reach your individual achievement." He also urged the graduates to help those they will meet in the future who are in need of similar assistance and encouragement.

Among the graduates was Thomas Pellathy, of Latrobe, Pa., UD's third Rhodes Scholar in the last nine years. Pellathy received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and philosophy and a master's degree in linguistics.

Also introduced was Jennifer Slomski, of Farmington, Conn., the ceremony's youngest graduate at 20 years old, who received a bachelor's degree in psychology, and Connie Lou Peterson, 60, of West Grove, Pa., the ceremony's oldest graduate, who received a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Carol Hoffecker, Richards Professor of History, native Delawarean, noted historian and author and a member of the Class of 1960, presented the Commencement address.

Hoffecker shared the history of the term "Blue Hen," the University mascot whose reputation dates to the Revolutionary War, when the fierce fighting gamecocks were carried by Delaware troops. She linked the bird's tenacity and bravery to UD alumni and graduates, who must master challenges throughout their life.

Hoffecker told the graduates they would now have more control over their own destiny.

"You will no longer be nudged and prodded by the demands of professors, or rewarded and punished by grades on a transcript. Success in meeting the challenges that await you will depend, instead, upon your ability to grow and learn independently. To do so will take self-discipline, imagination, confidence and judgment. You will need these inner resources to direct you when there is no specific test to study for, except, of course, the really big test, the test of life itself."

She pointed out the achievements of self-made historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin, John D. Rockefeller and Frederick Douglass. She attributed their success to the three D's– diligence, direction and determination.

Staying on a letter theme, she suggested that the graduates' success would depend upon how they responded to the seven C's–calling, commitment, curiosity, courage, composure, civility and caring.

Commencement speakerCarol Hoffecker

"Civility," Hoffecker said, "is the grease that keeps the cogwheels of society from freezing.... In the world of work, civility takes on a more all-encompassing urgency, and the Golden Rule really does apply. Rudeness is seldom shrewdness. Like civility, caring comes from recognizing and responding to the needs of those who depend on you. Aside from our own inner life and our relation to nature, other people are all we have in this world."

"Sometimes," Hoffecker added, "a first-class temperament is the most important ingredient in success, no matter how you may measure what success is for you."

(To read Hoffecker's complete Commencement speech, visit the alumni relations web site at [http://www.udel.edu/ alumni/wcommence.html].)

Also during the ceremony, Delaware industry leader and entrepreneur Alexander Fortunatus Giacco, former chairman, president and chief financial officer of Hercules Inc. and founder of Himont Inc., was awarded an honorary degree.

Charles Cawley, a member of the UD Board of Trustees and chairman and chief operating officer of MBNA America Bank NA, read the citation presenting the degree and said that Giacco joins the distinguished company of others who have be so honored by UD, including artist Andrew Wyeth, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, FBI Director Louis Freeh and former President George Bush.

Cawley noted Giacco's extensive involvement in business and community affairs, noting that he was born of humble beginnings in a field in Italy and returned 65 years later to direct one of that country's largest companies.

Giacco served as a trustee of the Medical Center of Delaware and chairman of the board of the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, and he was a member of number of local education and civic organizations, including the Education Fund Advisory Board of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. He was instrumental in the passage of the Wilmington Financial Center Development Act, designed to revitalize Wilmington-based businesses.

His alma mater, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, honored him with its Distinguished Achievement Award, and he has been the recipient of numerous regional, national and international awards, including membership in the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

Most important among Giacco's achievements, Cawley said, is his family, which includes five children and 15 grandchildren. Calling him a "devoted husband, father and friend," Cawley described Giacco as a person who went through life caring for people and caring about people.

In accepting his award, Giacco thanked the University for the honor and mentioned his long association with Roselle, extending back to Roselle's tenure at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He praised the president and his wife, Louise, for their achievements at Delaware during the last 10 years.

Giacco told the graduates that "things happen because people make them happen. As long as you find life interesting, you'll remain young."

After the conferral of degrees, Roselle asked the new alumni to acknowledge the sacrifices and support of their family members and friends.

At Winter Commencement, the University awarded 92 doctoral degrees, 371 master's degrees, 940 bachelor's degrees and six associate degrees, for a total of 1,409 degrees.

Kristen Kay Lanouette, a member of the Class of 2000, sang the Alma Mater, and Dawn Lizabeth Jones, a member of the Class of 2001, performed the national anthem. The Department of Music Intermusica Ensemble provided music.

–Ed Okonowicz

–Photos by Kathy Flickinger and Duane Perry