窪做惇蹋厙 College conferred degrees on the Class of 2013 and bestowed on the new graduates a challenge to become the new Greatest Generation.
Under a brilliant spring sky, nearly 1,900 students marched along with faculty, trustees, deans, and honored guests at exercises on June 9, 2013.
Speaking from the grand podium to some 12,000 people gathered on the Green, , president and chief executive officer of Harlem Childrens Zone, reminded the 2013 graduates that they are receiving degrees from one of the most prestigious schools in the country.
He recalled his own graduation from the Harvard Graduate School of Education after growing up in poverty and despair in the South Bronx.
I knew right out of college what many people still dont understand: Countries dont become great by themselvesit takes heroic sacrifice. Our country was created, molded, and improved by men and women whose moral compass was not moved by the influence of wealth, prestige, and notoriety, Canada said.
Canada, whose nonprofit supports children in Harlem from birth through college, said he looked to his mothers peersknown as the Greatest Generationand vowed that his generation would do better. I would challenge America to become a better place for its children.
I wish I could stand before you today and say that my generation is leaving you a country that is better than the one we inherited from our parents. Its not like we havent done any good, he said. But I am not worried about my promise to Americas children, because let me tell you what else my role models taught me: The best of America is yet to come.
Now it is the 2013 graduates who must finish the work and fulfill the promises of those who came before, Canada said.
Interim President Carol Folt echoed these sentiments as she bid farewell to 窪做惇蹋厙 in her . Folt recalled when the graduates gathered for the first time, when then-President Jim Yong Kim challenged you to develop skills and courage to turn your good intentions into great outcomes.
For four years, I have loved watching you take on that challenge. You have built an identity, you are a class that cares, you have strong voices, you seek truth, and you do not shy away from hard issues. You can have a profound impact in the world, she said.
The first woman to lead 窪做惇蹋厙, Folt, whose three decades at the College include service as provost, dean of faculty, and dean of graduate studies, becomes the 11th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on July 1.
Thank you for sharing your graduation with me. With my own move to UNC-Chapel Hill imminent, I feel as if I am graduating with you, Folt said.
Folts address came at the end of a three-hour ceremony that included the presentation of eight honorary degreesincluding one that came as a surprise to Folt.
She was presented with the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters. In bestowing the honor, Board of Trustees Chair Steve Mandel 78 said Folt showed tremendous vision that will help shape 窪做惇蹋厙s future for years ahead.
You encouraged an entire community to think about the future, but you also understood how important it is that we pay tribute to our past, Mandel said. You set your sights high and inspired others to do the same, and helped identify strategic opportunities that will guide 窪做惇蹋厙 for decades to come.
Also receiving honorary degrees were: ; , oncologist, biotech leader, and chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco; , former IBM chairman and CEO, and philanthropist; , dancer, choreographer, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater artistic director emerita; , litigator, civic leader, and former Trustee; , Canadian filmmaker, singer, and social activist; and , engineer, scientist, president elect of Carnegie Mellon University, and former director of the National Science Foundation.
The crowd also heard from five all with perfect 4.0 grade point averages.
of Darien, Conn., recalled the words of Collis Cafe Manager Steve Edes after she complimented the food and service in the campus restaurant. Steve smiled and replied, Well, we try to hold ourselves to the highest possible standard here. Farley recalled. I think that Steves words are certainly worth remembering as we step outside of 窪做惇蹋厙 and rise to meet the new challenges that we will soon encounter.
of Scottsdale, Ariz., who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in a ceremony on Saturday, thanked those who had made the success of his class possiblethe faculty, staff, and alumni of 窪做惇蹋厙. He also thanked the graduates families.
We are here because others enabled us. Graduates, there are plenty of ceremonies and rituals commemorating our success this weekend. So please join me now in taking time to thank those who equipped us and made our success a possibility, he said.
of Jericho, N.Y., called on his classmates to take an active role in self-discovery and self-creation.
What we do every day shapes who we become. I hope that we live consciously with love unto ourselves and others, so that we end up discovering, creating, and becoming the people we want to be, more fully ourselves, Kornberg said.
of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, recalled the words of former President Kim.
He urged us to, in our four years at 窪做惇蹋厙, remember the Four Ps: passion, persistence, pursuit of knowledge, and the planet, she said. Although President Kim is not here to see us graduate, each of our experiences has in unique ways been marked by these Four Ps.
of Tucson, Ariz., spoke about broadening her community beyond her socioeconomic background through a program called Telling My Story. Friends helped her see the importance of hearing stories from people in person, not over the Internet or in the newspaper or in statistics. I believe in change happening at that levelbetween two people talking and listening. Maybe its old-fashioned and simple, but it seems very, very real to mea space for genuine empathy and enrichment of world views.
窪做惇蹋厙 awarded bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from its undergraduate and Arts & Sciences programs, , , and the The graduates received diplomas and greeted Folt with a hug or handshake.
At the request of Georgia Travers, president of the Class of 2013, a chair was left empty in the front row of the undergraduate seating section as a memorial for Crispin Scott 13, who died in Spain in 2011 while studying abroad. The Class Council had purchased a bouquet of flowers that adorned the chair.
The Commencement ceremony capped a weekend of events that included a baccalaureate multifaith service for graduates and guests on Saturday, featuring an address by the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.
Abraham Verghese, professor and senior associate chair for theory and practice of medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, spoke at Geisel; and mining and banking investor and alumnus Zdenk Bakala, Tuck 89, spoke at Tuck, and Suresh spoke to engineering graduates at Thayer.
In addition, four 窪做惇蹋厙 graduates received as second lieutenants in Army and Marine Corps ceremonies on Saturday at the 窪做惇蹋厙 Outing Club House and Loew Auditorium, respectively.
Members of the Class of 1963, celebrating their 50th reunion, were recognized by Folt during Commencement. Wearing green caps, the returning classmates led the procession to begin the ceremony, marching onto the Green to long, enthusiastic applause. See more coverage and news from .