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Commencement Remarks
Fort Lewis College, December 18, 2004
Introduction
Congressman Udall deeply apologizes for not being here today to present the Commencement Address to the graduating class. You have just learned one of life’s most important lessons: don’t think you will get on the last plane from Denver to Durango flying standby! Be prepared by careful planning in advance! Even being a United States Congressman doesn’t give you the ability to sway someone off of a totally booked flight!
I have participated in many Commencements over my thirty year college career. One thing I know: the Commencement speaker must be brief. And that is what you will get today. This is a special event. For me, it is my first Commencement at Fort Lewis College. I came here just six months ago to begin my career as your President. I share with you certain feelings we may have in common: fear of the unknown, excitement in being a new passage in our lives, and certainly the joy of being at a fine college.
I also want to acknowledge that seated with you are the distinguished faculty of Fort Lewis College. They are the soul of this fine institution. These are the individuals who made you soar intellectually, helped you during crisis, and maybe even frustrated you during debate. But I am sure they are inspirational and you will never forget them. I would appreciate it if you gave them a round of applause.
Basically these have been the years of maturity into adulthood, and for many of you, the first time you made your own making critical decisions. I hope your college experience was absolutely wondrous; experiencing new ideas, concepts, ways of viewing phenomena, learning how to analyze, and of course, finding new friends and getting involved with new and varied social situations. There was no finer place to experience this growth than Fort Lewis College
The Nature of a Liberal Arts Education
Fort Lewis College is one of only 20 public liberal arts colleges in the United States. This is a unique and prestigious grouping of colleges. Fort Lewis College also has one of the most unique histories in the nation. As you saw this week, we will be expanding our uniqueness by giving greater depth and commitment in the future to our sacred trust with Native Americans across the United States. We will do that through many varied programs and by integrating reform through the liberal arts foundations of our great college.
However, to understand what it means to graduate from a great liberal arts institution, one needs to understand some history. First, there is a 2,500 year tradition of liberal arts education. It began with the classical Greeks believing that an educated and free (liberal) person needed seven basic skills: logic, grammar, rhetoric, music, astronomy, geometry, and mathematics. This classic seven pillars of wisdom changed somewhat during the Renaissance and Enlightenment period s within Europe and then again during the explosion of new disciplines during the 19th century. However, a basic premise remained: an educated person needs a diverse and integrated set of understandings, and the critical analysis skills as a foundation for future life in any profession. That is what we proclaimed to you through our general education program and throughout your years with us. We gave you the foundation to succeed in your major, problem solving abilities, writing and oral communication skills, computational skills, the ability to work in teams, and the understanding of how different phenomena need to be understood and explained through different, but related approaches.
We did it in small classes with distinguished faculty. Learning was done in active and collaborative ways. You were challenged and became part of active discussion and problem-solving. This promoted your learning in ways you had not encountered before. Fort Lewis College gave you the knowledge and skills to tackle so many different professions, or the analytic skills to succeed in graduate school. Fort Lewis did not let you down. You will find that whatever you encounter after graduation, FLC gave you the skill sets to flourish!
The Characteristics of Fort Lewis College
We probably came to Fort Lewis College for the same reasons:
1 A general excitement about a true liberal arts institution,
2 Attractiveness of the region of southwest Colorado as a beautiful location,
3 Small class sizes,
4 Diversity of students, especially through our rich Native American tradition, and, most importantly,
5 Quality of the faculty.
Even though this recipe is an excellent one, and has always promoted our ability to produce wonderful graduates like those here today, we are not resting on our laurels. What we will be doing in the future is positioning Fort Lewis College as a model institution of higher education for the 21st century.
The United States higher education system of approximately 4,000 community colleges, four-year liberal arts colleges, and universities educating through the doctoral level are the envy of the world. These institutions are relatively inexpensive and rich in instructional and research talent. They are the focal point of much of the intellectual and technological growth that has occurred world-wide for the last 150 years. As I have already discussed, out of the 4,000 institutions, only twenty fit the exclusive model of Fort Lewis College.
What we know nationally is that universities must be more than an aggregation of degree that is the result of accumulation of coursework. A modern college must be accountable and committed to what I call ‘value-added’ learning experiences that are integrated with, but go beyond the degree program.
At FLC, these new value-added programs will be lefted on two principles:
1 Promoting student learning
2 Creating a dedicated citizenry.
We will expand undergraduate research at FLC. Rather than the traditional dichotomy of doing research tied to graduate education, we will bring it squarely intro the undergraduate arena. The joy of using the campus as a living laboratory for science experimentation, or out with human populations will give future generations of FLC students a decided leg-up in achievement.
We live in an era of extreme apathy and at the same time great civil discord. FLC will expand its existing dedication to reducing social fragmentation and the loss of community.
The concept is community involvement for FLC students
Future FLC students will work to a greater extent in the community to make a difference. Currently, approximately 12% of FLC students take part in active community projects. In the next few years our goal is to expand that to 100%
FLC students are currently expanding this community approach as part of the American Democracy Project. This nationwide movement recognizes that each new generation of Americans must recapture the enthusiasm for understanding the responsibilities connected with democracy and freedom. We must eradicate apathy towards voting and cynicism towards politics. FLC has joined forces with colleges and universities across the nation to get students to think more positively and in different ways about why democracy is important. Projects connected to this will become a leftpiece of our institution’s community involvement requirements.
Conclusions
So, you should be proud that you earned your degree from FLC. An institution collectively wise beyond its years in setting the pace for what truly are the important value systems to be transmitted to students.
What a joy to have been at an institution that really stands for something; that has an identity transfixed by a strong sense of the liberal arts and service to the community. It means you stand for something. You understand the meaning of altruism-the giving back without calculation. This will be an essential part of your humanity for the rest of your lives.
It is our hope that the educational journey that culminates today will leave you as educated citizens ready to tackle problems facing the United States in the future, with a soul singularly devoted to excellence, and the skills needed for what you select as your future profession.
In conclusion, let me give you some small seeds of advice:
1 Be passionate – continue to do things that interest and excites you,
2 Be committed to accomplishing great things. Work hard,
3 Be analytical-learn the finer points of critical analysis,
4 Be flexible to deal with change in your life,
5 And know the faculty and staff community of FLC is always here for you.
Good Luck! | 
