Commencement is both an end and a beginning – an end to what I hope has been a rewarding and stimulating educational experience and a beginning to a new era in the lives of our graduates. Earning a degree from Washington University is a significant accomplishment, and this achievement is a source of pride for family and friends of our graduates and for our faculty and staff.
Commencement is the academic highlight of each year for all of us here at Washington University. It is a time of celebration and reflection. Our graduating students should celebrate their accomplishments and successes, even as they look ahead and begin to define their life’s work. Some will pursue advanced education while others step into public service or other professional careers. I am confident that the Washington University education our students receive will serve them well as they take up the next phase of their lives, and I look forward to learning of their contributions in new settings.
The academic life of Washington University is rigorous and demanding, and our graduates will take their place among the world’s educated elite and be respected for their achievements. The strength of our academic programs assures that our graduates have matured intellectually. But beyond their academic work, our graduates will have also matured in other ways. Through experiences with many others and in many different settings, our graduates have grown emotionally and socially as well. Indeed, it is the combination of intellectual, emotional, and social maturation that is so vital to a Washington University education.
Our graduates are far better able to face new situations and challenges than when they began their studies here. Whether they are earning a bachelor’s degree and reflecting on the trepidation they felt as incoming freshmen away from home for the first time or earning a graduate or professional degree and looking ahead to a life of service and learning, every new graduate is now enriched with important knowledge and the skills necessary for every dimension of life. We are very proud of each and every one of our new graduates.
Much has changed in the world during the past four years, and this has been an interesting and important time of growth for Washington University. Think of just some of the important events and developments that have happened in the past four years. The Campaign for Washington University, completed in 2004, resulted in support to further endow our efforts and make possible more world-class research and teaching facilities, scholarships, fellowships and professorships. We have also seen a flurry of new construction and renovation projects that have made our campus better, including the Olin Library renovation, several new residential houses on the South 40, the Laboratory Science Building and the Earth and Planetary Sciences Building in Arts & Sciences, Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering, and the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center on the Medical School Campus. This coming fall we will dedicate the Sam Fox Arts Center, which includes the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum and the Earl E. and Myrtle E. Walker Hall.
During the past several years we have witnessed a renewed focus on community and public service, including the establishment of the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service. The University was the host site of a Presidential Debate conducted by the Commission on Presidential Debates in the fall of 2004. In 2003-04 the University celebrated its 150th anniversary with a year-long series of events. In the fall of 2003 the Women’s Volleyball team won the Division III NCAA National Championship.
We have made strides in scientific and medical fields as diverse as plant science, infectious diseases, biodefense and nanotechnology. The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center earned designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center from the National Cancer Institute. In labs, studios, classrooms and performance spaces we celebrated achievements in a wide range of academic fields. The Human Genome Project was completed two years ahead of schedule, thanks in part to work done here at Washington University at our Human Genome Sequencing Center. Researchers in our Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences played key roles in both the Mars Orbiter and the Mars Rover expeditions. We began a campus-wide initiative to teach entrepreneurship principles and skills to our students, whatever their major.
At the core, the educational experience is one focused on academic activities, but our wide variety of co-curricular programs, community service projects and special events strengthen the experience for students. Our graduates have been both givers and takers in these activities, and the University and the St. Louis community have been enriched by the presence and contributions of our students. This enrichment has taken many forms, from the leadership of those involved in Student Union and Student Life, to those involved in community service in the St. Louis region. Our new graduates are destined to be leaders in society, and their track record of achievement while at Washington University is most impressive. The world will be better because our graduates will be among those contributing to their communities.
To all 2006 graduates, congratulations! You have earned your degrees and are prepared well for the next phase of your lives and careers. Yours will be lives of meaning and purpose, because you are well-educated and you take responsibility for the community around you. You have my thanks for leaving Washington University a better place than when you came. The faculty and staff join me in expressing our wishes for continued success for you, our newest alumni, and we will look forward to hearing about you and from you as your life unfolds.