George Mason University Commencement

George Mason University Commencement

Attorney General Meese - thank you for that kind introduction; President Merton; Members of the Board of Visitors; faculty and friends; and most importantly members of the Class of 2003.

It is a great honor to be here this morning and to speak at your commencement exercises. I am particularly honored to receive an honorary degree in the company of such distinguished Virginians as Mike Anzilotti and Dwight Schar.

Before I say anything else, I can't let this occasion pass without commenting on a little bit of history we're making today. Of the hundreds and hundreds of speeches that Virginia governors have made on this state's college campuses through time, I am the first Governor to address a faculty containing not one but two Nobel Laureates! And for that singular achievement, this whole community should give Professors Buchanan and Smith a big round of applause!

And to think, when I became Governor all I asked Alan Merton to do was to get me a decent place to park on campus! He delivered that and another Nobel prize winner. Good job, Mr. President.

Now like any good commencement speaker, I am under few illusions that what I am about to say will have a profound impact on you, or even be remembered a week from now. When I was asked to give my first commencement address several years ago, I labored over it for a long time. I read other commencement speeches. I learned all about the school. I thought back to my own graduation at George Washington University in 1978. I wanted to recall something profound from my own graduation and impart it to the class I would be addressing.

Then it quickly dawned on me . . . I was the student speaker at GW's commencement in 1978. And I couldn't even remember what I had said. See what you have to look forward to Valerie [VALERIE JOHNSON, Student Speaker].

As I thought some more about that first commencement speech, I realized I couldn't talk about how the graduating class is the hope for all the world's problems. Parents and teachers always know better than that.

I couldn't talk about government and politics because at that time, I still hadn't been elected to anything.

And I couldn't talk about the economy and the exciting world of work that awaits you, because that only makes young college graduates understandably nervous.

So for that speech, I settled on the time-honored advice that Winston Churchilll gave to all public speakers: "Be clear. Be concise. And be seated."

I will try to do that today.

As graduates of George Mason University, you will be forever linked to one of the genuine success stories in American higher education. In just over four decades, this institution has been radically transformed from a small outpost of the University of Virginia into a vibrant and dynamic university in its own right. Today, George Mason University students are drawn from every corner of this state and nation. Some 120 nations of the world are represented in your student body. Yours is a community that embraces diversity, and views it as a source of strength in the academy. And that is as it should be.

Your professors are on the cutting edge of research in computational sciences, bio-informatics, and information technology. These are disciplines that hold the promise of improving human health, protecting our homeland, and extending the wonders of the Internet to the far reaches of the globe. You have built first-class programs in the arts and humanities as well. And you have merged traditional studies with new frontiers as demonstrated by the Center for History and New Media.

George Mason faculty members are receiving patents at unprecedented rate. The university's libraries acquired their one millionth print volume this past year. And the George Mason University School of Law has elevated itself to one of America's tier-one institutions in the rankings conducted by U.S. News and World Report, the youngest school on that list.

But make no mistake: In its zeal to grow … and to excel … and to prosper as an academic institution, this University has never lost sight of an even more important mission - to produce men and women who are firmly grounded in the values that are the essence of a civil society. Tolerance. Pluralism. Intellectual curiosity. And public service.

Against difficult odds, your professors and administrators have built lasting traditions here and fostered a rich sense of community. George Mason University students can be found throughout the Washington area serving others and enriching our whole community.

As graduates, never underestimate or lose sight of what it took to build George Mason University into what it is today. Behind your degree stand plenty of hard work and sacrifice. And for that you should be very proud.

Today's achievement is also a credit to the parents who nurtured you, to the teachers and coaches who encouraged you, and to the friends who supported you. Be grateful to them always.

But there are many other people behind your degree as well, and most of them are people you never met, and probably never heard of. To a greater extent than perhaps any other university in America, this institution owes its success to a visionary group of leaders. A generation ago, they saw the need for a first-rate university in this region, and they acted on it.

They are people like Til Hazel; Sid Dewberry; Milt Peterson; and the Koch Family. They include Dwight Schar and Mike Anzilotti, who are with us today; and Delegate Vince Callahan. I should also mention the late Delegate Dorothy McDiarmid, Senator Omer Hirst, and Fairfax Mayor Jack Wood. And there are many others just like them.

These are people who already had degrees from other universities. They could have supported their own alma maters only, attended a few alumni functions, and let it go at that. But they didn't.

They extended themselves to make sure that you could attend a world-class university right here in Northern Virginia. In so doing, they acted in the highest traditions of our Commonwealth. For it was Thomas Jefferson, after-all, who saw the creation of a great public university - the University of Virginia - as the most noble achievement in a remarkable public life.

As you leave this institution to go out and make your mark in the world, my challenge to you is a simple one: resolve to extend the rich legacy that is at the heart of George Mason University. Never take for granted what has been built for you here. The simple truth is that the men and women who have so generously sustained this university won't be around forever. And across Virginia, we are seeing signs of severe stress in a higher education system that has long been the envy of our sister states.

Virginia's colleges and universities have struggled through the worst fiscal crisis in modern Virginia history. They have done so in the face of demographic trends that will demand 32,000 new seats in our universities over the next decade. That presents an enormous challenge that we must begin to address immediately.

Despite the enormous success of last fall's General Obligation Bond Campaign, we still have many buildings and labs that are not in proper condition for a 21st Century education. The severe stress on faculty salaries in the midst of the budget crisis has made it harder to keep the best and brightest professors in our state system. Too often, we are failing to train enough people for the high-wage, high-skill jobs that could make Virginia a leader in creating economic opportunity for our people.

In short, the tradition of excellence that we celebrate on this and other Virginia campuses won't be sustained unless more Virginians - particularly its most recent graduates - recognize and embrace the value of our basic investments in public education. And this applies to investments both at the Kindergarten through 12 level, and in our colleges and universities.

We can't have education on the cheap. Rather, we need you - those who have entered the community of educated men and women - to support our universities, both with your own resources and in the public debates that go on in Richmond and Washington.

Don't sit on the sidelines. Never forget the untiring commitment of ordinary people to an extraordinary university here in the middle of Fairfax Virginia. Never forget the age-old idea that with education comes opportunity, and with opportunity comes serious responsibility. Responsibility to ourselves and our families to lead good and virtuous lives. Responsibility to our community and to our alma mater. And most importantly, responsibility to the less fortunate among us.

In closing, I want to thank you again for this opportunity to share a part of this important day with you. As I go, I want to leave you with a thought I came across when I was preparing for that first commencement speech several years ago. It comes from Emerson, and it captures the essence of a successful life more succinctly than all the commencement speeches ever given:

"To laugh often and much
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends
To appreciate beauty
To find the best in others
To leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is the meaning of success."

Thank you. Congratulations and God Bless the Class of 2003.