Commencement Address

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ODYSSEYS

138th Commencement Ceremony
University of Kentucky

May 8, 2005



President Todd, thank you for that kind introduction. It is a distinct honor to participate in this, the University of Kentucky’s 138th Commencement. To members of the Platform Party, family and friends of these graduates – and, of course, to mothers everywhere – I extend warm greetings; and to the 2005 graduates, a deep-felt congratulations on your stellar achievements, and a joyous welcome to the University of Kentucky alumni family, of which I am a proud member, as is my wife Jo Hern Curris, who joins me today.

Andy Rooney, the quirky CBS commentator, several years ago visited a host of university campuses and then shared his thoughts with viewers. I especially remember two observations: one, “most college students are not as smart as most college presidents” and the one apropos today, he did not hear a commencement address which could not be shortened by a good film editor to less than ninety seconds without any loss of content. Mr. Rooney may have gone too far, especially for one once active in public speaking and intercollegiate debate. My goal is to speak no more than 18 minutes, shorter—I might add—than the average Sunday sermon.

I want to speak about odysseys – yours, mine and the one penned by Homer centuries ago. You recall Homer’s tale of the mighty Odysseus who left his family and home in Ithaca to fight in the Trojan Wars. Victory was transformed by wrathful gods into a twenty-year odyssey, where our hero and his warriors were detained by the nymph Calypso, captured by the one-eyed Cyclops, lured by the Sirens, subjected to the perils of Charybdis and Scylla, until at long last and alone, Odysseus returned to Ithaca.

Today you commence your odyssey – an odyssey hopefully not as perilous as that of Odysseus, but clearly with unknown hazards. This is a far different world than that in which my class ventured four decades ago. Then we chose whether to return to where we had lived – for me that was back to Grant County – or to remain in Lexington or move to Louisville or Cincinnati. Tomorrow, your wanderings are likely to take you to Lisbon, London or Lagos as you are to remain in Lexington. Ours was a mono-cultural world; yours, one noted for its diversity and multiculturalism. We have entered a new era characterized by quantum technological change, a globalized economy where capital and labor freely flow across national boundaries, the massification of higher education, and the near-universal adoption of the English language. These significant changes have been punctuated by three ominous developments: the possession of nuclear weapons by a growing number of nations, the ascendancy to power of religious extremists of all faiths, and unnerving and bloody ethnic conflicts. The 21st century is a far more dangerous time than that which my generation, even with the Cold War, experienced. It is in this new world, both exciting and dangerous, where you must now find your rightful place. As you embark on your odyssey, I offer a few thoughts drawn from mine.

My personal journey, which began but a few blocks from here at the Good Samaritan Hospital, has at its heart my alma mater, the University of Kentucky. It is here that I met Jo. It is here that opportunities opened for me. It is here that I found friendships, many of which have been sustained for decades. As work and travel have led us to homes in six different states and travel to six continents, the friendships made in college years remain at the heart of our personal existence. Try and keep your UK friendships alive. Some friends will fall by the wayside, some will be replaced by new associates, but those who remain will be a source of strength and pleasure irrespective of where your personal journey may lead.

As developed and developing countries alike strengthen their higher education systems and new millions earn college degrees, you will be part of a global labor market where success will be measured not by what you learned yesterday, but by what you will be learning tomorrow. Continuing education will be the norm. The most important knowledge you take from the University of Kentucky will not be the content embedded in the degree you have earned, but an understanding of what is left to learn.

Regardless of your field of study or your place of residence, you should distill from your years here a strong sense of personal responsibility for civic leadership needed to sustain democracy and build cohesive community. As you are accepted into the fraternity of learned men and women, recognize that the responsibility for good governance, charitable leadership, and engagement with the social and economic issues of the day is entrusted to you. Former President Frank McVey (some of you may have studied in the classroom building which bears his name) spoke of these responsibilities as “high citizenship.” That is your charge – to be high citizens bringing out the best in yourself and your family, your community, your commonwealth and country.

Each of you will define “high citizenship” in accordance with personal beliefs and the issues of the day. But for all of us there are common threads interwoven into the fabric of high citizenship.

First, we must genuinely care for our neighbors and our community, recognizing that the common weal requires from each of us our time, our resources and our personal commitment. Whether it is a school project, the operation of the local YMCA, or erecting a Habitat for Humanity house, high citizenship means doing one’s part to build the place we call home. Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone describes the deterioration of group activities, with its accompanying loss of neighborliness. We are in danger of losing that great American tradition expressed in “E Pluribus Unum”-- living in a community which emphasizes what we have in common, not what makes us different.

High citizenship also means preserving our democracy through understanding, embracing and protecting the basic tenets of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. A successful democracy must both provide a majority voice and protect minority interests. The First Amendment clearly enunciates the central role of religious liberty. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ..” The nation’s founders revered the separation of church and state as foremost among the rights of the people. Should your travels take you to Newport, Rhode Island, visit the Touro Synagogue – the oldest synagogue in America. Proudly exhibited on its walls is a copy of a letter written by President George Washington to its founders who had sought to determine the intentions of this new nation toward people of Jewish faith. President Washington wrote:

All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. The government of the United States gives bigotry no sanction . . .. May the children of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of other inhabitants, while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree – and there shall be none to make him afraid.

The greatness of America, in large measure, results from the immeasurable contributions from millions of our fellow citizens who came to America seeking religious freedom and who were not made afraid though they were not in the majority. While our country has and will continue to face threats to our national security from abroad, no threat may be more potentially damaging to our future than the well-intentioned, but misguided, efforts to eviscerate the First Amendment by seeking to bring religious influence upon the decisions of state.

At the end of the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was asked, “What kind of government will we have?” Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Over two centuries we have sought to protect our republic from foes abroad. Today the greatest challenge may be the apathy of our own citizens especially prevalent among the youngest, yet best educated. Over the last half century, among the 172 nations holding democratic elections, the USA ranks 139th in voter participation. We are in the bottom 20%. Even in the last presidential election, with its widespread interest and increased voter turnout, less than 50% of the voting age population went to the polls. And young citizens trailed those numbers. Remember one key fact: In the last two national elections, the percentage of college students and graduates age 25 and under who voted was less than the percentage of high school dropouts 65 and older.

You can do better. We must do better. High citizenship entails taking the time to understand the policy issues facing our citizens. It means discussing those issues—seeking to uncover greater truths and determining where wisdom leads.

When apathy and indifference prevail, when high citizenship is enfeebled, the power of vested interests—especially moneyed vested interests — predominates, and the common good is compromised. If we are to affirm our democracy, you, me, all of us must do our part. When Thomas Jefferson proclaimed, “Light and liberty go together,” he issued the same challenge that President McVey iterated a century later. We must live lives of high citizenship.

High citizenship also means engendering a better understanding of this ever-shrinking world. It should be clear to us all that we have become economically, politically and societally interdependent. Events virtually anywhere in the world impact our safety and economic prosperity. In this new world order, our challenge is better to understand other people, their values, cultures and motivations. Unlike the era of European colonization and the aftermath of World War II, no nation today has the military power, economic prowess or moral authority to determine what happens elsewhere in the world. Your generation must succeed far greater than mine in solving those intractable global problems which increasingly threaten our future.

Wherever your odyssey takes you, may you return to this place–this special place, the University of Kentucky. A prominent alumnus, the late Adron Doran, for many years the President of Morehead State University, frequently proclaimed that alumni were indissolubly linked to their alma mater. If he were here today, he would tell you there are many things in life you can change. If you do not like your work, you can change careers; if you do not like where you live, you can move; even if you are unhappy with your marriage, you can change that–but you cannot change your degree.

You will always be known as a graduate of the University of Kentucky. If its stature is enhanced in the years ahead, so will your standing be enhanced. If the University of Kentucky’s reputation is sullied and its programs degraded, so will the value of your degree depreciate.

Each of you has a personal interest in seeing that the University continues to grow and prosper. Recognize, again in President McVey’s words, that the University of Kentucky is a vital force, not just an abiding place. It is a public university with a deep commitment to providing access and opportunity for all citizens. It is a public university imbued with a land grant mission of teaching, research and extended public service. It is a place of public purpose committed to improving the health, education, welfare and economic prosperity of the commonwealth. It deserves your personal and the public’s collective support.

My parents were immigrants to this country, seeking freedom from the religious intolerance and military occupation of the Old World. My mother had completed the tenth grade, my father, but the third. Yet they had an abiding faith in America and in the power of education. For both my sister and me, the University was truly a vital force in our lives, and I hope it is the same for you.

Our paths cross here on the floor of Rupp Arena. I knew Coach Rupp; you know Coach Smith. Both gave to us a common bond–wonderful memories of and an immense pride in the Big Blue. The honors that bedeck this arena did not come easily. They were earned through months of exhaustive work and personal sacrifice. What I have learned in my odyssey and what you will undoubtedly learn in yours is that there is no free lunch. Day after day, you have to work hard to achieve whatever success you will attain, an unending commitment eased by the support and love of family and good friends.

When Odysseus set sail for Troy, he left with a galley of ships and hundreds of warriors. You begin your odyssey with a hard-earned degree and the skills it conveys (and probably greater debt than you wish), but more importantly with a network of UK friends and supportive associates, an appreciation for the need for continuous learning, an understanding that you are called upon for high citizenship, and an endearing commitment to keep this special place, the University of Kentucky, a vital force in your and the nation’s life.

When the mighty Odysseus returned to Ithaca, aged and alone, he was recognized by no one—not even his wife Penelope—save by a decrepit dog that was but a pup when he departed 20 years earlier.

Unlike Odysseus, I have been recognized in my return to alma mater and honored to participate in these Commencement exercises. I congratulate each of you graduates and wish you fulfillment and great joy. I leave you with words expressed centuries ago by the Roman Emperor Julian:

May God in his goodness be your guide wherever you may journey, and, as the god of strangers and the Friendly One, may he receive you graciously, and lead you safely by land, and if you must go by sea, may the waves be smoothed. And may you be beloved and honored by all you meet, welcomed when you arrive, and regretted when you leave. . . .

Graduates – Good luck and Godspeed.

Constantine W. Curris