In addressing some 1,380 graduates and their guests at Ithaca College’s 111th commencement, Bill Bradley—a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate—recalled going up against the Soviet Union in the finals of the 1964 Olympic games. Before taking the court, Bradley had learned a Russian phrase he knew would come in handy should the Soviets try to intimidate him. After a particularly rough exchange of elbows, Bradley pulled out his newly learned idiom, much to his opponents’ dismay.
“Until that moment, the Soviets had called all their plays verbally,” Bradley said. “But because they thought I understood Russian, they stopped talking to each other, and we went on to win the gold medal.”
The point, Bradley said, is to be ready for whatever is on the horizon. In a world being transformed by rapidly increasing globalization and far-reaching technological advances, change is constant and dramatic. Successfully meeting the challenges of a world where the unexpected becomes the norm requires a sound grounding based not only on a honed intellect, but also on the capacity to see, to feel, and to give.
“To see beyond your immediate task to the larger world around you,” Bradley said. “To see the interrelatedness of life. To see that the dichotomies between urban and suburban, black and white, Muslims and Christians, liberals and conservatives pale in comparison to our common humanity. And to see that hatred is a self-indulgence Americans cannot afford. . . . To feel your neighbor’s pain and suffering as well as her joy. To feel a family member’s love and return it in full measure. To feel your own strengths and weaknesses, and from that knowledge face the future with clarity. And finally, I hope that you develop the capacity and the inclination to give without the expectation of getting something in return.”
Bradley told his audience to imagine America as a three-legged stool.
“There’s the private sector, there’s government, and then the third leg of that stool is our civil society, our communities, where we live our lives, raise our children, worship our God, interact with our friends. And it is there, no matter what you do in your professions, that you can make your contribution to help other people.”
Admonishing the new graduates to have a deeper purpose rooted in their own individuality, Bradley said the best way to define their commitments and express their convictions is to pay attention to their inner voices and act on them.
“We have to pay attention to those scarcely noticeable impulses within each of us in all their different varieties to transform America,” Bradley said. “To do otherwise would be to deny your own individuality—that which makes you human and unique. That which, at its deepest level, I hope you will honor for a lifetime.”
The Commencement ceremony began with William Haines, chairman of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, welcoming the new graduates to the fold of alumni. The assembly also heard from senior class president Eric Nagy, who joined his fellow class officers in presenting College president Peggy R. Williams and Steve White ’66, trustee and past president of the Ithaca College Alumni Association, with the class gift. Nagy and his classmates raised a total of $29,197, to which the Fred L. Emerson Foundation of Auburn provided a $25,000 match. The majority of the money will be used to endow the Class of 2006 Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a senior who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and involvement in the College community.
In his address, Nagy expressed his appreciation for the bonds he and his classmates had formed in their college careers.
“Here, you have been offered the best kind of preparation there is for the real world—knowledge. And how you use that knowledge will directly reflect on everyone sitting next to you today. Your friends are your legacy, so it is my sincere doubt that we’d ever be able to let each other down. May we never forget the most significant lesson we ever learned at Ithaca—that there is nothing more important than the relationships you have with the people you love.”
President Williams then addressed the gathering, directing her comments to the inscription on the medallions traditionally passed out to the graduates before they enter the stadium. The quote on this year’s medallions—“Intelligence plus character: that is the goal of true education”—was taken from an article written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his college newspaper.
Williams pointed out how this principle dovetails with the mission statement of the College, which makes a commitment to fostering intellectual growth, aesthetic appreciation, and character development in its students.
“Intelligence plus character—how simple, how powerful, and how incisive these three words are,” President Williams said. “In Dr. King’s view, the purpose of an education is to produce young people who are both learned and compassionate. What good is it to increase knowledge if it will not benefit society? What good is it to produce knowledgeable graduates who do not care about others? To Martin Luther King’s way of thinking, doing so would be a tremendous waste of time.”
Williams reminded the new graduates how their Ithaca education has changed them from the young freshmen they had been four years ago.
“You have discovered, you’ve listened, you’ve learned, you’ve been challenged, you’ve changed your minds and stood your ground,” she said. “In the process, each of you has become a scholar. The word may sound a little pretentious, but it is accurate. . . . You have developed a hunger for learning and for knowledge that will never be satisfied. This hunger will serve you well and will virtually ensure your success—wherever life leads you.”
In addition to honoring the graduates, the College recognized retired chemistry faculty member Glenn Vogel, who was named professor emeritus. The College also recorded a significant milestone, in graduating the first doctoral students in its 114-year history. Degrees from the new Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) program were awarded to 47 recipients at the ceremony.
