MUNCIE, Ind. -- Young people cannot be expected to grow up sitting in front of a computer terminal, the president of Ball State University said during commencement ceremonies Saturday.

"They must be brought together with people from other cultures, other backgrounds and interests, and with other ways of looking at life and the world," said John E. Worthen. "They must be given the opportunity to learn from each other as well as the faculty."

He said universities accomplish that by appointing professors who care about teaching as much as they care about their own research.

Speaking to nearly 10,000 family and friends, and 2,000 spring graduates assembled under sunny skies on the Old Quad, Worthen said Ball State is not only coping with the changes in education, but it is leading the way in bringing them about.

"You've had the kind of powerful resources available to students at a large research university, but also the personal learning that is usually found only at a small liberal arts college," he told the graduates.

Among the 2,000 degrees awarded by the university Saturday were three honorary degrees. Dolores Cross, president of the GE Fund, and Ian Rolland, chairman and chief executive officer of Lincoln National Life Insurance Corporation, each received a doctor of laws degree. Ralph Waller, principal of Harris Manchester College of Oxford University in England was presented a doctor of humanities degree.