At a recent awards ceremony, one of our faculty reflected on how working with students like today's graduates is so rewarding because we, as teachers and mentors, have the opportunity to guide, cultivate and nurture human potential.

Commencement is the most defining of all university ceremonies - and at Ball State, our greatest tradition - because at no other time do we gather so much potential, promise and hope in one place … which is why these are the moments that make my work so rewarding.

Having already been graced by Andy Card's remarks, be assured that my intention is to be brief while sharing just a few thoughts reflecting on what our graduates have accomplished today.
 
Soon you will leave the comfortable surroundings of campus to face a world that is changing - and at a faster pace than any other generation has seen. We hope that during your time here you have acquired not only the skills to excel in an ever-growing range of career options, but also gained a clearer sense of yourselves and your future direction.  Success and personal achievement are yours to be earned.

And, of course, we wish you the very best of luck.

But, at the same time, a well-meaning word of caution: do not allow the pursuit of professional success and personal reward to become all-consuming or too self-serving. You risk missing so much… and alienating so many. Instead, remember to take the time to stop occasionally and say "thank you" for your good fortune and all of those who have contributed to it.

In fact, start now…

If I might invite our graduates to please stand… turn toward those family members and friends who have come to help celebrate your graduation… and with your applause say "thank you" for all of their sacrifice and support that has enabled you to be here this morning.

In the days leading up to commencement, I can almost hear the blowing of dust from weighty books filled with famous quotations as those who have responsibilities like mine search for inspiring rhetoric, some pithy historical reference, a dramatic call to action or even the occasional note of humor.

And yet, the most obvious inspiration is often right in front of our faces.

So it occurred to me that the most important sentiments I want to impart today are not found in the words of Shakespeare, or Einstein, or John Kennedy, but rather in the seemingly simple documents you who graduate today will receive - your diplomas.

When that piece of paper in which you've invested so much time, energy and effort to acquire finally arrives in your home, by all means take the first few moments to look at those big letters spelling your name and relish what you have achieved.

But take time also, to read "the fine print." Because it is there that you'll find what may be referred to as "the catch."

It's right there in the short section describing how, in addition to having qualified for your academic credentials, you also are now entitled to "all the rights and privileges appertaining thereto."

Formal, but empowering language nonetheless…

As it should be.  For, as we know, rights - as in the Bill of Rights - and privileges, as in "it is my privilege to speak to you today" - are very good things. The rights and privileges that come with a degree are many and varied, and whether they enable you to find advancement in your career; the thinking needed to solve problems in your personal or professional life; or the joy that comes from an understanding and appreciation of divergent points of view and cultures, you should feel inspired to explore your own capabilities to the fullest.

However, with greater rights and privileges also come greater responsibilities. And that's "the catch."

Because sometimes rights need to be defended - human rights, civil rights, child rights, property rights, privacy rights…

And at other times, certain privileges need to be protected - between doctor and patient or attorney and client… or between teacher and student.

I know… sitting here now in this wonderful sunshine and looking forward to what I'm sure are your equally bright futures, it's difficult to think about any dark clouds on the horizon. Just as Amy Sorrell, a young high school journalism advisor in Woodburn, Indiana, probably found it difficult to think that publishing an opinion column in a student newspaper advocating tolerance for gays and others considered different from the norm might result in being suspended and transferred to another school. But, it did.

Strangely, her belief in the importance of promoting tolerance led to her punishment.

Even closer to home, some faculty members in our peace studies program are the target of political critics who suggest that a university should not offer an academic program that promotes peaceful conflict resolution.

Tolerance and peace are concepts that earlier generations have treasured in the words of Gandhi and Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, and which we continue to celebrate as a nation each January, on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day.  Yet, as we've seen, they are ideas still often at risk.

So, from whom does modern society seek relief when our rights and privileges are threatened? From those most prepared to provide it.

You have demonstrated, through your work here at Ball State, that you are prepared.  You are prepared to lead in this changing world.  You are prepared to see through a complex situation the ethically right thing to do.  You are prepared to make a difference in your community and the world.

Today you join more than 140,000 other living Ball State alumni who are advancing business and industry; teaching our children; creating new infrastructures and revitalizing environments; caring for the aged, mentally ill, and infirm; and in all other ways turning scholarship into service.  You are now invited to join them in making the most of your potential, by transforming the responsibility conferred by those "rights and privileges" into action supporting the values you hold most dear.

So, when you leave here with that valued diploma, I urge you: don't just tuck it away in a drawer somewhere, or leave it in a box under the bed. Have it framed and hung - proudly - in some spot prominent enough that it causes you to stop occasionally and reflect upon the advantages you've gained as a Ball State alumnus. And remember to re-examine and reconsider the responsibilities that come with the "fine print."

And if, sometime in the future, you feel motivated to reconnect with your alma mater, a favorite professor, or one or more of your classmates with whom you may have lost touch, remember that the University Alumni Association is always ready - indeed, eager - to hear from you.

Please keep us informed about the changes and subsequent achievements in your life, which from time to time, we hope lead you back to this special place - for a reunion or other visit; to serve on an advisory committee; to fulfill a future educational need; or even to embark on a new career.

Heartiest congratulations on reaching this truly momentous day in your lives.

May God bless you all and this great university.