Thank you for your thought-provoking remarks this morning, Dr. Stahlke.   As we conclude our 148th commencement, I'd like to take a moment to discuss the very heart of today's celebration: the constant process of learning and teaching, for neither ever really ends.

This morning marks an important milestone in your learning.  You have been working toward this day for many years and are to be congratulated for your efforts.  Yet, I am certain that your careers as students are not over.  Even if you do not choose to continue your formal education - and many of you will - you must continue your informal learning throughout your lifetime.  It is necessary not only to your career, but to your personal development as a member of a free society.

One hundred years ago this month, the historian and novelist Henry Adams wrote and published his autobiography, which won a Pulitzer Prize.  Among many memorable lines in that book is this one: "What one knows is of little moment; they know enough who know how to learn."

I believe that sentiment still holds true today; in fact, it may be more pertinent today that when Adams wrote it.  Your generation has witnessed more change than any other before you.  DVDs and the iPod have been invented since you were born.  You have seen the introduction and subsequent widespread use of laptop computers, the internet and cellular phones.  Everything from on-demand and personalization of products to bio fuels to electric cars became viable, even routine, in your lifetime.  Technology is changing the way we live and work; it will continue to do so throughout your lifetime.

To be sure, our goal at Ball State has been to offer you an immersive learning experience that imparts knowledge.  But at least as important as that goal, we have sought to instill in you habits of the mind - a thirst for knowledge and the fundamental skills of inquiry and critical thinking that allow us to learn for a lifetime.

You have no doubt heard of many studies reporting that today's college graduates will change careers, not just jobs - careers - five times or more during their lifetimes.   We are proud of our use of cutting-edge technology and interdisciplinary teaching here, but it is still true that much of the information you have learned in college will eventually become obsolete.  But your love of learning, your respect for fact-based inquiry, and your admiration for creative endeavor never will go out of date.  These habits of the mind will help you overcome many challenges, professional and otherwise, that life may bring.

Now, what about teaching?  It's fairly common to separate the roles of learners and teachers, or students and faculty, if you prefer.  That perception is reinforced at events such as this one, where the two groups are separated by the order of march, by academic garb, and by seating arrangement.  But don't be fooled.  I have found that all teachers are learners and all learners are teachers.

As you know, faculty mentoring and experiential learning with students and faculty working side by side are hallmarks of a Ball State education.  We are on an intentional path to strengthening those student-faculty relationships.  Not a week goes by that I don't hear from Ball State alumni about that special professor they had on campus.  It happens in letters, in e-mails, in phone calls, in meetings as I travel.  A graduate shares with me a story or an anecdote about that teacher who made a difference - who not only taught the subject material, but who mentored and inspired that student in ways that were truly transformative - life-changing.

Similarly, each one of these faculty could tell stories of students, some who graduated many years ago and some sitting in this arena today, who taught them new things about their discipline and about themselves.  Talented, engaged students ask hard questions and draw unexpected conclusions, both of which provide a perfect environment for learning.  Some of you graduating today plan to pursue teaching as your career, but I can guarantee you that all of you will be teachers in one form or another to many people throughout your lives.

One of the most discussed books of the last year is "A Hand to Guide Me," compiled and edited by the Academy-Award winning actor Denzel Washington.  Washington approached more than 70 people from all walks of life, everyone from Jimmy Carter to Whoopi Goldberg, from Colin Powell to Alex Rodriguez, from Bonnie Raitt to Bernard Shaw. He asked them this question, "Who guided you and taught you an important lesson about life that still affects you today?"

The answers are fascinating.  Many classroom teachers are named, but the list also includes parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, clergy, coaches, co-workers, and in at least one case, someone who was a total stranger - but who took the time to help when a fellow human being was in crisis.  In these short essays, the authors write about how their mentors inspired them to learn more about themselves and about life - and about how they then felt responsible to pass that knowledge on to the next generation.

Similarly, all of you will be teachers.  You, too, are now equipped with the skills for lifelong learning, the very best tools teachers can have.  So don't be nervous; willingly accept the responsibility you will feel to pass your knowledge along to others.  Know that in doing so, you not only convey your knowledge, you showcase your values.

Those values include the importance of serving others.  Your community service efforts - on campus, here in Muncie, throughout Indiana, and all around the world - are shining examples in a world that is too often described as one with too little hope.  I am confident that those values will continue to shine wherever life takes you and that as you pass along your knowledge and hope to those around you, you will feel the joy and satisfaction that comes with being a responsible, caring member of your community.

Those efforts bring satisfaction and joy to us at the University as well.  We are always rooting for your success, of course, but the fact is that wherever life takes you after today, you join the ranks of 140,000 fellow alumni and become a Ball State ambassador.

This university has received much recent national and regional recognition and people correctly see it as a results-oriented university on the move, responsive to 21st century needs.  Our strategic plan includes many outcome measurements - as it should - to keep us moving boldly into the future.

For many who you will meet, however, you will be the ultimate outcome measurement.  You will be living proof of the value of a Ball State education. As you share what you've learned here and as you teach, influence and mentor others, you will provide the most powerful endorsement of who we are and what we do.

We have today gathered to honor the academic achievement of our students and to show our pride in their accomplishments.  We have symbolized their new status in the world of learning by granting them degrees.  I now wish to recognize two other groups: first, the faculty.  I ask the members of the faculty of Ball State University to stand. 

Members of the graduating class, I present to you for recognition the faculty who today wear academic regalia in a centuries-old tradition as a symbol of their commitment to teaching and to the search for truth.  Our society has charged them to create, preserve, and transmit the accumulated wisdom of mankind to each new generation.  Your graduation reflects their excellent performance.  Please join with me in indicating our gratitude…Thank you. Please be seated.

Finally, there is another very special group of people whom we want to recognize and thank.  Members of the graduating class, these individuals have provided you with counsel, friendship, support, and encouragement during your four years of study.  Your graduation reflects their love and pride in you.  Would the parents, spouses, relatives, friends, and sponsors of the graduates, please stand and be recognized.  We are very pleased to have all of you here today to share the joy of this occasion with those who are graduating…You may be seated.

On behalf of the Ball State University Alumni Association, I welcome each of our graduates into our alumni ranks.  Please stay in touch.  Keep us informed about the changes and achievements in your life, and remember that the Alumni Association is always ready - indeed, eager - to hear from you.  Know that you are always welcome here on campus, whether for a visit, a committee meeting, a class reunion, or even to continue your learning process.

I offer each of you my hearty congratulations on your current accomplishments and my sincere best wishes for your future endeavors.  Enjoy the rest of this special day with your friends and family - for there is so much more to learn, and so many new opportunities to teach.