2007 Winter Commencement
Remarks for President Jo Ann M. Gora
Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007; 10 a.m.
Worthen Arena

Thank you for your insightful and inspiring remarks this morning, Doctor Slaughter.  As we ponder creating our future, I'd like to take a moment to discuss another important aspect of that future.

Today marks the culmination of what could certainly be the most exciting semester in Ball State's history.  Because the university has attracted so much attention these last few months, I have spoken to a number of groups, on campus and off.  I increasingly find that the discussion at these events turns to the topic of collaboration.  It has happened as I've visited cities around the state to celebrate how a Building Better Communities project has made a difference.  It has happened as my colleagues on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce's Business-Higher Education Forum talk with me about how universities can affect economic development around the state.  It has happened as I've talked to residents of Muncie and Delaware County about areas where the local community and the university are working together.

These discussions reinforce to me the importance of collaboration in the future that Doctor Slaughter discussed.  It is also important to this university's future.  Even as we at Ball State make immersive learning the cornerstone of what we do-indeed, who we are-we need continued collaboration with strong partners, be they communities, businesses, or other organizations, to make that learning meaningful and distinctive.

What I've discovered is that collaboration is enormously rewarding, but it does not come easily or naturally for most of us.  We have grown up in a competitive, individualistic society, one in which many think you need to do it yourself in order to prove your mettle.  When I reflect on my days as a primary and secondary school student, I see lots of competition-for grades, for honors, for leadership roles.  I see precious little collaboration; most of the ways in which students could have worked together were considered cheating.

Now I'm all for competition; it's a healthy thing.  In fact, you are graduating today into a world of global competition, complete with increasing ethnic diversity, constant change, and breathtaking technological advancement.  But the best and brightest people-and organizations-are increasingly recognizing that collaboration is the way to consistently compete at the highest level.

The university's strategic plan includes several programs designed to increase the diversity of our student body, faculty, and staff in the next five years.  We do that not only to prepare each of our students for the world they will enter after graduation, but also to improve the daily collaboration that has long been integral to a Ball State education.

You see, not many of us are so smart and so capable that we can do it alone.  When we collaborate with others, we draw on their strengths, talents, and abilities, just as they draw on ours.  Through that process, we deepen our understanding of diverse ethnic backgrounds, life experiences, and points of view.  Collaboration shows us that the sum is greater than the total of the parts.

The late President Lyndon Johnson was renowned for, among other things, his ability to encourage collaboration.  During a difficult and tumultuous time in our nation's history, Johnson often welcomed people into the White House-political friend and foe alike-by quoting from the book of Isaiah.  "Come," he would say, "let us reason together."  Johnson had faith that collaborating with others, often with very different backgrounds and opinions, would bring a better solution to the problem than he could find on his own.

During your time as a Ball State student, I hope that you have developed that appreciation for diversity and faith in collaboration as well.  For many, it's common to separate the roles of learners and teachers, or students and faculty, if you prefer.  While I enjoy commencement and value its traditions, it's also true that this perception is reinforced at events such as this one.  Teachers and learners are separated this morning by the order of march, by academic garb, and by seating arrangement.  But any professor will tell you that when a class is really going well, those separations fade away.  Everyone is collaborating in the learning process.

Students and faculty working side by side is the hallmark of a Ball State education.  We are on an intentional path to strengthening those student-faculty relationships and that spirit of collaboration.  I know our alumni value these things-because they have told me.

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 until collaboration happened as a matter of routine.  I trust that as you leave here, you will take that collaborative spirit into your workplace and throughout your community.

The results of your collaborations are sure to bring satisfaction and joy to us here at the university.  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 one hundred forty thousand fellow alumni and become a Ball State ambassador.

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

For those 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 collaborate with others to solve the problems of our shared future, you will provide the most powerful endorsement of who we are and what we do.

Today, we have gathered to honor your academic achievement and to show our pride in your accomplishments.  We have symbolized your new status in the world of learning by granting you degrees.  I now wish to recognize two other groups. 

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.  Will the faculty please stand.  Please join with me in indicating our gratitude…[APPLAUSE.]…Thank you.  Please be seated.

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…[APPLAUSE.]…You may be seated.

On behalf of the Ball State University Alumni Association, I welcome each of you 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 accomplishments to this point and my sincere best wishes for your future endeavors.  Enjoy the rest of this special day with your friends and family, and carry the collaborative spirit of Ball State University with you wherever you go.