"Your discipline and your determination ensure that we will maintain momentum on our strategic flight path, no matter the turbulence that may lie ahead."
Once again this morning, I will talk about how our University continues to fulfill our mission. This impact is driven by your sustained commitment.
I will also acknowledge some of the challenges.
But for nine years, irrespective of the challenge, you have tackled these challenges with courage and with confidence. Your discipline and your determination ensure that we will maintain momentum on our strategic flight path, no matter the turbulence that may lie ahead.
That is why I am so proud to serve you as the president of Ball State University.
"But in my estimation, the advent of AI will not supplant the role people—our faculty and staff—the vital role that you play in the educational experiences that we provide to our students."
But in my estimation, the advent of AI will not supplant the role people—our faculty and staff—the vital role that you play in the educational experiences that we provide to our students. Indeed, I believe that this technology actually elevates the importance of our Purpose Exploration initiative.
You see, a machine can have a function. But a machine can’t have a “purpose” the way a human being can. Because a machine can’t find fulfillment in its work. And a machine can’t find meaning in its existence.
But we can find fulfillment in our work and we can find meaning in our lives. That’s purpose.
"Hope is an integral component of our core mission."
Last year during this program, Professor Katherine Denker received our Outstanding Faculty Award. So, she was invited to serve as our Commencement speaker just last month.
In her remarks, Kathy spoke about how our graduates are entering a workforce that is being transformed by AI—which may cause them to question whether their work will be valued.
She encouraged them not simply to be optimistic. Instead, she suggested that they choose hope. Because in her own words:
“‘Hope’ says, “Even if I don’t know how this turns out, what I choose to do still matters.’”
She said, “Hope isn’t pretending the future will be easy. Hope is deciding the future is still worth building.”
Kathy asked our graduates to reflect on their Ball State experience and to reflect on how hope was their constant companion. She said: “Hope looked like one more draft. One more lab. One more weekend in the studio. One more cup of coffee. Hope looked like staying.”
Kathy concluded this portion of her speech with this insight: “Education has always been—and always will be—an act of hope. “Hope is our profession.”
Kathy’s right, hope is our profession. Hope is an integral component of our core mission. And in an increasingly uncertain world—when the challenges we face can be demoralizing—it is in these times that our work is more important—and more valuable—than ever before.
"Because of the work that you do each day, you inspire our students to find their purpose."
Because of the work that you do each day, you inspire our students to find their purpose. You give them hope for the future. And for so many of them, you help them make their dreams become a reality—their dreams for a world that they will make. A world that we all believe will be more peaceful and more just. That is their hope. That is our purpose.
I am so very grateful that I have the opportunity to serve you, because of the positive and enduring impact that you have on their lives—and on our world.
Thank you for what you do—and for allowing me to do that work with you.