Ball State University conferred more than 1,150 degrees during Fall Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 17, in Worthen Arena.
They left with advice from honorary doctor of laws recipient Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired three-star general and former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. He urged graduates to always remember and appreciate their mentors and family members as they strive to fulfill their potential by stepping into leadership roles and addressing the world’s many challenges.
All of that, Eikenberry noted, was enabled by a university that has grown unimaginably since his mother, Mary Drucilla Eikenberry, graduated in 1945 from the then-Ball State Teachers College. That has included expanding into a university of eight academic colleges that boasts a 93 percent career placement rate, with 74 percent of graduates working in Indiana.
“The bottom line is this: In 1945 no one in Muncie, Indiana — or anywhere else — could have predicted such a dramatic transformation here at Ball State University. And I have no doubt that, 50 years from now, a commencement speaker in a — hopefully renovated — Worthen Arena will be citing equally amazing metrics of positive change to your Cardinal grandchildren.
“Our nation has displayed a remarkable capacity to adapt, grow and improve over the march of history. Make choices that contribute to that march forward, especially as we have now in times of uncertainty. And whenever you have your own doubts about the future and you need to be bucked up, just go online and read a little bit more about the inspirational history of your alma mater.”
View the photo gallery above for highlights from the ceremony.