Diplomas in hand, Ithaca College graduates face a future bright with promise, Olympic softball star and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dot Richardson said last month at the College's 102nd Commencement. Conducted before a gathering of some 10,000 at Butterfield Stadium, the ceremony also included the naming of James J. Whalen as president emeritus, his receipt of an honorary degree, and the announcement that the College's expanded music facility would be named in his honor. Whalen will be stepping down at the end of June after 22 years as College president.
In saluting Whalen, Ithaca College Board of Trustees chairman Herman E. Muller Jr. read to the crowd a portion of a board resolution to name the building housing the School of Music the James J. Whalen Center for Music. "You have left the mark of your dedicated service on this academic community and on all of us who have been privileged to know you," Muller read. "We are grateful beyond expression for all you have done to advance our college and for giving the fullest measure of your vast energies and talents."
Whalen said he was "deeply grateful" for the recognition. "It means a great deal to me to be so permanently associated with our founding school," he said.
Whalen was named president emeritus and awarded the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters in a special presentation by Muller and acting provost Mary Lee Seibert. "It is most fitting that the man who has signed the diplomas of more than 25,000 Ithaca graduates will henceforth and forever be one of our own," Seibert said.
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"I think I was brought here today to let you know that your future looks so bright, and inside of each of you there is a light that's going to make our future even brighter." |
Richardson's energetic address focused not only on what the College's 1,275 graduates have accomplished, but also on what lies ahead for them.
Richardson said. "God has given us, all of us, a special talent-that special something you feel inside, that something that you know is a gift." For Richardson, that gift was athletics. In 1996 she took a leave of absence from her five-year residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Southern California to join the U.S. softball team in Atlanta for the sport's first appearance in an Olympic Games. The starting shortstop and leadoff batter, she hit three home runs, including the game winner in the gold-medal contest against China. Less than 48 hours later she was back on her rounds seeing patients at Los Angeles County Hospital.
"As a young girl I knew God had given me a talent in the world of athletics. But unfortunately I don't think the world was ready; the world had said girls are not supposed to be good in athletics," Richardson said. "But I believed all along the way. I continued to believe that talent is given to us for a reason. Never stop believing that that special gift that you know you have is there for a reason. Maybe things don't happen as quickly as we want them to, but if something is meant to happen, it will. If we can imagine it, if we are willing to work hard for it, even to the point where we dream about it, it can happen. It can happen for you."
Richardson, who brought along her Olympic medal to show the graduates, also urged them to be charitable in the use of their talents. "People, there will be moments in our lives when we will be given the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, even if only for a brief moment. I pray that you choose to share your talents, your time, and that your goals are to make a difference, to make this world even better."
Also offering remarks was senior class president Joe Gutierrez, who called the Commencement ceremonies the culmination of an intense group effort. "The hard work of the graduates coupled with the support of our families and friends is what made this day possible," said Gutierrez, who thanked his parents for stressing to him the importance of having a strong work ethic. "In observing them, it was clear the only way to meet goals was through hard work," he said.
Gutierrez spoke of the college experience, pointing out to graduates that a distinction should be made between what has been taught and what has been learned. "While Ithaca College hasn't given us the answers to life's toughest questions, it has taught us to be free and independent thinkers," he said. "This ability to survey our environment and make conscious decisions is what will affect our levels of success in the future."
Gutierrez was later joined on the stage by fellow class officers, who announced the class's pledge to raise $25,000 for the College's new fitness center. President Whalen was presented with a $7,000 check as a "down payment" on that pledge.
Honored at the ceremony was professor of anthropology Joel Savishinsky, who was named Charles A. Dana Professor in the Social Sciences at the College. Also recognized were retired faculty members John and Mary Ann Covert, who were named professors emeriti of music, and Aniello Massa, who was named professor emeritus of accounting.
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"Technology-driven questions will shape the intellectual and cultural landscape of your future," Whalen said. "Yet their answers will not lie in technology, but in the hearts and minds of yourselves." |
In his remarks, Whalen spoke of the challenges that await graduates in a world of explosive technological and scientific growth. "Technology-driven questions will shape the intellectual and cultural landscape of your future," Whalen said. "Yet their answers will not lie in technology, but in the hearts and minds of yourselves. As you have learned more about computers, about science, about business and communication, I hope you have also acquired in your time here the tools of humane thinking, of reasoning, of flexibility, and openness to change. These are the tools that will help you to cope with the unprecedented demands of the incredibly complex world you inhabit. These are the tools that will serve you well in a lifetime."
Whalen, before closing the ceremonies with his traditional Irish blessing, noted his appreciation for all that had been done for him in recent weeks and was particularly thankful to the board of trustees for commissioning music professor Dana Wilson's composition, Wailin', which was premiered during the annual Commencement Eve Concert. "Most of all," he said, "let me thank you all for having made Ithaca College a home for me during all these years, one that I will surely miss. Your real gifts to me have been on my doorstep each and every day of my tenure. Those gifts have been in treating me as a friend and colleague, your willingness to work together on behalf of a fine institution, and your commitment to an academic community that will thrive into the next millennium. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have served as president of Ithaca College."