Editor: Keith Davis Writers: Alex Dippold, Dave Maley Publisher: Office of Public Information Volume 22, No. 17  June 5, 2000

Follow Your Inner Voice, Winkler Tells New Grads Arthur Fonzarelli — "the Fonz" — was a supercool, leather-jacketed alumnus of a motorcycle gang when Happy Days began airing in 1974. Ten years later, when the show was concluding its network television run, the Fonz was a teacher at the high school where he had once been a dropout and was in the process of adopting a young orphan. Henry Winkler — the now 55-year-old actor who brought the character to life — has also gone through his share of life changes, and he shared those experiences as guest speaker at Ithaca College’s 105th Commencement. "I stand before you being mostly who I want to be, and I say mostly because it is astounding to me how ongoing the process is," Winkler told the 1,325 graduates and their guests at the May 13 ceremony. "Unless we align ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually, then becoming who you want to be is almost unobtainable." Winkler’s journey of self-discovery started when he was a seven-year-old dyslexic underachiever who dreamed of becoming an actor. But because of his handicap, Winkler’s experiences with the educational system often left him with the short end of the stick. After struggling through high school, he was rejected by 22 of the 24 colleges he applied to, and the one he ended up attending nearly flunked him out his freshman year. "What is amazing to me is that the habit of bad feelings is so powerful and so addictive," Winkler said. " ‘I will never graduate. I’ll never get the job. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I won’t. I can’t.’ I was the king of negative thinking, and I wanted to figure out how to stop this process." The answers came from many places. Early in his career, a fan sent him a gift with the inscription "If you will it, it is not a dream." And from his study of Armenian philosophy, Winkler learned "Don’t put a period on the end of a negative thought." "It then becomes a paragraph," he said. "And that paragraph becomes a thesis in negativity. So . . . when a negative thought comes into your mind, you just say, ‘Sorry, I’ve got no time for you now.’ People will look at you very strangely — it doesn’t matter. Because the distance between having those negative thoughts and your stopping them cold gets shorter and shorter and shorter. This is what I’ve learned. There is no nutritional value in a negative thought." Winkler chose to leave negative sentences unpunctuated. As a result, he graduated from the Yale School of Drama, starred in an immensely successful television show, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and became a director, producer, and activist whose work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the United Nations Peace Prize and the B’Nai B’rith Champion of Youth Award. "It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that the children of our country have so little sense of future," Winkler said. "I don’t know why we are so disrespectful to the children of America. Maybe it’s because they don’t vote. Our short-term gratification so outweighs our long-term interest in the future." Admonishing the new graduates to set their goals high, Winkler reminded them that the process of self-discovery evolves slowly and lasts a lifetime. "Every one of you has a greatness inside of you," he said. "It is your job to dig down deep, find out what it is, and then give it to the world as a gift. Listen to your instinct through your life. It will always put you on the right path. It will tell you who to be with and what job to take and what job to leave in order to try something new." The ceremony, which began with chairman of the board of trustees Herman E. Muller Jr. ’51 welcoming the new graduates to the fold of Ithaca alumni, was also a time to honor faculty members. Assistant professor of speech communication Ellen Bonaguro, professor of biology Vicki Cameron, and professor of mathematics Martin Sternstein were cited for earning awards of excel-lence in service, scholarship, and teaching, respectively. (See story below.) In addition, art history professor Nancy Ramage was recognized as Charles A. Dana Professor of Humanities and Arts. (See story on page 3.) The graduates then heard from senior class president John Walsh, who, with class treasurer Alex Walton, presented College president Peggy R. Williams with the class gift of $8,580. "As we continue to strive for greater opportunities and a better life, we must resist being consumed by our own inventions," Walsh said. "Technology can only perform the tasks we program into it. Striving for knowledge and perfection is admirable, but have the courage to maintain your personal identity. Put your emphasis on the qualities that define our individual personalities and contribute to our harmonious diversity." President Williams then addressed the assemblage, directing her comments to the inscription on the medallions passed out to the graduates before they entered the stadium. This year’s medallions bore a quote by American novelist Edith Wharton: "There are two ways of spreading light: To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." "Each of you has lived this quotation here at Ithaca College," Williams said. "Through your character and your actions, you have shaped the nature of this college in so many ways — in your various roles as leaders in some dimensions of your life here, and as mirrors or informed followers in other dimensions of your college experience. In all of these, each of you has discovered and shared your voice, your gifts, and your passions." Everyone shares a responsibility to spread a light, the president added — a light that will create new knowledge, inspire others to join in the creation of that new knowledge, and improve the human condition. "Ithaca College has been the place to practice being the candle and the mirror — a place to learn the difference between these important roles as well as a place to learn which role suits you better in any given situation," Williams said. "Whether it be the candle or the mirror, each role has an effect on the whole community."

ITHACA | Back Issues | Table of Contents | NEWS Home | Publication Schedule | Letter to the Editor Created by Andrejs Ozolins. Updated 10. May. 2000