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Do you prefer to have me between camera two and the stage?
[SILENCE]
[MUSIC - "POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE"]
[SILENCE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[SILENCE]
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Here we go on one.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You're on, you're on.
What we [? doing? ?]
[CHATTER]
[MUSIC - "POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE"]
[INAUDIBLE]
[CHATTER]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHATTER]
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[CHATTER]
[INAUDIBLE]
Ladies and gentlemen, please stand
for the Pledge of Allegiance, and remain
standing for the singing the first verse
of the national anthem.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United
States of America, and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all."
[CHATTER]
[MUSIC - "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER"]
[APPLAUSE]
[INAUDIBLE]
Forward march.
[SILENCE]
Now, now.
[CHATTER]
Please be seated.
The president of the university.
[APPLAUSE]
Mr. Rector, members of the Board of Visitors, ladies
and gentlemen, welcome.
Today marks the end of the 187th academic session.
[CHEERING]
These exercises are the university's most
joyful occasion.
When we gather to award degrees and celebrate the achievements
of the graduating class.
Today we are conferring degrees on the candidates
from the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
[CHEERING]
Tomorrow we will confer degrees on the candidates
from the university's 10 other schools,
and the Data Science Institute.
[BOOING]
[LAUGHTER]
I should acknowledge we are celebrating this weekend's
Final Exercises without some of our student athletes.
As you may have heard, members of the women's golf team
and the men's golf team are competing
in the NCAA championships.
[APPLAUSE]
And the women's and men's tennis teams
are in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship tournament.
[APPLAUSE]
We wish these student athletes luck.
Our music today is provided by the 392nd Army Band
from Fort Lee, Virginia, under the direction of Warrant
Officer 1, Kevin L. Pick.
The Army Band has performed at our Final Exercises since 1998,
and after 18 years, this will be their last year with us.
Please join me in a round of applause for the Army
Band from Fort Lee.
[APPLAUSE]
I also ask you to join me in a round of applause
for 63 members of your class who yesterday were commissioned
as second lieutenants or as ensigns in the Army, Navy
and Air Force.
[APPLAUSE]
I want to recognize some important members
of our leadership team who are also
graduating from their posts.
After 25 years of service, Bob Sweeney
will be stepping down from his position
as senior vice president for University Advancement
next month.
Though he will stay on for one year as an advisor.
Through his work, Bob has influenced the university
in profound ways, and I'm grateful for his service
and leadership.
[APPLAUSE]
I also want to recognize Martha Sites for her leadership
as interim university librarian, as she steps down
for a well-earned retirement.
Thank you, Martha.
[APPLAUSE]
Today's ceremony is a celebration
of the efforts of families, as well as students.
For parents whose sons and daughters
receive degrees today, we acknowledge your commitments
that began long before your students came to study here.
Our admiration extends to grandparents, aunts, uncles,
and other family members who encouraged these men and women
in their academic careers.
We also recognize the spouses and children
of some of our students who also made sacrifices, and offered
encouragement to make this day possible.
Students, please join me in applause
for your family members.
[APPLAUSE]
These Final Exercises also celebrate
the contributions of our teaching,
research, and support faculty, and the staff members
who work in many different occupations across The Grounds.
Each diploma symbolizes the vitality
of our faculty's endeavors.
Their passion for learning, their efforts
to engage students in intellectual discourse,
their ability to inspire the pursuit of knowledge.
Staff members provide critical support
for the academic enterprise.
Students, please join me in a round of applause
for the faculty and staff who guided and supported
your learning here.
[APPLAUSE]
Of course, the greatest accomplishment
belongs to those of you who earn your degrees today.
[CHEERING]
You have committed yourselves to values
that define this university: academic excellence, honor,
service, diversity, leadership, and accountability,
for yourself and for your peers.
You have lived what you have learned.
The knowledge and habits of mind you
have acquired at the University of Virginia
will become tools for leadership in the world to which you go.
[APPLAUSE]
The rector of the university.
[APPLAUSE]
Well, good morning.
And I again want to thank all of you
for coming, and particularly the parents.
And, of course, well wishes to you students.
I would not be doing my job very well if I didn't let y'all know
how hard some of the people, all the people here--
your staff and your deans, work all year to try to make this
a great university.
And I thank Terry.
I should call her President Sullivan, I'm sorry.
Terry, thank you for all you're doing.
Just to give you an example of how hard she's worked,
tomorrow after graduation she'll be
heading to China and Singapore for a couple of weeks
with some other people.
Tom, thank you.
Pat Hogan, thank you.
All the deans I want to just thank very much for all
y'all have done.
[APPLAUSE]
I can't let this moment go by with not recognizing
our past rector, George Martin, who's sitting
right here in front smiling.
He is so happy.
I don't know whether it's because you're not
rector now, George, but you certainly were smiling.
But he was given an award yesterday, the Gordon E.
[INAUDIBLE] Award for service.
And so congratulations, George, well deserved.
[APPLAUSE]
The people here at the University are so helpful,
and they work so hard.
And I really do have about a 15-page speech
that I have been drafted for me to read.
And I've decided to not do that.
[CHEERING]
But I thought I would take just a moment.
And when I was reading the speech
and making a few corrections, which I'm not
going to give to you, I thought about when
I was graduating from college.
And it was some 54 years ago.
So it's been a lot that's taken place.
And I jotted down some of the things
that I remember, at least, going through my mind.
And I thought I would tell you what those five or six things
were, at least for me, and then I'll
jump forward about four or five years
and tell you maybe how some of them worked out.
But the first one that I remember
was I was so glad I didn't have to take any more
exams and any more tests.
I really did.
I was worn out.
I was in engineering, and I think all they like to do
is give you tests, and then exams [INAUDIBLE].
I truly was worried about my friends,
because we had been together for so long in one location,
and now we were spreading out.
And I just thought and I remember,
how will I keep up with all these great people
that I've known?
Now I happened to be one of like, the 63
that Terry mentioned.
I was going into the ROTC-- I was an ROTC graduate,
and I was going into the military
and I had no idea what that was.
That was back in what was called quote,
"The Cold Warm," and Vietnam was beginning to heat up.
And so it wasn't a very pleasant time.
But that was all just sort of concern about what
in the world's going to happen.
I didn't have a job, because I was going into the military,
so I really didn't know what my career would be.
It was sort of unsettling.
And I don't know how many of you graduates will today
have to start providing your own welfare,
but I had to sort of accept the fact
that I had to pay my bills when I finished.
So I was a little worried of how I was going to do that.
And then the last thing, and this
sounds-- I'm not trying to be funny,
but I really was worried about parties and girls,
because I had a good time in college.
[LAUGHTER]
And I was just sort of worried of what would happen.
[CHEERING]
So they were some of my thoughts.
Now some of my answers.
I did go in the military, I was stationed in Germany.
And I spent almost 20 months there.
And I learned one heck of a lot about the rest of the world.
We have the internet today, but if you go back 54 years,
people didn't know that much about the world.
I debated whether I'm going to say this,
because you y'all could think I was a bad person,
but I learned how to play cards pretty well in college.
And I actually doubled my income playing cards
when I was in Germany, and I used that to travel,
so I saw all of Europe two and three times during the 20
months.
I did make a living, they actually
paid me to be a lieutenant.
And I actually bought a sports car,
so I felt like I had accomplished something.
And believe it or not, while I was in Germany
I decided I wanted to go back to school.
And that's how it end up here at Darden because I figured
that maybe tests weren't so bad, exams
weren't so bad, so I came back.
I made a lot of friends, both in the military and at Darden,
and we remained together for years.
And the last thing I want to let you
know about, the girls and the parties.
I did find a girl, I did get married,
and we are celebrating our 50th anniversary.
[APPLAUSE]
Now it is with the great pleasure
that I'm going to introduce the speaker.
She is a wonderful lady.
And she is-- We are just fortunate for her to join us
today.
And I'm sitting here trying to find the notes.
It is really my distinct honor to introduce
our keynote speaker for today.
A writer, a teacher, a lifelong scholar, Rita Dove
has the blessed the university, the state,
and the nation with her poetry.
Among some of her most notable accomplishments,
she has served as the poet laureate of the United States,
and consultant to the Library of Congress.
As well as poet laureate for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Ms. Dove has been nationally recognized,
receiving a total of 25 honorary doctorates
from places like Yale, Dartmouth,
University of Pennsylvania, just to name a few.
Prior to joining our university faculty in 1989,
Ms. Dove taught at Tuskegee Institute
at Arizona State University.
Ms. Dove's publications include nine books
of poetry, numerous projects, plays, major musicals,
contributions, and even audio-visual productions.
She was awarded the National Medal of Art in 2011
by President Obama, and the National Humanities Medal
in 1996 by President Clinton.
She is the only poet to have received
both presidential medals.
Ms. Dove has been the recipient of dozens of awards and honors.
If I were to list every accolade Ms. Dove has received,
we would be here till probably tomorrow's finals if not later.
We are honored today to hear from a woman who
embodies the university's image of what
it means to be a true scholar.
Ms. Dove is praised by her students and esteem
by her colleagues, and by her community.
Please join me in welcoming Ms. Rita Dove.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you, Rector Goodwin.
President Sullivan, esteemed faculty, and alumni,
long-suffering and now relieved parents, jubilant relatives
and friends, but for most, you, the graduating class of 2016,
despite the weather, this is a glorious morning.
Congratulations.
Now asking a poet to speak at commencement
seems both a no-brainer and a provocation.
After all, poets deal with words all the time.
But they also strive to distill language down
to the most necessary syllables, and the most haunting song.
The prospect of addressing a new generation of adults coming
from wide-ranging disciplines all
gathered here, one last time on these Grounds,
before scattering in whichever directions your passions,
or your jobs will take you.
Well, I can't help but think of what Mark Twain
said about the biblical Adam.
How lucky Adam was, he knew when he said a good thing,
nobody had said it before.
So let me say a few good words that couldn't be truer.
I am extremely delighted to be here today,
at the very institution where I have been
teaching for the past 27 years.
And although--
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
I don't-- I can't believe it myself.
But although I have given commencement speeches
before, this one is different, this one is personal.
The job of a commencement speaker-- I googled it,
so it must be true.
Is to, quote, "dispense life advice."
That seems the very opposite of Percy Bysshe Shelley's
definition of the poet as "a Nightingale
who sits in darkness, and sings to cheer its own solitude
with sweet sounds."
So I will not give you advice.
The last thing you want to hear is advice.
Because in order to be effective,
advice must be specific.
And that obviously is impossible in this setting.
So instead of advice, I will give you wishes.
Just think of me as a crafty fairy
godmother, or a wily genie.
I wish you hunger.
Of course, I don't mean physiological want,
but a continued spiritual and intellectual appetite.
A hunger to know more, do more, feel more.
When you entered this university,
you wanted to eat the world.
And all everyone else wanted you to do was to get good grades.
And though your dreams may have been more nebulous then,
then they are now, they were no less intense.
As one of my graduate students reminded me recently,
passions are hard to come by.
So keep that hunger, nurse it, stay curious,
want it all, while it lasts.
I wish you hard work.
By that I don't mean backbreaking labor,
or the drudgery of a treadmill.
But an appreciation for the work that comes before the big show:
getting ready, honing your tools, observation, research,
practice.
You know the actress Lupita Nyong'o gives herself homework
whenever she has an audition.
And the classical flutist James Galway once said,
you can sight-read better if you know your scales and arpeggios.
Now when my father sat me down for the
you're-going-out-into-the-world speech,
his message was very short.
Always be 150% prepared, he said.
At 150%, you'll be ready for anything.
Even if you're not chosen for the job or the position,
although you're the better qualified candidate.
As the first African-American research chemist
to break the color barrier in the tire and rubber industry,
my father knew how it felt to be passed over.
And--
[APPLAUSE]
I think what he was trying to tell
me was, the last person to hold you accountable is you,
yourself.
In most cases in the world, you won't
be asked for more than 75%.
In fact, depending on your race or gender or other conditions,
sometimes you'll be underestimated even more.
And won't be expected to give more than 50% of your capacity.
But only you will know if you've done your best.
So focus on that, rather than on what others think your best is.
Because if you allow others to tell you your worth,
you will have given up on yourself.
For me, a shy kid who trembled before giving class
presentations in high school, the 150% I had not ever
expected to need came in handy when
I received the phone call that I had been awarded the Pulitzer
Prize, and would have to hold my first press conference.
It was a very steep learning curve, let me say.
And six years later, when I was named
poet laureate of the United States,
that 150% emboldened me to write a letter on this university's
letterhead to the then President-elect Clinton
suggesting that the White House spotlight the arts during Arts
& Humanities Month.
And then in October of that year, 1993,
as my husband and I rushed to Pennsylvania Avenue right
after my inaugural poetry reading
at the Library of Congress to join the White House
celebration and state dinner in honor of the arts
and humanities, I used every bit of that 150%, I can tell you.
So your third wish.
I wish you uncertainty.
There's only so much knowledge that can be taught.
Hard facts are just that, solid dense entities.
You could call them the stones in a swiftly flowing
stream of possibilities.
You cannot wait for revelation to come down upon you
in a cloud of gossamer and angelic sighs.
More often than not, you will have to seek it out.
And sometimes you don't know where you're going,
but the only way you'll find out is if you go.
That doesn't mean that you rush off willy-nilly screaming,
I'm going to conquer this world.
But you do need to be bold enough
to step outside of your comfort zone,
even if it's scary out there.
Now one of the greatest gifts you've
received at this university is an apprenticeship
in the investigation of ideas.
Learning how to think, how to follow
the trajectory of a thought, when to proceed methodically,
or to pursue a tangent.
All of these techniques for navigating
the path to discovery without getting lost.
Compare yourself to and explore whose sextant
allows him to read the stars and figure out
which way he is going.
Whose portable laboratory enables
her to analyze plants and determine
which ones are beneficial, and which are poisonous.
Between that kind of knowledge and the wide, wide world,
are a host of unknowns, both pitfalls and bounty.
And let's not forget terror, because let's face it,
breaking new ground may be exhilarating,
but it is also terrifying.
If you are lucky, on some level you will always be a student.
If you're lucky, you will never lose the sensation of terror
that precedes discovery, nor the delight that follows.
And this memory will help you forge ahead
into the next bit of uncharted territory.
I wish you the future.
We all want that one answer, the secret to success,
the key to happiness.
I believe success is loving what you're doing more than who
people think you are.
And as for happiness, well, whenever
you can forget what you're doing while you're doing it,
when you get so involved that time quite literally flies,
then you are doing something right.
And when you keep on, even though to do so
will totally mess up your schedule,
then I could say you're happy.
Because whatever it is, it is larger than you,
and you are growing to meet it.
Psychologists call this being in 'the state of flow.' Musicians
say they're 'in the pocket.' Software developers talk
of being 'wired in.' And the Greeks blame it on their muses.
While LeBron James seems to have taken up permanent residence
'in the zone.' So I will not tell you in more than this one
sentence that you have your entire life before you,
since that's self-evident, be that life 90 years,
or a handful of decades.
What I'd like to impress upon you
is an awareness that this life is yours to fill.
What I want you to remember is that nobody will taste it
but you, so you should be looking
to fill it with those tasty bites that you want to savor.
And if you lose your appetite, because someone else has
less than you, or you have hoarded the salt,
well, that's part of your menu, too.
I will not tell you to look ahead, since none of us
can know what out there waiting.
What I will say, is that if you are lucky,
you cannot possibly imagine what the future has in store.
When I arrived at the University of Virginia more than a quarter
of a century ago, most of you were either
not yet born or just barely, still scrabbling
on hands and knees.
At that juncture in time, around 1994 for the undergraduates,
and somewhat earlier for advanced degree candidates.
As you grew up and into yourselves,
as I waited for you to join me today on the lawn,
what did the future look like then?
Think of the things that didn't exist in everyday life.
The world wide web, global positioning systems,
genome sequencing, closeup images from Mars,
drones, some items we now use as casually
as reaching for the milk to pour into our Cheerios
had yet to make it into the mass market level,
like anti-lock brakes and digital cameras.
Others were still figments of our "Star Trek" imaginations.
Plasma screens, wi-fi, Xbox, not to mention
Hulu, Netflix, Skype.
What fantastical names we've given
these contemporary household tools.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, the Cloud, iPad, iPod,
hell, the entire Apple universe.
And let us not forget e-mail, the first web browsers
for people who were not versed in machine language
came to fruition around the time of your birth.
And as you grew up that 'e' hyphen became
a prefix for new digital marvels: e-bay, ebook, e-cars.
Ah, all the tech abbreviations that would
have sent Rip Van Winkle screaming back
into his pre-revolutionary war mountains.
GPS, TiVo, HDTV, wiki, Wii.
And now think back to when this university was founded.
In 1825 there were horses racing down the lawn,
and a pet bear in one of the gardens.
There were brawls, and typhoid, flickering candlelight,
and smoky fireplaces.
I guess there's still smoky fireplaces.
The outcome of this great academical experiment
was still up for grabs.
Even this nation was not yet the democratic success story
of today, but a struggling volatile startup
company with grand ideas, wobbly capital, and a slave economy.
The future is never a done deal or a safe bet.
And I'm using these cliches deliberately
because the worst kind of future I could
wish for you is one that's already spelled out,
that is prescribed, or pre-determined.
When I stepped onto the lawns as the English department's first
female African-American full professor, 27 years ago--
[APPLAUSE]
I did not know that I would be speaking to you today.
And yet, even at that time I had already
progressed through luck and circumstance, and a bit of hard
work beyond the wildest dreams of my childhood.
When I was a child, if someone would have told me
that one day I would dine with US presidents,
and joke with Big Bird, I would have probably
hidden myself in a thicket.
So if you cannot imagine the future,
how do you prepare for it?
There are moments in life, and this
might be one of those moments, that
offer us multi-dimensional sense of time.
The ability to see ahead, as well as look behind you.
Assessing what has gone before, and reflecting upon
what has led up to this instant, and what will hopefully
spiral out of it.
Poets call it 'the lyric moment.' Lyric,
the word comes from the ancient Greek lyrikos, or lyre,
the stringed musical instrument favored by poets of the day.
The lyric moment, therefore, is one that sings.
When emotions bubble up so thickly they cannot be
contained in a paragraph, or captured with logic,
or framed in a snapshot.
And so this, my final wish for you, may
you have many, many more moments that sing.
And since I am foremost a poet, my passion, my 150%,
I would be remiss if I didn't leave you with a poem.
It is called "Testimonial," and to the Charlottesville Mural
Project, it is scheduled to become
part of the local urban scenery as a public work of art.
So when in years to come, you return to Grounds as alumni,
you can stroll down to the corner
and find these words painted on the side of The Graduate Hotel,
six stories high.
Back when the earth was new and heaven just a whisper,
back when the names of things hadn't had time to stick.
Back when the smallest breezes melted summer into autumn, when
all the Poplars quivered sweetly in rank and file,
the world called and I answered.
Each glance ignited to a gaze, I caught my breath
and called that life.
Swooned between spoonfuls of lemon sorbet.
I was pure wet and flourish, I was filigree and flame.
How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?
Back when everything was still to come,
luck leaked out everywhere.
I gave my promise to the world, and the world followed me here.
To the class of 2016, and all those
who helped you get to here, congratulations, and wa-hoo-wa.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you so much, Professor Dove.
And now the chair of the University
of Virginia Alumni Association Board of Managers.
Congratulations, class of 2016.
In a few short moments, you will become alumni
of the University of Virginia.
On behalf of our over 225,000 alumni,
it is my privilege, and great honor
to welcome you to our ranks.
Welcome aboard.
You will now officially bleed blue and orange.
And you are a wahoo for life.
[APPLAUSE]
Mr. Jefferson once asked, and I quote, "Do you
want to know who you are?"
Think about that question for a moment.
Do you want to know who you are?
His answer?
Don't ask, but act.
Don't ask, take action.
Action will delineate and define you.
Think about it for a moment.
During your time on Grounds, it was your actions
that defined who you were as a student,
and as a member of the UVA community.
Likewise, the actions you choose to take as alumni
will define who you are as alumni.
And in the future, your collective actions
will help define the university itself.
I quote an ancient Chinese proverb,
"a man who waits for roast duck to fly into his mouth
must wait for a very, very, very long time."
So take action as alumni.
And here are some thoughts on what you can do.
Be active, informed, engaged, and caring alumni.
Fortunately, you have a strong and vibrant Alumni Association
to help you do so.
Join the Alumni Association.
Over half of the undergraduate class of 2016
has already done so.
Alumni Hall will always be your home away from home.
Here's a challenge: make the class of 2016
the best class the university has ever
seen over it's nearly 200-year history.
Come back to Charlottesville for reunions.
Last year, a record 3,500 alumni came back
for Young Alumni Weekend.
Do me a big favor, shatter that attendance record
this coming fall.
Use career services to help you plan your careers,
network with other alumni, and maybe even find your dream job.
Your fellow alumni will help you.
And remember to pay it forward, and help future alumni.
Support your women's and men's athletic teams,
celebrate the ballgame that I know Coach Mendenhall will
lead us to this coming season.
[CHEERING]
And the Hokies?
The Hokies are going down in November.
Go nuts with me next spring when Coach Bennett cuts down the net
after the Hoo's won the NCAA basketball championship.
[APPLAUSE]
And support UVA arts, come back in November,
and attend the wonderful Virginia Film Festival.
Participate in Alumni Lifetime Learning Programs,
we are students for life.
Stay informed, read every page of the "Virginia Magazine."
And in a few years, and in a very few years, some of you
may have baby wahoos.
And those baby wahoos will turn into teenagers, God help you.
And maybe they may just turn into a aspiring wahoos.
Our Alumni Liaison Admissions program
will do our best to help them become legacy wahoos.
Your relationship with this university is just beginning.
I hope you fully develop it over your life,
and come to cherish that relationship.
And remember Mr. Jefferson's advice.
Your actions will define the persons you become,
not only as alumni, but as citizens of our great country.
Congratulations again, and best wishes for your future.
Wa-hoo-wa.
The president of the university.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you, Mr. Harris.
The university is fortunate to have
so many loyal alumni who are dedicated to their Alma mater.
Those of you who graduate today have
benefited from the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends
who make gifts to the university to improve the quality of life
and learning here.
Because of their generosity in recent years,
we have wonderful new buildings, such as the South Lawn, Bavaro
Hall, Rice Hall, Lacy Hall, Ruffin Hall, the Ruth Caplin
Theater, and The Rotunda restoration.
We have wonderful programs, such as the College Arts Scholars,
and the Cavalier Marching Band.
Loyal donors have helped to make all of this possible
in recent years.
And you, yourselves have joined this tradition
of giving through your class gift.
More than 1,700 members of the fourth-year class
contributed gifts or pledges totaling more than $530,000.
In the College of Arts and Sciences,
more than 960 students participated
in the giving campaign.
So thank you for the generosity you demonstrated, even
before you left The Grounds.
The Raven Society is the oldest and most prestigious university
organization.
It recognizes scholarship and other contributions to life.
With us today, our newly elected alumni members of The Raven
Society, as well as two alumni receiving Raven awards, George
Martin and Dr. Vivian Pinn.
Will all those people please stand, and join me
in applauding them.
[APPLAUSE]
We commend you and thank you for your many contributions
to the university.
And now I'd like to share some observations about today's
graduating students.
There have been profiles of some of you
on the university's website and in "The Cavalier Daily."
These profiles highlight students
working in disciplines as diverse
as biology, economics, politics, art, religious studies,
and sociology.
I encourage you to read these remarkable stories.
But each student today has his or her own story
of hard work and achievement.
We celebrate all of your stories today.
And all of you can claim a special distinction.
By choosing to study the Arts and Sciences,
whether in college or in the graduate school,
you affirm the truth that education in the liberal arts
remains vital in the 21st century.
A broad education in arts, sciences, social sciences,
and humanities, teaches us to be critical thinkers.
To be perceptive of the world around us.
To write clearly and persuasively.
And to integrate multiple perspectives
before arriving at decisions.
These broad skills, as much as any specialized technical
skill, are fundamental to solving
the complex global problems of the 21st century.
You prepared yourself for that work
by choosing arts and sciences.
One group of today's graduates enjoys another distinction
because they worked especially hard to complete their degrees
early.
102 students from the College of Arts and Sciences
earned their baccalaureate degrees in three years,
and three more college students did so in only two years.
In recognition of their effort, and as
a symbol of their achievement, these students
are wearing orange stoles today and I would
like to ask them to stand up.
[APPLAUSE]
Congratulations, and I welcome you
to the Order of the Orange Stole.
Yet another group of today's graduates
has a particular distinction.
260 students graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences
today are the first members of their families
to graduate from college.
[APPLAUSE]
We salute their commitment to education and their diligence
in earning their degrees.
Yet another measure of excellence of today's graduates
is awards and scholarships.
Graduating today from the college
are a Rhodes scholar and a Rhodes finalist,
six Fulbright scholars, a Truman scholar,
two recipients of a Davis Projects For Peace award,
and three finalists for The Marshall Scholarship.
Three college degree candidates received university awards
for projects in the arts, and 29 received Harrison undergraduate
research awards.
33 of these graduates participated in the Jefferson
Public Citizens Program, three received Double Hoo research
grants to allow undergraduate and graduate student teams
to work together on research.
And eight received community-based undergraduate
research grants.
Moreover, you have lived and learned
in a truly global university.
Nearly 1,000 of this weekend's graduating students
came to UVA from other countries,
bringing an international perspective,
and enriching life for all of us.
And many of our students represented UVA in the world
beyond our serpentine walls.
About 30% of this weekend's graduating undergraduate
students participated in some form of education or research
abroad.
And we know you are going forth to a wide range
of post-graduation plans.
Whether you're entering the workforce, engaging in service,
or pursuing further education.
The degree candidates from the graduate school
have accepted professorships and post-doctoral appointments
at many places, such as Duke University, Dartmouth,
Vanderbilt, the University of Michigan,
and the American Academy in Athens.
Other degree candidates will go to work at organizations
such as the New York City government, the Congressional
Budget Office, the Pew Research Center, and the Max Planck
Institute for Mathematics.
Whatever your futures hold, graduates from The College
and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
are well-prepared to bring vision and leadership
at every level of their careers, and communities they will
enter when they leave here.
Please join me in a round of applause
for this entire accomplished class.
[APPLAUSE]
All of today's degree candidates are listed in your program,
including those who completed the requirements
for their degrees in December, or last August.
For the candidates from the College and Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences, we will award 2,950 total degrees,
including 2,576 bachelor's degrees, 213 master's degrees,
and 161 PhDs.
Now, under authority vested in the general faculty,
and by it delegated to me, I will award the degrees.
The dean of the College and Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences will present the candidates
for degrees.
Immediately after these exercises,
department graduation ceremonies will take place around grounds.
The locations are listed near the back of the finals program.
The ceremonies will be held in their fair-weather locations.
[CHEERING]
The executive vice president and provost of the university.
The dean of the College and Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences.
The candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
will please rise and remain standing.
[APPLAUSE]
Madam President, as dean of the College and Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences, I have the honor
to present these candidates, who have
fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy.
[APPLAUSE]
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I welcome you to the ancient and universal company of scholars.
[APPLAUSE]
The Doctors of Philosophy will please be seated.
The candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts,
Master of Arts and Physics Education, Master of Fine Arts,
Master of Public Health, and Master of Science,
will please rise and remain standing.
[APPLAUSE]
Madam President, I have the honor
to present these candidates, who have fulfilled
the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts,
Master of Arts and Physics Education, Master of Fine Arts,
Master of Public Health, or Master of Science.
I confer upon you the appropriate master's degree,
with all the rights and privileges
there unto pertaining.
I charge you to apply the knowledge
you have gained in ways that advance
social good and humane values.
[APPLAUSE]
The Masters of Arts, Masters of Arts and Physics Education,
Masters of Fine Arts, Masters of Public Health,
and Masters of Science will please be seated.
The candidates for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts,
or Bachelor of Science, in the College of Arts and Sciences,
will please rise and remain standing.
[APPLAUSE]
Madam President, I have the honor
to present these candidates who have fulfilled the requirements
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science.
I confer upon you the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor
of Science with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging, and welcome you
to the fellowship of educated women and men.
I charge you to apply the principles of truth
in discourse, of rigor in inquiry,
and of pursuit of excellence in your lives,
in your professions, and in your engagement with the cultures
in which you will live.
The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
So a few closing remarks for the graduating students.
Today you complete a portion of your life
when you have lived in this community
and learned on these grounds.
In the course of your lives, you will
belong to other communities and cultures.
Each will have its own values and customs.
I hope you will take with you as you leave here, the values that
have distinguished you as students
at the University of Virginia.
Most of us experience times in our lives
when it might be easiest to follow
the path of self-interest, to keep quiet
when truth is obscured, to avoid participating in the fray.
And in these times you may be tempted
to compromise your values, to argue the easy point rather
than the valid point, and to follow blindly
rather than to lead boldly.
At these times, consider the three creations
for which the university's founder
wished to be remembered.
Virginia's bill for establishing religious freedom,
the Declaration of Independence, and the University of Virginia.
[CHEERING]
Recall that each of them came about as a result
of perseverance, sacrifice, and a personal commitment
to enduring values.
If we have done right by you, you
have already absorbed some of Mr. Jefferson's qualities
of tough-mindedness, optimism, and determination
to effect change.
[INAUDIBLE]
Now as you go, cultivate in yourselves the tenacity
to hold elected officials, and yourselves as well,
to strict account.
Engage in the political process that
builds durable and systematic change when changes do.
Work as educated citizens to protect
individual freedom, your own and the freedom of people
who depend upon you.
Contribute to the work that is essential to sustaining
a democracy.
And in all that you do, commit yourselves and your fortunes
to the common good.
These are our fondest hopes for you.
Godspeed, and God bless you.
[APPLAUSE]
Department ceremonies will begin after graduates
and their guests have ample time to reach their ceremony sites.
If your ceremony is scheduled to begin at one o'clock or sooner,
please proceed directly to your ceremony venue.
And now will the graduates please
stand for singing of "The Good Old Song."
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC - "THE GOOD OLD SONG"]
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHATTER]
I bet I could [? buy ?] you.
No, but it wouldn't be real.
[INAUDIBLE]
[CHATTER]
You got to wait till the end, though.
[INAUDIBLE]
[CHATTER]
You want us to take these tags on out?
Yeah, that'd be fine.
What about the [INAUDIBLE]?
[CHATTER]
[SILENCE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[SILENCE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]