[TRUMPET MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
Left.
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[CHEERING]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[LIGHT CHEERFUL MUSIC]
Go in the right staircase.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[LAUGHTER]
I want to get this photographer.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
I thought I lost my little-- like, what's this thing called?
Tassel.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
That's OK.
This is great.
[WHOOPING]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Hi.
Love you.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Go 'Hoos!
[WHOOPING]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Left.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
We did something.
I don't know what.
I don't know, but in terms of degree, we did it.
I can't believe it.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Perfect.
Amazing.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Mom, where are you?
Mom?
I'm right here.
Yay.
Where's my mom?
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[WHOOPING]
[SOFT GENTLE MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
I hope somebody saw us.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[SHOUTING]
[WHOOPING]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
We made it.
You're killing it, PT.
Hi, Mom.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[SOFT GENTLE MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[LAUGHING]
Yeah, I told my mom I would be on the left side.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Where are you sitting?
OK.
See you up there.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[WHOOPING]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Oh my gosh.
Yes!
Woo!
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
Hi.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[SOFT GENTLE MUSIC]
Ugh.
It's really hot.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
Walk really slow.
Bye, guys.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[SHOUTING]
[WHOOPING]
Posse love!
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE MUSIC]
[WHOOPING]
Wait, that's us!
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
It goes down really easy.
It's nice.
Hi, Mom.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[WHOOPING]
Hey!
How you doing?
Hey, y'all.
Woo.
Go 'Hoos.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
UVA.
Go, 'Hoos, go.
I'll see you at the AFC.
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[LIGHT CHEERFUL MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[SIDE CONVERSATION]
[POWERFUL MUSIC]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[LIGHT CHEERFUL MUSIC]
[CHEERING]
[DRUMMING MUSIC]
[CHEERING]
[GENTLE ELEGANT MUSIC]
Ladies and gentlemen, please stand
for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing
for the singing of 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.
Present arms.
[MUSIC - "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER"]
[APPLAUSE]
About face.
Forward march.
Left.
Please be seated.
The president of the university.
[APPLAUSE]
Good morning.
Mr. Rector, members of the Board of Visitors, colleagues,
family, friends, and the class of 2019.
[CHEERING]
My name is Jim Ryan.
In addition to being the president of UVA,
I am your host for today's ceremony.
And I will also officially award the degrees,
which means that, for today, I'm something
of a cross between Oprah and Dumbledore.
[LAUGHTER]
Now, for many of you, this is your first time
at Final Exercises, and I recognize
it might make you a little nervous.
But have no fear, as I am now a veteran of these ceremonies,
having presided over Final Exercises as recently as
yesterday.
[LAUGHTER]
Today marks the end of our 190th academic session.
These Final Exercises are the university's most
joyful occasion, at least since the men's basketball team
won the national championship.
[CHEERING]
And I don't know if you saw the end of the men's lacrosse game
yesterday.
[CHEERING]
But that was definitely a goal.
And that team is on a roll as they head into the final four.
[APPLAUSE]
But we are here today to confer degrees on the candidates
from 10 of the university schools and the Data Science
Institute.
Before we begin, I'd like to recognize
a number of university leaders who are stepping down--
Tom Katsouleas, our provost; Dr. Rick Shannon, executive vice
president for Health Affairs; Dorrie Fontaine,
the Dean of the School of Nursing; Allan Stam--
[CHEERING]
--Allan Stam, the Dean of the Batten School--
[CHEERING]
--and Dr. Marcus Martin, our vice president
and chief officer for diversity and equity.
[APPLAUSE]
Each of these leaders has shaped this university
in profound ways, and I'm grateful to them
for their service.
And I ask that you join me in offering them
a round of applause.
[APPLAUSE]
I'd also like to acknowledge some of our student athletes
who can't be with us today.
Members of the women's golf team are
competing at the NCAA championships today,
and we wish them the best of luck.
[APPLAUSE]
Our music today is provided by the 392nd Army Band
from Fort Lee, Virginia, under the direction of Chief Warrant
Officer Two James H. Landrum.
Please join me in round of applause for them.
[APPLAUSE]
And please join me in a round of applause
for the members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force
ROTC who presented the colors.
[APPLAUSE]
I'd like to extend my sincerest congratulations and gratitude
to all the friends and family in the audience today.
No one makes it to graduation alone.
And that's why I would like to ask all the graduating students
to stand, turn toward the audience,
and give a round of applause to those
who helped you on this journey.
[APPLAUSE]
I'd like to thank the staff who work hard all year
and who have worked tirelessly to make graduation
special for all of you.
And I'd like to thank the faculty who
have served not simply as teachers but also as mentors
and friends.
Our faculty and staff are the heart and soul
of this institution, and I hope you'll
join me in thanking them.
[APPLAUSE]
Finally, to the class of 2019, as I said yesterday,
yours is easily the most outstanding class
I have seen as president.
[LAUGHTER]
I hope and trust that you'll look back on your time
here as among the most important, enjoyable, engaging,
and life-changing experiences of your lives.
You are leaving this community stronger than you found it,
and I have no doubt that you'll make the world
beyond UVA a better place.
I also want to say a personal thanks for making this a year
that I will never forget.
It has been a true joy and a sincere privilege
to get to know many of you and to serve as your president.
I'm genuinely sorry that we only had a year together.
But I think you can agree that it's a small sign of success
for all of us that you are moving on
and I'm returning for a second year.
[LAUGHTER]
So let us begin this ancient and honorable ritual through which
we recognize your achievements and welcome you
into the company of superbly educated citizen leaders.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
The Rector of the university.
How magical and glorious this gathering
is to behold both in vision and in spirit.
To our graduates, let me offer our warmest congratulations
and admiration.
Throughout the year, we look forward
to this day with great anticipation.
For today, we see the culmination
of years of dedication, and we sense
the possibility of your future.
We are thankful for your decision
to attend this university in the first place
as you have contributed mightily to its uniqueness.
You have made this university your own,
and it is better as a result. Today is a day of joy for you
and for those who have accompanied you on this journey
as you complete this phase of your education
and this chapter of your life.
And there is much for which we are
all grateful in your arrival to this day--
most importantly, the person you have
become, as well as the constant support of your families,
your friends, and your fellow students,
and the extraordinary dedication of our faculty and staff.
Today is also, in the truest sense, a day of hope.
And it is the hope we have for you
and the hope you give to us and others
that I want to acknowledge.
For, you see, hope is one of the fundamental emotions
that sustains one's life and that of our society.
Without hope, little is possible.
Our founder envisioned this day not as an end to your time
here but as a commencement of a lifetime
of learning devoted to furthering the human condition.
It was his hope that his revolutionary experiment
in education would sustain the nascent democracy
that he had helped create and lead to a better world.
And so as we celebrate what you have accomplished,
I want you to know, I want you to understand,
I want you to remember that because of who you are,
because of what you have accomplished,
because of your time on these grounds,
you give us immense hope for the future, your future and that
of our nation.
For each of you, we hope that your life
is one of meaningful accomplishments,
supportive and sustainable relationships,
and a feeling of worth and fulfillment in your endeavors.
We hope that whatever path you choose in life,
you never fail to remember the importance of service
to your fellow human beings, because it
is your calling after earning a degree from this university,
as well as the genesis of everything we hope for you.
Your promise, in turn, gives us hope for our nation
and the world community.
We're at a point in this nation's history
where we need to cast off the ways of the present.
We can no longer afford to continue
as we are if we are to achieve this nation's promise.
You are entering a world with enormous challenges
and yet with enormous opportunities.
But we will fail to realize those opportunities
if your desire is to dwell on our differences
rather than celebrate our commonality,
if our instinct is to condemn those with whom we disagree
rather than to seek to understand our disagreements,
if we allow the continued evolution of community in favor
of individual resentment and grievance, if we further
rather than eliminate the inequities
and injustices in our society, if we remain silent
when circumstances demand that we speak,
and if we fail to recognize the humanity in each person
in all things that we do.
The hope you give us is that you will go forth
from this day with the knowledge that your days
at this university were not designed simply
for the purpose of starting you on the path
to mastering excellence in one field or another,
but rather for a greater purpose of applying
your knowledge, your skills and your heart
for the betterment of the world.
In doing so, you will find your true potential
and your true fulfillment.
And you will give much needed hope to our nation and world
community.
On behalf of our faculty, our president, our fellow visitors,
I thank you for your contributions
to this community.
I wish you well as you move on.
And I look forward with confidence
that throughout your life, the hopeful challenge
of our Rita Dove in her poem "The Testimonial"
remains your compass--
"the world called, and I answered."
Godspeed to each of you and to your families.
Our keynote speaker will be retiring this summer.
She has left a legacy at the university that will
be very difficult to replicate.
I have come to know her well, and I am truly honored
to introduce her today.
Born and raised on Long Island, Dean Fontaine
earned her bachelor of science and nursing
from Villanova University, a master's
from the University of Maryland, and a PhD
from Catholic University.
She was a critical care and trauma nurse for over 40 years
and came to UVA with substantial experience
in academic and clinical leadership.
She is the Sadie Heath Cabaniss professor of nursing
and has been dean of the School of Nursing since 2008.
In 2009, she founded UVA's Compassionate Care Initiative
with a mission of alleviating human suffering
through developing compassionate people and systems.
Dean Fontaine is a champion of healthy work environments
for clinicians and staff alike.
She has given more than 200 presentations around the globe
and has published dozens of articles on this subject.
In 2019, the nursing school received
the first annual Healthy Work Environment
Award from Sigma Global, a National Nursing Honor Society,
for the dedicated work of staff and faculty
who foster an environment where all may flourish.
Dean Fontaine has been a tremendous fundraiser
for the School of Nursing, including
attracting substantial grants to advance nursing science
in patient and community care.
Her other accomplishments are numerous
but include new courses on mindfulness and leadership
presence, a wisdom in nursing curriculum for undergraduates,
and a palliative care concentration
for graduate nursing students.
The school has remained the state's only nursing program
to be ranked among the nation's top 20.
Dorrie and her husband, Barry, have
been residents of Pavilion IX since 2010
and have hosted hundreds of events for university community
members.
The jamboree gathering for Lawn and Pavilion residents
after Halloween trick-or-treating or treating
is legendary.
There are many reasons and many factors that
make this university special.
One of the most important is we have
more than our fair share of people who are special.
Dorrie Fontaine is at the top of the list
of people in this university community who are special.
Please give her a very warm welcome.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Good morning.
President Ryan, Mr. Rectors, members
of the Board of Visitors, vice presidents, my fellow deans,
and faculty and family, guests, and especially the graduates
of the class of 2019.
[WHOOPING]
I am-- yay.
I'm thrilled to be invited to speak with you
and share in your celebration today.
As the Rector mentioned, this year, the UVA School of Nursing
received a truly momentous award,
the very first Healthy Work Environment
Award for a school of nursing--
and there's 850 schools of nursing--
given by Sigma, the International Nursing
Honor Society.
Everyone wants to be in a healthy work environment
where respect for all is what really matters
and the focus is on human flourishing.
I've spoken about healthy work environments in hospital
and academic settings for decades
and worked on creating one here at UVA.
So it was quite a moment of recognition.
What I find amusing is that while I'm
introduced as the Sadie Heath Cabaniss professor, which
is a strong, very traditional Virginia name, often
the one who introduces me refers to me as the Sadie Heath
Cannabis professor.
[LAUGHTER]
Easy to do.
And my new line is, well, that's why
we are a healthy and happy work environment.
[LAUGHTER]
All right.
Maybe not really.
I don't want to start rumors about my school.
So I am a critical care ICU nurse
and have been for over four decades.
My favorite quote about my profession of nursing
is from Donna Diers, the former dean of Yale,
and this is what she said.
"Nursing puts us in touch with being human.
Nurses are invited into the inner spaces of other people's
existence without even asking.
For where there is suffering, loneliness, the tolerable
pain of cure, or the solitary pain of permanent change,
there is a need for the kind of human service we call nursing."
So a signature of our school and being fully human
is our Compassionate Care Initiative,
now in its 10th year.
The hallmark of this is a focus on being, not doing.
Doing or learning skills is, of course,
important in preparing a nurse or a physician to practice.
But increasingly, the kind of person you hope to be,
courageous in the small moments, seems
to be most critical today.
Being fully present in the moment
is not just for future health care providers.
Business women and men, engineers, architects, lawyers,
teachers, policymakers, data scientists
all need this focus as well.
So as we reflect today on leaving, our exit,
and arriving, how we hope to be in the world,
should be center stage.
This is our moral commitment to each other and the world
and all its citizens with both empathy and compassion.
So I wish to speak to you briefly today
about exits, mine and yours.
President Ryan mentioned to me in March that exits are hard
and lent me a book by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot titled
Exit--
The Endings That Set You Free.
Professor Lawrence-Lightfoot is a MacArthur
prize-winning sociologist and endowed professor
at Harvard University.
She's the first African American woman
in Harvard's history to have an endowed professorship named
in her honor.
Her wisdom in storytelling about exits tells us this.
She researched the many faces of leaving
and found symmetry and wonder in the many narratives.
We all leave.
We all arrive.
Her contention is that we spend much time celebrating
new beginnings and perhaps do not appreciate
the wisdom found in the exit.
Her book characterizes the many ways we exit,
small exits and larger ones like changing jobs
or the end of life.
So I'm going to tell two brief stories.
What can we celebrate in the exits
that can create some wisdom?
The first story is titled, "Onstage
With His Holiness, the Dalai Lama."
So the Dalai Lama came to Charlottesville in 2012.
I'm still talking about it, I know.
A panel was arranged called Compassion as a Global Remedy
for Medicine.
Three physician colleagues, dear friends, Pediatric Department
Chair Jim Nataro, cardiologist George Beller, palliative care
physician and my friend, Leslie Blackhall,
and I were all invited to share some reflections on compassion
and listen to his wisdom.
I was invited to be on the panel by a friend, a nursing
alum of the Tibetan community.
And, you know, they needed a nurse.
And we've done a lot of work on compassion.
Over 1,000 people were there at the Paramount Theatre
from all across Virginia.
We had some lively conversation about how
we can better care for patients and families with compassion.
We were all on stage in these lovely armchairs
and His Holiness, the Dalai Lama,
and his interpreter were sitting in the middle.
He gets up at the end of the hour,
and we each stand as he prepares to give us
a white scarf called a khata.
We could see he had them in his hand,
and we were excited to be so close to him.
He arises, and then he looks to the edge
of the big stage and notices the sign language interpreters
at either end of the platform, just as we have here.
And he takes our khatas, and he goes over and gives them
to each one, first on the one side,
and he walked all across the stage and then to the woman
on the other side.
These women had tears in their eyes.
Why did they have these tears?
Because they thought they were invisible to him, the leader
of the Tibetan community.
Of course, we worried for a moment
that he gave away our khatas.
And we're standing there, will there be enough for us?
But, no, there were plenty for us.
He has these big giant eyes when he stands in front of you,
and he's always smiling, despite the monks
setting themselves on fire to protest.
I learned that he practices what he says, paying attention.
I learned in a new way what it means to truly notice
and of being kind.
In fact, he says his religion is kindness.
So the lesson for me and for you, our graduates,
what are we failing to notice?
Who may need our attention?
Who are we taking for granted?
With our new-found skills and education and wisdom from this
university, surely there are things to notice,
large and small, in new ways--
injustice, someone left out, a family member in distress,
an environmental crisis, an unethical, unprofessional
action.
Noticing is the first step.
This is helped along by a focused awareness of yourself
and your surroundings.
This is what we teach in the School
of Nursing, School of Medicine, and, increasingly,
in other schools along with my colleagues
in our great contemplative sciences center.
Called mindfulness and training the brain to notice.
Recently, I discovered that a few years ago, a faculty member
was tutoring a housekeeper in my school in chemistry
on her own time.
She was trying to pass a course at the community college
to gain entrance into nursing.
Somebody noticed.
A year ago, a nursing PhD student,
Tori Tucker, along with our nursing History Center director
and our associate dean for diversity,
noticed that in the mid-1950s and for nine more years,
African American women who wished to become nurses
were excluded from attending the University of Virginia.
They, instead, were taught at the Jackson P. Burley High
School in a licensed practical nurse program.
The head of our school partnered with the Burley High School
to establish the program at the time in the 1950s.
Tori and colleagues planned the Hidden Nurses Project
and found 34 of these nurses, many now in their 80s and 90s.
With a grant from the Jefferson Trust,
last month, 25 came back to the School of Nursing auditorium
for a celebration and to march across the stage
and receive a certificate of recognition
and an apology for their exclusion.
President Ryan--
[APPLAUSE]
They're clapping for you.
Thank you.
President Ryan says we should be great and good.
He enabled us to induct all these nurses into the Alumni
Association in front of hundreds of their tearful and joyful
families.
Someone noticed, and we stood up to this injustice.
So my second brief story is called "The Pause."
Several years ago, a fellow nurse
in the emergency department at the University of Virginia
Medical Center, Jonathan Bartels, a dear friend,
was struck by the suffering of his colleagues, other nurses
and physicians, after traumatic or unexpected deaths.
It happens often in our nation's over 6,000 hospitals.
I know because I am a trauma nurse.
When health care providers do everything they can to save
a life and they cannot, it evokes feelings of anger,
sadness, and sometimes depression.
Jonathan saw this firsthand as a longtime emergency department
nurse here in Charlottesville.
As part of our Compassionate Care Initiative,
he vowed to do something.
Consider a seven-year-old girl hit
by a car, brought in by the rescue squad
to a busy emergency department.
The trauma team does everything they can to save the girl
and cannot.
The team rips off their gloves at the end of the resuscitation
attempt, walks away from the room, and into the hallway.
And what's in the hallway in the nation's hospitals?
Well, more patients to see who need our help.
So there's no time, no time to-- you just need to shake it off.
So Jonathan developed The Pause, a compassionate intervention
for his colleagues.
45 seconds.
The team, physicians, nurses, respiratory therapist,
maybe the chaplain are invited to stand
in silence around the stretcher or the bedside for only
45 seconds and honor the life of this patient who no one knew
but was someone's daughter, sister, loved one,
and honor the good work of this team and each other.
It's not religious.
But if you wish to say a silent Hail Mary,
you know, knock yourself out.
We've even had family members be there.
Imagine how meaningful this is to them.
So it's catching on not just at UVA,
but it's around the nation and the world.
It's in over 100 hospitals and four continents.
It provides a sense of healing and closure
for this end of life exit, the final exit.
So why is this important?
This brief ritual values the life
of our patients, their families, and affirms the good work
that each team member tried to do.
Jonathan's work has gone viral.
So notice and pause.
I'm distilling my whole 47 year career into two words--
notice and pause.
Pausing is important today because we are all
rushing all the time.
We think we can multitask, but the neuroscience researchers
say, no, as it really hurts the brain.
Pico Iyer notes in his Art of Stillness
that we now have the urgency of slowing down.
Pausing can lead to wise and thoughtful action,
even new ways of being.
Example-- what might it mean to pause before you
say something unkind?
Before you proceed instinctively and forget to notice
and listen to a new voice, maybe a
counter to your preconceived ideas?
All right.
So I'm going to give one more bonus story.
I learned that from President Ryan.
This is a quick bonus story, a last exit story.
In 2002, I was teaching at Georgetown University
and was recruited to the University of California San
Francisco.
At the time, it was the number one school
of nursing in the country.
I'm very competitive, so I moved.
I had an 11-year-old son, and my new dean said to me,
perfect time to move.
What she meant was that move them
before they start high school because that's a lot tougher.
So Sumner, my son, entered seventh grade in San Francisco.
And every day, my husband Barry and I
heard, "I had a good life.
Why did you move me?"
It was kind of painful.
By eighth grade, he'd found Haight-Ashbury.
He bought an electric guitar.
He joined a little rock band, and life was good.
By senior year in high school at St. Ignatius, he truly loved--
he told people he was from San Francisco.
In March of his senior year, his favorite teacher, Mr. Castro,
told the class one day, "All right,
here are the three Cs for going to college.
First, go to class.
Second, don't do cocaine.
And third, use a condom."
[LAUGHTER]
Well, the students loved this and told their parents
what Mr. Castro said.
And the parents were just a little bit wigged out,
but not the moms who were nurses because we thought
this was pretty good advice.
[LAUGHTER]
But, again, it's a Catholic school,
so there are lots of attention.
Recently, I contacted Mr. Castro in an email,
and he told me recently he did get in trouble.
And he's now an administrator.
So, there.
[LAUGHTER]
So I've turned his three Cs into my own.
I've done this for 11 years.
I've turned his three Cs into my own, as I end here.
I offer these three Cs for a possible wise exit
strategy from our beloved UVA.
First, consider a grateful stance, thanking others.
Notice who may need our appreciation or who could be
overlooked and needs our thanks.
Every night, consider these three things
that you are grateful for, even simple ones
like a great conversation with your roommate.
Someone told you that you did a good job.
Write them down.
I tell our nurses to do this on the way home
from clinical in their heads because
after that 12-hour shift, it's so easy to recount all
that you did not do.
Second, cultivate compassion and kindness toward others.
George Saunders, in a convocation speech
at Syracuse years ago, spoke of regrets in his life.
Number one was failure of kindness.
He mentions a story of his third grade
where a little girl was bullied every day,
and he stood by and did nothing until she left the school.
He's still remembered that.
He talks of high kindness and low kindness periods.
So increase the highs.
Remember the stories of the Dalai Lama and The Pause,
and know that compassionate action
starts with noticing and then pausing for wise action.
In fact, there is no compassion without action.
Third, celebrate the wonder in exiting with style and grace.
Be courageous despite your fears and anxieties,
because I know you have them.
Actually, I have them, too.
But you've survived well and likely thrived.
So in conclusion, nursing puts us in touch with being human.
I was lucky enough to have chosen
a profession four decades ago that put me in touch with being
fully human.
Whatever your degree today, I wish the same for you.
This approach and considering being, not just the doing,
will help create real meaning in your life.
All your faculty and administrators and staff at UVA
who love you, as well as your families, all
wish this for you.
So as I reflect on my own exit, I
am reminding myself to notice, to pause, to act with wisdom
and grace as best I can.
I join you in this exit today as a fellow traveler.
We are all fellow travelers.
Wishing you a memorable and graceful exit and, of course,
a wonderful arrival.
Thank you so very much.
[APPLAUSE]
The president of the university.
Thank you, Dorrie.
Thank you.
Can you hear me?
OK.
Thank you, Dorrie, for those remarks and for your service.
On a personal note, I'm going to miss you terribly.
So I hope you all will join me in one more round of applause
for Dorrie Fontaine.
[APPLAUSE]
We will now award degrees.
But before we do, I'd like to take a moment
to recognize 31 students here today
who have earned their baccalaureate
degrees in three years.
As a symbol of their achievement,
these students are wearing orange stoles today.
Will those of you who are graduating early please
stand so we can give you a well-deserved round
of applause?
[APPLAUSE]
I'd also like to recognize the more than 400 students who
are the first in their families to graduate
from college this weekend.
[APPLAUSE]
As a fellow first generation student,
I want to say how delighted I am for all of you
and how much I admire your accomplishments
and how much I'm grateful to those who helped
you reach this milestone.
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.
Today, we will award 1,510 baccalaureate degrees,
431 first professional degrees, 2,099 graduate degrees,
including 1,873 master's degrees, three education
specialist degrees.
Can we hear it from them?
The three--
[WHOOPING]
Yeah, all right, all right.
191 PhDs--
[WHOOPING]
--12 EDDs, and 20 doctor of nursing practice degrees.
[CHEERING]
The deans of the schools of the university
will now present the candidates for degrees
under authority vested in the general faculty
and delegated to me.
I will then award the degrees.
Immediately after these exercises,
school and department graduation ceremonies
will take place across the grounds.
The locations are listed in the finals program.
The executive vice president and provost of the university.
[APPLAUSE]
Champion of being well and healing well, the Dean
of the School of Medicine.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the School of Medicine,
I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirement for the degree of Doctor
of Medicine.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Medicine
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I charge you to use your training to heal the sick,
sustain the well, and protect the welfare of the young,
the old, and all who seek your care and counsel.
The doctors of medicine will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I charge you to use your knowledge
and training to become leaders in your fields,
advancing research, curing diseases,
and educating the next generation of scholars.
The doctors of philosophy in biomedical sciences
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Master of Public Health
or Master of Science in the School of Medicine
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Public Health or Master of Science
in the School of Medicine.
I confer upon you the degree of Master of Public Health
or Master of Science in the School of Medicine
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I charge you to pursue innovative research
to advance clinical care and patient
outcomes while improving health care
and policies affecting our communities.
The masters of public health and masters
of science in the School of Medicine will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
Now presenting the justice-engendering and genial
Dean of the School of Law.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the School of Law,
I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Juridical Science.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor
of Juridical Science with all the rights and privileges there
unto belonging.
And I congratulate you on the completion
of the highest degree that can be earned in the study of law.
I urge you to use your specialized training
and research abilities to advance fair and equitable
application of the law.
The doctors of juridical science will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Master of Laws
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Laws.
I confer upon you the degree of Master of Laws
with all the rights and privileges there unto belonging
and charge you to use your advanced knowledge
of the law in pursuit of justice and the betterment
of humankind.
The masters of laws will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Juris Doctor
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Juris Doctor.
I confer upon you the degree of Juris Doctor
with all the rights and privileges there unto belonging
and charge you to preserve individual liberties, freedom,
and justice through the due process of the law.
The juris doctors will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I now call upon the inventive, ingenious, and innovative Dean
of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
[CHEERING]
Candidates for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Engineering, please
rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Engineering.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Engineering and Applied Science
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I charge you to pursue discoveries and inventions
for the betterment of humankind, to work
on the frontiers of applied knowledge,
and to communicate to the next generation
the excitement of science.
Doctors of philosophy in engineering, please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
Candidates for master's degree in engineering,
please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for master's degrees
in engineering.
I confer upon you the master's degree
in engineering and applied science with all the rights
and privileges there unto belonging and charge you
to pursue rigorous research that advances modern technology
and sustains human life.
Masters of engineering, please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
Candidates for bachelor's degrees in engineering,
please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for bachelor's degrees
in engineering.
I confer upon you the bachelor's degree
in engineering and applied science with all the rights
and privileges there unto belonging
and charge you to use your knowledge and skills
to transform the principles of science and mathematics
into new and useful technologies.
Bachelors in engineering, please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I now call upon the learned, uplifting,
and curious Dean of the Curry School of Education and Human
Development.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degrees of Doctor
of Philosophy in Education, Doctor of Education,
or Education Specialist will please rise
and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the Curry School of Education
and Human Development, I have the honor
to present these candidates who have fulfilled
the requirements for the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy
in Education, Doctor of Education,
or Education Specialist.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in Education, Doctor of Education,
or Education Specialist with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
And I charge you to pursue research
that will support teachers' work and advance student learning
in the nation's schools and colleges and universities.
The doctors of philosophy in education,
doctors of education, and education specialists
would please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Master of Education or Master
of Teaching will please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Education or Master of Teaching.
I confer upon you the degree of Master of Education or Master
of Teaching with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging and charge you
to be creative in stimulating learning
and in conveying to your students
the responsibilities that belong to educated
citizens in a free nation.
The masters of education and masters of teaching
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Education will please rise
and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Education.
I confer upon you the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Education with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging, and I charge
you to use your knowledge, skills, and compassion
to enrich the lives of the people whom you
will serve in your professions.
The bachelors of science in education
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I now call upon the daring and industrious Dean of the Darden
School of Business.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in Business Administration will please rise
and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the Darden School of Business,
I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Business Administration.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in Business Administration with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I charge you to use your knowledge and research skills
to promote innovation, progress, and equity in business
administration.
The doctors of philosophy in business administration
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Master
of Business Administration will please rise
and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Business Administration.
I confer upon you the degree of Master
of Business Administration with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging and challenge you to bring
innovation, the entrepreneurial spirit, and ethical integrity
to your leadership and practical affairs in this nation
and in the world.
The masters of business administration
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I call now upon the creative and constructive Dean
of the School of Architecture.
[CHEERING]
The candidate for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in the Constructed Environment will please stand.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, as Dean of the School of Architecture,
I have the honor to present this candidate who
has fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in the Constructed Environment.
You are unique.
[APPLAUSE]
I confer upon you and you alone--
[LAUGHTER]
--the degree of Doctor of philosophy in the Constructed
Environment with all the rights and privileges there unto
belonging and charge you to find some friends--
[LAUGHTER]
--to encourage the prudent development and rigorous study
of built human spaces through research, teaching, and design.
[APPLAUSE]
The doctor of philosophy in the constructed environment
will please be seated.
I think she's sat down.
[LAUGHTER]
The candidates for the degrees of Master
of Architectural History, Architecture, Landscape
Architecture, or Urban and Environmental Planning
will please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Architectural History, Architecture,
Landscape Architecture, or Urban and Environmental Planning.
I confer upon you the appropriate master's degree
with all the rights and privileges there unto belonging
and charge you to shape rich and humane environments that
acknowledge the heritage of our past while
anticipating the needs of our future.
The masters of architectural history, architecture,
landscape architecture, and urban and environmental
planning will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degrees of Bachelor of Architectural
History, Bachelor of Science in Architecture,
or Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning
will please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Architectural History, Bachelor of Science
in Architecture, or Bachelor of Urban and Environmental
Planning.
I confer upon you the appropriate bachelor's degree
with all the rights and privileges there unto belonging
and charge you to use your knowledge
to preserve and shape environments that inform
and magnify the quality of life itself.
The bachelors of architectural history,
bachelors of science in architecture,
and bachelors of urban environmental planning
will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I call next upon the caring and compassionate
and quite loquacious Dean of the School of Nursing.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the School of Nursing,
I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Nursing Practice.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor
of Nursing Practice with all the rights and privileges there
unto belonging, and I charge you to apply
your specialized knowledge and abilities
to the work of enhancing the profession of nursing
as you enter practice or as you teach aspiring nurses.
The doctors of nursing practice will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these graduates--
these candidates who have fulfilled the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing.
I confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging, and I challenge
you to pursue research that will shape
the future of health care.
The doctors of philosophy in nursing will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Master of Science in Nursing
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Science in Nursing.
I confer upon you the degree of Master of Science in Nursing
with all of the rights and privileges there
unto belonging, and I charge you to use your advanced knowledge
and skills to promote the health and well-being
of the individuals, families, and communities you serve.
The masters of science in nursing will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing
will please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Nursing.
I confer upon you the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging, and I challenge
you to promote human health and to strive to improve
the lives of persons in need.
The bachelors of science in nursing will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I call upon the enterprising and entrepreneurial Dean
of the McIntire School of Commerce.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degrees of Master
of Science in Accounting, Commerce, Global Commerce,
or the Management of Information Technology
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Science in Accounting, Commerce, Global Commerce,
or the Management of Information Technology.
I confer upon you the degree of Master
of Science in Accounting, Commerce, Global Commerce,
or Management of Information Technology
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging.
I encourage you to use your business knowledge
and decision-making skills to help organizations
create value and use their resources responsibly
for the benefit of citizens throughout the world.
The masters of science in accounting, commerce,
global commerce, and the management of information
technology will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce
will please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Commerce.
I confer upon you the degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce
with all the rights and privileges
there unto belonging, and I encourage
you to create value and improve the world through your business
schools, ever aware of the implications of business
decisions on society and our environment.
The bachelors of science in commerce will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I call next upon the mature and upwardly mobile
Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Interdisciplinary
Studies or Bachelor of Professional Studies in Health
Sciences Management will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the School of Continuing
and Professional Studies, I have the honor
to present these candidates who have fulfilled
the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Interdisciplinary Studies or Bachelor
of Professional Studies in Health Sciences Management.
I confer upon you the degree of Bachelor of Interdisciplinary
Studies or Bachelor of Professional Studies
in Health Sciences Management with all
of the rights and privileges there unto belonging.
I commend your commitment to lifelong learning,
and I challenge you to continue in that spirit
as you further your education, pursue your career,
and strive to reach other goals.
The bachelors of interdisciplinary studies
and bachelors of professional studies in health sciences
management will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
Like to call upon the pioneering and persevering
Dean of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public
Policy.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Master of Public Policy
will please rise and remain standing.
Mr. President, as Dean of the Frank Batten
School of Leadership and Public Policy,
I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Public Policy.
I confer upon you the degree of Master
of Public Policy with all the rights and privileges there
unto belonging and charge you to use your new knowledge
and skills to provide strong leadership in the careers
and communities you enter and to craft wise, morally sound,
and well-informed roadmaps for our republic and the greater
global community.
Masters of public policy, please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
The candidates for the degree of Bachelor
of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership
will please rise and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who
will fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Bachelor
of Arts of Public Policy and Leadership.
I confer upon you the degree of Bachelor
of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership
with all of the rights and privileges there
unto belonging, and I encourage you
to use what you have learned here
to serve our nation and the world through your work
in government, education, nonprofit, and private sectors.
Bachelors of arts in public policy and leadership,
please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
Finally, I call upon the naturally and artificially
intelligent Director of the Data Science Institute.
[CHEERING]
The candidates for the degree of Master
of Science in Data Science will please rise
and remain standing.
[CHEERING]
Mr. President, as Director of the Data Science Institute,
I have the honor to present these candidates who
have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master
of Science in Data Science.
I confer upon you the degree of Master of Science
with all the rights and privileges there unto belonging
and charge you to use your knowledge
and skills to continue exploring, analyzing,
and safeguarding data to make discoveries to advance
the world while treating data ethically and with regard
to the privacy rights of individuals.
The masters of science in data science will please be seated.
[APPLAUSE]
I would like to take a moment to thank
our alliterative and prolific provost.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
The Chair of the University of Virginia Alumni Association
Board of Manager.
[APPLAUSE]
Good morning.
I'm Joey Smith.
I am here on behalf of the Alumni Association.
What an exciting day.
I said yesterday and I'll repeat today,
I'm almost as excited as you because I finally
get to walk The Lawn.
50 years ago, when I graduated from law school, it rained.
So we went inside, and I never experienced this.
I was fortunate enough to see three of my children
walk The Lawn.
So I understand the feeling of excitement and pride and relief
that all of the parents here today feel.
It's just a great day for all of us.
But enough about me.
Let's talk about you.
First, congratulations.
Actually, congratulations twice.
When you were accepted to the university two, three,
four, five--
I'm not going back any further than that--
years ago, it was a great accomplishment.
It was quite a competitive situation,
and your acceptance reflected well on your academics,
but more so on your commitment to your school
and to your community.
Today, you're about to join our alumni family, 240,000 strong.
It's quite an accomplishment and something
you should really be proud of.
As I said, I'm here on behalf of the Alumni Association.
But before I talk to you about the Alumni Association,
there are two numbers I want you to remember from today.
The first is 200, and that's pretty easy.
Because about 200 years ago, Mr. Jefferson
founded this university.
Think about it, though.
Take a minute and think about the incredible people
who have walked this Lawn before you,
the alumni of our university and what they have accomplished.
And that alone should motivate you
to high ideals and great thoughts.
The second number is 40, and that's a little tougher
to come up with.
But it's been 40 days since the men's basketball
team won the NCAA championship.
[CHEERING]
Wahoowah.
Now let's talk a little bit about the Alumni Association.
We're housed in that white building
over across from Mem Gym, the Alumni Hall.
It is and has become a real focal point for the grounds.
It hosts reunions.
It hosts meetings with undergraduates
and graduates and teachers.
It really is the focal point of the association.
But it really, also, is just a tip
of the iceberg as to what we do.
The Alumni Association is an independent organization,
and its main and primary goal is to be a voice for the alumni,
to represent your views to the university.
In addition to that, the Alumni Association
supports the Ridley Scholarship Fund for black students.
I hope some of you have been a beneficiary of that.
It also was the genesis of the Jefferson Scholars Program.
If you're an athlete and you've received any money
from the Athletics Foundation, you
should know that that also started at Alumni Hall.
We have a program for children of alumni that work with them
so they can understand what needs
to be accomplished in order to attend the university.
I hope, again, some of you have benefited from that.
The Alumni Association also publishes the Alumni Magazine,
awards over $2 million in scholarships,
and supports the Parents Fund.
One of our great accomplishments that
was mentioned earlier in connection
with the missing nurses is the Jefferson Trust.
The Jefferson Trust brings together faculty, alumni,
undergraduates, and talks about ideas
and turns them into action, making awards and letting
people pursue their dreams.
A recent success story is the Data Science Institute.
So why am I standing up here telling you
all this about the Alumni Association?
To go back to where I started, the Alumni Association
is the voice of the alumni.
If you're not a part of it, we cannot be your voice.
We need you to participate in the Alumni Association.
We need you to come to reunions.
We need you to be a life member of the Association.
And mostly, we need you to participate
whether at your local level or some of our programs here.
That way, our voice will be louder and stronger.
And it will also give you an opportunity
to remain connected to this great university.
So once again, congratulations.
And remember, 200 and 40.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
The president of the university.
Thank you, Mr. Smith.
As you know, we're fortunate to have a strong and tight-knit
community of alumni whose time on grounds
profoundly shaped their lives, and I'm
grateful that so many of those alumni
have worked so hard to give others the same experience.
Those of you who graduate today have
benefited from the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends
in ways large and small, and I want
to thank all of you who have already joined this tradition
through your class gifts.
At this point, I am the only person
keeping you from your school ceremonies
and celebrating with your family and friends.
And in case you hadn't noticed, it's a little warm.
Doesn't help that you all wore black robes,
but that's your fault.
[LAUGHTER]
I just want to leave you with one simple and brief hope,
exceedingly brief, which is that you
remember what happened here.
When I say that, I'm not talking about just remembering
a specific class you took or an event that happened,
although, of course, I hope you do.
Instead, I hope you remember the feeling of being
here in this place with these people
and that you carry it with you.
That you remember what it felt like
to be surrounded by a diverse group of fellow students
who are as compassionate as they were talented.
That you remember what it felt like to spend time with faculty
who cared about something as much as you did
and who opened your eyes in ways you never could have predicted.
That you remember what it felt like
to make friends with whom you'll share
the rest of your lives, what it felt like to build bridges
to new people and new ideas, and what it felt
like to serve others, and how all this changed and enriched
your lives.
I hope you remember as well the feeling of being a Wahoo
and that you also remember that most
of the people you meet from now on
will have no idea what that means.
[LAUGHTER]
Finally, I hope you remember that in streaking,
as in life, it's important to leave enough
in the tank for the trip back.
[LAUGHTER]
I express these hopes because while you
may have to leave this place, this place does not
have to leave you.
And if you carry this place with you,
I believe it will help you face the road ahead,
a road that will be at various turns beautiful, tragic,
joyous, challenging, and magical.
And should that road ever lead you back
to Charlottesville, which I hope it will, please know that we'll
leave the lights on for you.
Congratulations, class of 2019, and good luck.
[CHEERING]
School and department ceremonies scheduled for this afternoon
will take place in fair weather locations
and will begin after graduates and their guests
have ample time to reach their ceremony sites.
If your ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM or sooner,
please proceed directly to your ceremony venue.
Graduates, please stand for the singing of The Good Old Song.
[MUSIC - "THE GOOD OLD SONG"]
[CHEERING]
[UPBEAT MUSIC]