Spring Commencement

Closing Remarks for President Jo Ann M. Gora
Saturday, May 9, 2009; 10:00 a.m.; Old Quadrangle

Good morning! Thank you for your inspiring remarks, Senator Lugar, and thank you for all you have done for Ball State University. We look forward to your participation in our geothermal system groundbreaking in a few minutes.

Senator Lugar has talked a great deal about innovation this morning; I want to take a moment to add to his thoughts. Today is a day of celebration, but I know that as you graduate, many of you do so with worries about the future. The news is filled with sobering economic forecasts and daunting job prospects. That news is real, but I want to put it into its proper perspective.

First, this is not the first time that economic prospects have been challenging for a graduating class--and you, like your predecessors at the university, will make your way through these difficulties and emerge better and stronger for it. I have found that Ball State students embrace innovation with a "can-do" attitude. One of the hallmarks of an education at this university is an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to solving problems. That approach will serve you well in this economy.

In fact, one could make the case that innovation and entrepreneurship are the very foundation of this university. In October, we celebrated the 90th anniversary of Ball State's founding. As most of you know, that happened when the five Ball brothers purchased a teacher-training school during an economic downturn. With their innovative attitude and their entrepreneurial approach, they then made significant improvements to that school with their own finances and turned the deed over to the state legislature so all of Indiana's citizens could benefit from its offerings. The partnership with the Ball family has continued for 90 years and led to a university that offers close to 300 degree programs to 20,000 students--quite a return of that original investment.

Second, thinking outside the box will continue to pay dividends throughout your working life. As a sociologist, I am well aware of the studies that show that you and others of your generation will change careers--not just jobs, but careers--six or seven times in your lifetime. Some of those careers will be in professions that we cannot even imagine today. I firmly believe that a college education is the best possible preparation for a lifetime of careers, rather than the training for your first job that so many portray it to be. If you keep your entrepreneurial outlook and your quest for innovative solutions intact, you will come to view these junctures in your life as exciting opportunities, instead of intimidating pressure points.

I know that you will be successful at this because you have embraced that innovative and entrepreneurial approach as students. You were key to the lively discussions of the bestselling book, "The Tipping Point," in Freshman Connections and to the successful campus visit by author Malcolm Gladwell. That tradition has continued right through the recent visits by thought-provoking experts, including Robert F. Kennedy Junior and Thomas Friedman.

You were key to the expansion of our popular Late Nite program and your accomplishments--in and out of the classroom--fuel the continuing implementation of our Education Redefined strategic plan and the exciting success of our Ball State Bold capital campaign. Your innovative successes in completing immersive learning projects around Indiana have increased this university's reputation and improved Hoosiers' lives, and your digital expertise was a major reason we launched Ball State's Emerging Media Initiative.

Your creativity and enthusiasm have not been limited to the classroom. They were evident when we welcomed then-candidate Barack Obama to campus a little more than a year ago. They were even more evident when so many of you stood on McKinley Avenue--a road that looks completely different than it did just a few weeks before your arrival as freshmen--to hear Dave Letterman speak as we dedicated the building in his name in September 2007. You filled the newly renovated Scheumann Stadium to capacity week after week last fall to cheer on your football Cardinals as they completed an undefeated regular season. You were there to welcome the women’s basketball team back to Muncie after the Cardinals not only made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in history, but also earned an upset victory over two-time defending national champion Tennessee in the first round.

Whether you realize it or not, you have been a crucial part of one of the most memorable periods in Ball State history. And as you graduate, you will continue to be very important to this university. Our strategic plan includes many outcome measurements--as it should--to keep Ball State moving boldly into the future. For people you will meet, however, you will be the ultimate outcome measurement. Your entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach will be living proof of the value of a Ball State education.

You are well-prepared to be that living proof, because you have learned from the members of our faculty, some of the best models of entrepreneurship and innovation I can imagine. Many observers separate the roles of learners and teachers, or students and faculty, if you prefer. And while I value the traditions of commencement, it's also true that this perception of separation is reinforced at events such as this one. Teachers and learners are separated this morning by the order of march, by academic garb, and by seating arrangement. But any professor will tell you that when a class is really going well, those separations fade away. The key is that everyone is collaborating in the learning process. Education is truly effective when it is integrated, and I know you will carry that spirit of collaboration into your life after Ball State.

Today, we have gathered to honor your academic achievement and to show our pride in your accomplishments. We have symbolized your new status in the world of learning by granting you degrees. I now wish to recognize two other groups.

Members of the graduating class, I present to you for recognition the faculty who today wear academic regalia in a centuries-old tradition as a symbol of their commitment to teaching and to the search for truth. Our society has charged them to create, preserve, and transmit the accumulated wisdom of mankind to each new generation. Your graduation reflects their excellent performance. Will the faculty please stand? Please join with me in indicating our gratitude. Thank you. Please be seated.

There is another very special group of people whom we want to recognize and thank. Members of the graduating class, these individuals have provided you with counsel, friendship, support, and encouragement during your four years of study. Your graduation reflects their love and pride in you. Will the parents, spouses, relatives, friends, and sponsors of the graduates please stand and be recognized? We are very pleased to have all of you here today to share the joy of this occasion with those who are graduating. You may be seated.

Graduates, rest assured that those of us on campus are always rooting for your continued success. I look forward to hearing all of the success stories from those I have come to know so well. And I also look forward to sharing with you stories about Ball State's continued success, which will be based on the foundation of innovation and entrepreneurship that you worked so hard to build.

On behalf of the Ball State University Alumni Association, I welcome each of you into our alumni ranks, which now number more than 146 thousand. Please stay in touch. Keep us informed about the changes and achievements in your life, and remember that the Alumni Association is always ready--indeed, eager--to hear from you. Know that you are always welcome here on campus, whether for a visit, a committee meeting, a class reunion, Homecoming, an athletic contest, or even to continue your learning process.

I offer each of you my hearty congratulations on your accomplishments here on campus and my sincere best wishes for your future endeavors. Thank you for all that you have done for Ball State University; you are forever Cardinals! Enjoy the rest of this special day with your friends and family.