Gov. Granholm urges Class of 2003 to serve and to strive for moral excellence

April 26, 2003
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ANN ARBOR—In her first commencement address as governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm inspired University of Michigan graduates today (April 26) to use their diplomas for great things and not to squander their talents. Similarly, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman marked her first Spring Commencement as the University’s president since taking office in July 2002. Granholm challenged the graduates to embrace excellence and undertake service. “My wish is that when that diploma is handed to you—like a relay runner passes the baton—that you feel the force, feel the charge of leadership . and a calling to use that revered diploma to do a great thing,” Granholm said during exercises in Michigan Stadium. “To embody excellence, complexity and service, and then to become, as Gandhi would say, become the change you want to see in the world.” Undergraduate degrees were conferred on more than 6,400 members of the Class of 2003. A day earlier (April 25), the University granted 175 Doctorates and 1,143 master’s degrees at ceremonies in Crisler Arena. Granholm, inaugurated this year as Michigan’s 47th governor, and the state’s first female governor, offered the graduates several pieces of advice, such as preserving their commitment to excellence in things big and small. “Make sure that your commitment to excellence and success never becomes so narrow that it excludes a commitment to moral excellence,” she said, telling graduates that their keen thoughts and proven abilities should not lead to compromising solutions. The governor also urged the graduates to triumph in complexity, trusting the ways they learned of “diverse thoughts, of openness to ideas and respect for others.” “The stronger minds and stomachs you have acquired here for complexity, and the courage to ask tough questions and peel the onion, will build your capacity to lead,” she said. Graduates were also asked to ponder how they would leave their mark in life. “It is easy to serve yourself,” Granholm said. “Everyone is doing that. The essence of leadership is to build something much more than merely an alter of oneself.” During commencement, honorary doctoral degrees were conferred on Granholm, doctor of laws; Oleg Grabar, professor emeritus at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies, doctor of humane letters; Judith Jamison, director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, doctor of fine arts; Hillel I. Shuval, Lunenfeld-Kunen Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, doctor of science; John J.H. Schwarz, former Michigan state senator representing Battle Creek, doctor of laws; and Billy Taylor, jazz pianist and educator, doctor of music. Gov. Granholm’s remarks

U-M President Mary Sue Coleman’s remarks

E-mail:nconnell@umich.edu