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ANNOUNCER: This is a production of Cornell University.
Ladies and gentlemen, the first of the academic procession has arrived. At the head of the procession is the University Marshal, Professor Charles Walcott. Following the university marshal is the banner for the class of 2009. The banner bearers are Michael [? Jimmison ?] McDermott and Ava [INAUDIBLE], class officers. Following the class banner will be the college or school academic units. Each college or school is identified by its name banner.
You will also see a symbol banner that visually represents and reflects the academic focus of that college or school. Bearers of the name and symbol banners are chosen by each college or school as an honor to recognize outstanding students.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The first to arrive behind the class banner are the PhD degree candidates of the graduate school.
[CHEERING]
The graduate school symbol banner is carried by Matthew Ryan Munson. The degree candidates are led by the Dean of the Graduate School, Professor Allison G. Power, and faculty marshals, Professor Jack Booker and Professor Jane Fajans. The PhD banner bearers are [INAUDIBLE] and Steven [INAUDIBLE]. The degree marshals are [? Li Jun ?] Phan and Haley Oliver.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the PhD degree candidates from the graduate school.
[APPLAUSE]
Next are the master degree candidates of the graduate school. The master degree banner bearers are Mario Guerrero and [INAUDIBLE] [? Gutierrez. ?] The degree marshals are [? Caitlin ?] Olsen and Joseph [? Rukus, ?] Jr.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Once again, the master degree candidates from the graduate school.
[APPLAUSE]
Next in the procession are the candidates from the College of Veterinary Medicine who will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
[CHEERING]
They are led by Dean Michael Kotlikoff. The degree marshals are Michelle Barrett and Katherine Miller. The college banner bearers are Steven Friedenberg and Anna [INAUDIBLE]. The symbol banner bearer is Keith [? Glass. ?] Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Veterinary Medicine.
[CHEERING]
Now entering the stadium are the doctor of law and master of law candidates from the law school, led by Dean Stuart Schwab. The degree marshals are Peter [? Chen Wei Liao ?] and Miriam Anna Esther Otero. The college banner bearers are Tina [? Garretty ?] and Ashley Edwards. The symbol banner bearer is Peter Milligan. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the law school.
Now entering the stadium are the masters of business administration candidates from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, led by Dean Joe Thomas. The degree marshals are Joanna [? Chang ?] and [INAUDIBLE]. The college banner bearers are Harrison [? Lung ?] and Jeffrey Osborne. The symbol banner bearer is John L. [? Burnett. ?]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, for your information, degree candidates from the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar participated in a separate ceremony earlier this month. Degree candidates from the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City will participate in a separate commencement ceremony that will be held on June 2.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the Johnson Graduate School of Management.
[CHEERING]
Now entering the stadium are the first of the undergraduate degree candidates, led by two class marshals. They are Caroline Newton and Tara Lynn [INAUDIBLE]. The senior class council banner is being carried by Hannah Gursky and John Rossman, also members of the senior class council.
The first undergraduate group is the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, led into the stadium by Dean Harry Katz. The degree marshals are Rachel Dorfman-Tandlich and Kimberly J. Goldfarb. The school's banner bearers are Dmitri K. [INAUDIBLE] and Danielle Rosenthal. The symbol banner bearer is Ryan J. [? Lavin. ?]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
[CHEERING]
The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning is now being led into the stadium by Dean Kent Kleinman.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The degree marshals for the architecture program are Mariela Alvarez and Aaron [INAUDIBLE]. The degree marshals for the fine arts program are Sarah Avril Humphreyville and Emily Lewis Parsons. The degree marshals for the planning program are Ephraim [? Zane ?] [? Biser ?] and Katherine McShane. The college banner bearers are Kathleen [? McDermott ?] and Lester [? Yu. ?] The symbol banner bearer is Agnes [INAUDIBLE].
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.
[CHEERING]
Next, the School of Hotel Administration is led into the stadium by Dean Michael Johnson. The degree marshals are Emily [? Vosburgh ?] and April [INAUDIBLE]. The school's banner bearers are Jeanette [INAUDIBLE] and Samuel Richard [? Bendix. ?] The symbol banner bearer is Jessica May Sacks.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the School of Hotel Administration.
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Now entering the stadium are the degree candidates from the College of Human Ecology, led by Dean Allen Matthews. The degree marshals are Jenna [? Anne ?] [? Grunes ?] and Anne L. Whitehouse. The college's banner bearers and Elaine Chung and Randy [INAUDIBLE]. The symbol banner bearer is Molly Marino.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The College of Engineering is next led into the stadium--
[CHEERING]
--led by Dean Christopher Ober. The degree marshals are Adam L. [INAUDIBLE] and Joshua [? Ang. ?] The college's banner bearers are Julie [? Leviter ?] and Michael [? Meyers. ?] The symbol banner bearer is [? Tanya ?] Gupta.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Engineering.
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Next to enter the stadium, led by Dean Susan A. Henry, is the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
[CHEERING]
The degree marshals are Robert [? Di Simone ?] and Stephen Sachs. The college's banner bearers are Yana [INAUDIBLE] and [INAUDIBLE]. The symbol banner bearer is Matthew [INAUDIBLE].
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
[CHEERING]
The degree candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences are now being led into the stadium by Dean G. Peter Lepage.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The degree marshals are [? So Yun Sarah Lee ?] and Caroline [INAUDIBLE]. The college banner bearers are [INAUDIBLE] and Tina C. Hang. The symbol banner bearer is Brian [? Mumford. ?]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Will all candidates for degrees please stand at this time?
[CHEERING]
Now entering the stadium is the administrative staff of the university, led by Provost W. Kent Fox and two faculty marshals, Professor Jerome [? Haas ?] and Professor Ann Lemley. The members of the faculty are now entering the stadium. They are led by the dean of the university faculty, Bill [? Fry. ?] The faculty marshals are Professor Steve Carvell, Professor Cornelia Barnum, Professor Howard Evans, and Professor Drew [INAUDIBLE].
[MUSIC PLAYING]
On behalf of the more than 6,000 graduates here today, thank you to the Cornell University faculty.
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Next in the procession are members of the university's board of trustees. The trustees are led by Chairman Peter C. [INAUDIBLE]. The faculty marshals are Professor Clifford [? Pollack ?] and Professor Michael Gold.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
University marshal Charles Walcott will now escort President David J. Skorton and the mace bearer, Professor Laura Brown, to their places on the platform.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Mr. President, for the 141st time, candidates for degrees from Cornell University have gathered for conferral of degrees and to celebrate this commencement. Members of the Board of Trustees, the faculty, administrative officers, and guests are in their places. The assembly is hereby called to order. Please, please remain standing as we join the Cornell University Glee Club and the chorus, accompanied by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble, in singing the "Star-Spangled Banner."
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC - "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER"]
CHOIR (SINGING): Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hail at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
[CHEERING]
ANNOUNCER: Everyone, please be seated.
[? SPEAKER: ?] Members of the class of 2009 and candidates for advanced degrees, families and friends of the graduates, faculty, staff, senior university leadership, members of the Board of Trustees, welcome to Cornell University's 141st commencement.
[CHEERING]
Today is the day to celebrate the achievement of the graduates and also a day to remember those who laid the foundation for their success. So first, let us recognize and thank the faculty, staff, trustees, and most of all, parents and families of the graduates.
[APPLAUSE]
The earning of a college degree is a significant achievement in the life of any student and a major milestone for family and friends. As a parent of a recent college graduate, I understand the pride that parents and other family members take in the accomplishments of their graduates, and I also know of the challenges that you faced along the way.
Each of today's graduates has a unique story of goals met and challenges overcome on the way to earning a Cornell degree, and so many of those graduating today have also dedicated their efforts toward public service. I want to recognize the 32 new Cornell graduates who have been accepted for service in the Peace Corps--
[APPLAUSE]
--those 41 graduates who have made commitments to serve with Teach For America--
[CHEERING]
--those 390 graduates in AmeriCorps--
[APPLAUSE]
--and other national and international service organizations, and the 18 ROTC cadets who were commissioned yesterday and who will be going on to serve our nation in the armed forces.
[APPLAUSE]
There are graduates missing today. The men's lacrosse team seniors could not be with us today.
[APPLAUSE]
They are with their teammates in Foxborough, Massachusetts, preparing for tomorrow's national championship game against Syracuse.
[CHEERING]
Their victory yesterday against number-one Virginia earned them the honor for the first time in 21 years. Somehow, I think they'd rather be there than here.
Applying their talents and skills to make a difference in the world comes naturally to Cornellians, and today's graduates are extending that commitment as they move on to life's next stage. In the current economic climate, we all appreciate the challenges facing this year's graduates. Back in the day, when your grandparents and even some of your parents were starting out, there was a standard career path for many. Join a good company, progress through the ranks, and retire from that same company 40 years later with a gold watch and a secure pension, but things are different in this time of recession.
Nationally, this year, fewer than 20% of graduating college seniors who applied for a job actually have one, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a decrease of more than 30% from two years ago, when more than half of those who applied for a job had one in hand on graduation day. And today's new graduates can expect to have many different jobs, and even several different careers, over the course of working lives.
Cornellians have advantages in finding employment, yet I realize from many conversations with current Cornell seniors that you, too, face a more uncertain future than you expected even last fall. Some are going on to graduate or professional school, but many are still looking for your next opportunity.
But I am confident that you will find those opportunities or create them for yourselves. Langston Hughes, novelist, playwright, and poet of the Harlem Renaissance, lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, and decades of racial segregation, yet retained an optimistic outlook. "I have discovered in life," he once said, "that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go if you really want to go."
That is true for each of today's graduates, no matter what degree you are receiving, no matter what career you intend to pursue. I have no doubt that virtually all of today's graduates will find satisfying jobs and that many of you will do it by a road that will be distinctively your own.
For example, Svante Myrick, who is graduating today from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been involved in the Cornell Public Service Center's Raising Educational Attainment Challenge, or REACH program, for eight semesters. This student-run initiative serves local children through tutoring and mentoring and reaches young people at over 25 sites in our area, including nursery schools, community centers, and juvenile detention facilities.
Svante's credits REACH with inspiring him to attempt new endeavors, serving, for example, as the youngest member of the Ithaca City Common Council. And as he completes his degree, he has shifted his focus from a career in broadcasting to one in educational policy. As he wrote recently in a blog post, "Learning about the problems of the achievement gap while simultaneously seeing firsthand the stories and lives of those directly affected by inequities in our system lit a fire in me. I am now motivated to work actively towards a solution." Thank you, Svante.
[APPLAUSE]
For example, Jessica Prue, an undergraduate business major earning her degree today, studied international and sustainable development in South America as a Cornell junior, visiting artisans, farms, and other sustainable businesses. Back on our campus, she pulled together other students to form the Social Business Consulting Group in order to help one of those South American businesses, a women's collective in Paraguay, find new international markets for its products.
The Social Business Consulting Group is now a project partner of the Center for Transformative Action, a Cornell affiliate that serves as an incubator for social enterprises. And last semester, it had projects in Haiti, India, Ecuador, and Cameroon. In recognition of her efforts, Jesse received the Meinig Family Cornell National Scholars Excellence in Leadership Award in ceremonies on Friday.
[APPLAUSE]
In the fall, Jesse will begin work with a foundation that connects social entrepreneurs with top-tier corporate law firms willing to provide legal assistance on a pro-bono basis.
Regardless of your major study, all of you graduating today have so much to offer as a result of your Cornell education. The experiences, skills, and ways of looking at the world that you have gained here will open new possibilities for personal growth and professional challenge throughout your lives, and much of that advantage will be as a result of the liberal arts component, formal and informal, of the education you have had at Cornell.
Liberal education is the cornerstone of a Cornell experience, and this is especially true in a time of national and personal uncertainty. I realize that some may object to championing the liberal arts on the basis of their utility, yet I believe we do a disservice to these disciplines if we fail to acknowledge that they provide the most useful and versatile education of all.
[APPLAUSE]
Let me remind you of five habits of mind, skills, and ways of perceiving that you have gained at Cornell beyond the excellent background in your chosen major as the result of being part of a university that values science, technology, the professions, and the liberal arts.
First, you leave with the ability to think critically about a variety of subjects, including those outside your immediate sphere of expertise. Not everyone earning a degree today may be equally adept at numerical analysis or differential equations or the finer points of statistical analysis, but as Cornell graduates, you have gained knowledge that is both broad and deep, along with a respect for evidence and a familiarity with logical reasoning and analytical thinking.
These skills will not only be useful in your careers, but will also help you understand complex issues facing our world, and contribute as informed citizens to public policy debates and decisions. Whether the issue is global warming or a swine flu pandemic, or--
[CHEERING]
--or strategies to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development around the world, critical thinking is an essential skill you'll put to good use in your life after Cornell.
Second, you gain the ability to express yourself with clarity, precision, and a sense of style. Dwight Eisenhower once defined an intellectual as someone who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.
[CHUCKLING]
Sounds like a commencement speaker.
[CHUCKLING]
But here at Cornell, the birthplace of Strunk and White's famous little book, Elements of Style, you've learned how to omit needless words, use active voice, and obey the other rules in what E. B. White described as the vast tangle of English rhetoric that he and his mentor, Will Strunk, attempted to cut down to size and write on the head of a pin.
From the New Student Reading Project, which for many of you centered around Chinua Achebe's classic Things Fall Apart, to the freshmen writing seminars and writing in the disciplines courses, to the steady stream of distinguished writers, including members of our own faculty and MFA graduates Juno Dias, Melissa Bank, and Julie Schumacher, who talked about writing and read from their work on campus this year, effective writing has been a part of your formal and informal education at Cornell. You, of course, have developed your own elements of style, when Twittering or texting your friends, and your skills in communication will continue to serve you well.
Third, Cornell is a science and technology powerhouse, but part of why we are a major force in education and creativity around the globe is that we also are greatly accomplished and committed to the arts and humanities. The breadth of your Cornell education has given you new ways to perceive, to influence, and to appreciate the world. At Cornell, we talk with each other, mathematicians and musicians, physicists and philosophers, engineers and experts in English literature, historians and [? hotelees. ?]
[CHEERING]
We explore one another's work, ideas, and experiences. We discover what intrigues others and how their minds work. The depth, the richness, the diversity of our ideas inspire cross-fertilization and originality.
[CHEERING]
[CHUCKLING]
If it has to do with nature, folks, cows and the vet school will be there.
[CHEERING]
Many of you became acquainted with great and small works of art, music, literature, history, philosophy, classics, and other humanistic studies in formal courses, others by more eclectic means. But whether you were among the 2,600 people who packed Barton Hall for this spring's [INAUDIBLE] Dance Exhibition--
[CHEERING]
[CHUCKLING]
--or performed with the Cornell Glee Club and Chorus in the remarkable production of "Bernstein's Mass" at the Schwartz Center, or spent time in reflection among the artistic treasures of the Johnson Art Museum, or discovered your own individualistic ways to explore or create literature, music, and art, you leave Cornell with a deeper and richer intellectual experience as a result.
More than one corporate CEO will tell you that the best books on leadership are history books, and that there is no better way to tell whether a job candidate will fit into an organization than to ask what are the recent books read and enjoyed. But there are more personal reasons for embracing the arts and humanities. Your experience with the arts and humanities will give you a more nuanced view of the world and expand the ways in which you can gain from life.
Fourth, as a result of a liberal arts education, you leave grounded in ethics, which should be the cornerstone of every profession in every walk of life. Indeed, some would argue that the lack of an ethical foundation is at the root of many of the problems we face today in our society.
[APPLAUSE]
From the culture of greed behind many of our recent economic missteps to profligate and unsustainable use of non-renewable natural resources to the conundrums posed by our scientific capabilities and genetically modified organisms, cloning, or the use of human embryonic stem cells for research, formal courses in ethics and philosophy provide a framework for our thinking and actions in areas of modern life about which we may not all agree, but so can reading a great novel in which the characters struggle with issues of life and death, right and wrong, social responsibility and personal pleasure, and other universals of the human experience. Through both these means integral to a liberal arts education, you have developed the ability to see values in the context of their encompassing cultures, rather than as absolutes.
Fifth, in this global campus community, a microcosm of our world, you have gained new ways of perceiving and connecting as a result of sharing ideas and personal friendships with people from many cultures, many backgrounds, and many nations. Through the efforts of individuals and groups on campus, we have made progress toward creating a community where all will feel welcome and valued, and where all will succeed and contribute to the overall quality, character, and vibrancy of this university.
And we've grappled with the question, as we still do, of how in the current time of great social upheaval, now compounded by a chilling economic climate, how are we going to work together when we have different backgrounds and different aspirations? How are we going to work together in ways that are effective, and orderly, and transparent, and consultative, and from which we can all move to a better place? At a time of great international tension, cross-cultural understanding is more essential than ever.
Legal scholar and philosopher Martha Nussbaum, in describing the aims of a liberal arts education, has argued for the development of the compassionate imagination which can make other people's lives more than distant abstractions. Only an education that reveals our common human strivings and our common human vulnerabilities, challenging us to see the distant, truly, she continues, can lead us into a world of peace and global cooperation. Your Cornell years have given you a strong foundation on which to continue to develop your compassionate imagination and to use your energy to make a difference in this world.
[APPLAUSE]
These are tough times. The future is uncertain, but one thing is abundantly clear. Building a path to a better tomorrow for ourselves and our children and the world will require advanced skills, deep knowledge, strong ethics, and the more expansive and broadly applicable habits of mind developed through education in the liberal arts.
As you leave Cornell and move on to the next stage, I urge you not to dwell too much on the uncertainties of your own individual futures, but instead to realize that the world stands in desperate need of your skills and your talents. You have graduated from one of the best research universities in the world. You are smart, knowledgeable, creative. During your time on campus, you have impressed us with your intelligence and also with your energy, sense of purpose, and commitment to service. The world needs what you have to offer, now more than ever.
One of our graduating seniors in civil and environmental engineering, Zaheer Tajani, reminded me recently that there is an inscription on the Eddy Street gate that served as the original entrance to this campus. You and I have walked past this 1,000 times on trips from campus to college town and back. It reads, "So enter that daily thou mayest become more learned and thoughtful. So depart that daily, thou mayest become more useful to thy country and to mankind."
I urge you to be creative and forceful in bringing your skills to bear on the problems we face, including the current economic dilemma, to be more useful to your country and to humankind. We need your creativity, your courage, your optimism. We need your clarity of purpose.
We need you to volunteer in your communities, to serve on school boards, to participate in the political process. We need you to contribute to non-profit organizations, and most of all, we need you to put those hard-won skills and habits of mind to use not only in your professional lives, but in service to your community and to the world. Members of the class of 2009 and candidates for advanced degrees, congratulations. And remember, we're counting on you.
[APPLAUSE]
[SINGING]
[? SPEAKER 2: ?] We will now proceed to the conferring of degrees granted in course. The first groups to be presented to the president for conferral of degrees are the graduate candidates who have completed work in the graduate school or in one of the professional schools. Will the Dean of the Graduate School, Allison G. Power, please step forward? Will the candidates for the doctoral degree from the graduate school please rise, and the degree marshals come to the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
ALISON POWER: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the graduate school for the appropriate degree of doctor of philosophy, doctor of musical arts, and doctor of the science of law.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Power. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the doctoral degree appropriate to your field of advanced study and research with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations.
[CHEERING]
ANNOUNCER: Cornell University welcomes the new doctors of philosophy and the doctors of musical arts to the ancient and universal company of scholars. Will the doctors please be seated?
[APPLAUSE]
Will the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Michael I. Kotlikoff, please step forward? Will the candidates for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine please rise, and the degree marshals come to the platform?
[CHEERING]
MICHAEL KOTLIKOFF: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine for the degree Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
[CHEERING]
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you. Thank you, Dean Kotlikoff. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations.
[CHEERING]
SPEAKER 3: Will the doctors of veterinary medicine please be seated?
[LAUGHTER]
Will the dean of the law school, Stuart Schwab, please step forward? Will the candidates for the degrees of doctor of law or master of laws please rise, and the degree marshals come to the platform?
STUART SCHWAB: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the law school for the degrees of doctor of laws and master of laws.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Schwab. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the degree of doctor of law and master of laws, with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER 3: Will the doctors of law and the master of laws candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the Graduate School, Allison G. Power, please return to the microphone? Will the candidates for the master degree in studies that have been directed by the Graduate School please rise, and will the degree marshals come to the platform?
[CHEERING]
ALISON POWER: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the Graduate School for the master degree in master of arts, master of science, master of architecture, master of arts in teaching, master of engineering--
[CHEERING]
--master of fine arts, master of food science, master of health administration--
[CHEERING]
--master of industrial and labor relations, master of landscape architecture, master of management and hospitality, master of professional studies, master of public administration, master of regional planning.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Power. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the master degree to which you are entitled, with all the rights, privileges honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations.
[CHEERING]
SPEAKER 3: Will the master's candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Joe Thomas, please step forward?
[CHEERING]
Will the candidates for the degree of Master of Business Administration from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management please rise, and will the degree marshals please come to the platform?
JOE THOMAS: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management for the degree of master of business administration.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Thomas. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the master of business administration degree with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations.
[CHEERING]
DAVID SKORTON: Will the master candidates please be seated? The next groups to be admitted to the fellowship of educated men and women are the candidates for bachelor degrees. Will the--
[CHEERING]
--will the two class marshals representing the entire Cornell University senior class please come to the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
In a moment, each college group will be called to rise for presentation to the president and then asked to be seated. After all the bachelor degree groups have been presented to the president, all the groups will be asked to rise again for the awarding of the degrees. The degree marshals for the bachelor degree groups will come forward to the base of the platform as each group is called. Will the Dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Harry Katz, please come forward?
[CHEERING]
HARRY KATZ: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations for the degree of bachelor of science.
Thank you, Dean Katz.
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will the candidates please be seated? Will the dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Kent Kleinman, please come forward?
[CHEERING]
Will the candidates for the degree of bachelor of architecture, and bachelor of fine arts and bachelor of science from the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning please rise, and will the degree marshals from the college please come to the front of the platform?
KENT KLEINMAN: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Architecture, Arts, and Planning for the degree of bachelor of architecture and bachelor of fine arts and bachelor of science.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Kleinman.
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will the candidates please be seated?
[CHEERING]
Will the Dean of the School of Hotel Administration, Dean Michael Johnson, please come forward?
[CHEERING]
Will the candidates for the degree of bachelor of science from the School of Hotel Administration please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
[CHEERING]
MICHAEL JOHNSON: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the School of Hotel Administration for the degree of bachelor of science.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Johnson.
[CHEERING]
ANNOUNCER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Human Ecology, Alan Mathios, please step forward?
[CHEERING]
Will the candidates for the degree of bachelor of science from the College of Human Ecology please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
[CHEERING]
ALAN MATHIOS: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Human Ecology for the degree of bachelor of science.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Mathios.
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Engineering, Christopher Ober, please come forward?
[CHEERING]
Will the candidates for the degree of bachelor of science from the College of Engineering please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
[CHEERING]
CHRISTOPHER OBER: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Engineering for the degree of bachelor of science.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Ober.
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Susan A. Henry, please come forward?
[CHEERING]
Will all the candidates for the degree of bachelor of science from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences please rise, and the degree marshals please to the front of the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
SUSAN HENRY: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for the degree of bachelor of science.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Henry.
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will the candidates please be seated?
[CHEERING]
Will the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, G. Peter Lepage, please come forward, and will the candidates for the degree of bachelor of arts from the College of Arts and Sciences please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
[CHEERING]
[? SPEAKER 4: ?] Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences for the degree of bachelor of arts.
DAVID SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Lepage.
[CHEERING]
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will all bachelor degree candidates please rise?
[CHEERING]
DAVID SKORTON: It is my privilege to recognize the candidates recommended by the deans and the faculties of these several schools and colleges for the appropriate bachelor degrees. By the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the bachelor degree appropriate to your field of study with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations, '09.
[CHEERING]
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will all the bachelor degree marshals please come up on the stage to shake hands with President Skorton?
[? SPEAKER 5: ?] Mike, you go ahead.
[CHEERING]
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] Will the assembly--
[CHEERING]
Will the assembly please stand for the singing of this evening's song and alma mater?
[SINGING]
[? ANNOUNCER: ?] We are nearing the conclusion of this 141st Cornell commencement. We thank you for being with us and congratulate our graduates. Please remain standing during the recessional until the faculty have left the field. Thank you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The 6,000 Cornellians who graduated May 24 have far fewer employment opportunities than two previous generations of alumni. But rather than dwell on their own uncertain futures, they were encouraged at Commencement ceremonies "to realize that the world stands in desperate need of your skills and talents."
Cornell President David Skorton pointed out that Cornellians have the advantage of a liberal arts education, perhaps "the most useful and versatile education of all" especially in a time of national and personal economic uncertainty. A liberal arts education offers five important "habits of mind": critical thinking, self-expression, a nuanced view of the world that comes from exposure to the arts and humanities, a sense of ethics and cross-cultural understanding, he said. "The depth, the richness and the diversity of our ideas inspire cross-fertilization and originality."