Office of the Chancellor > Speeches, Columns and Letters > Spring Commencement 2008

Spring Commencement 2008
May 9, 2008

Graduates, Chair Hayes, Regents, President Benson, members of the faculty and staff, parents, distinguished guests, family and friends; I am pleased to welcome you to the May 2008 commencement at the University of Colorado at Boulder!

I know today's graduates join me in extending a special welcome to their families and friends whose love and support have helped to make this day possible. Please join me in showing them our appreciation.

Here with us today are many members of the faculty who have guided and mentored these students and shared with them their time, knowledge and expertise to help each student reach this important milestone and their full potential. Will the faculty please stand and be recognized?

Today we are conferring 4,293 bachelor's, 792 master's, 242 doctoral and 161 law degrees in 30 different disciplines. Four hundred sixty students are graduating with honors and 201 students will receive dual degrees. But beyond the numbers, the Class of 2008 has a special place in my heart and the hearts of CU alumni everywhere.

You, the class of 2008 arrived on campus at a time when the university was under intense scrutiny and facing many challenges. And some may have asked you "Why CU?" Yet you chose to come to CU. You had confidence in us. You knew things would get better. And they have.

Today, we are experiencing unparalleled success on many fronts and our future has never looked brighter.

This past year we have achieved all-time highs in the number of freshman applications, the diversity of our student body, fundraising and federal research revenues. And we have the honor of rewarding your confidence in us, with a degree that will continue to increase in value and one that will transform your lives and your careers.

Like this great university your future also is bright. We are confident that your time here at CU has prepared you well for contributions in the global workplace of the 21st century. For in addition to the education and life lessons you have received, you are a truly amazing group.

Let me give you four quick examples.

First, we have three marvelous new buildings, that were funded in part by a student-led plan that mandated additional student fees to help pay for critically needed educational facilities during a time when the state could not provide the necessary support. These three buildings—ATLAS, Wolf Law and Koelbel business were open to you for your education. One of these, the new Visual Arts Complex, is now under construction and while it will open in little more than a year, most of you will never be able to benefit from it. Yet you supported its construction anyway. These four "green" buildings will forever be your legacy and the legacy of the students of this era. This state-of- the-art buildings will be here for your younger siblings, your children and your grandchildren.

Second, as a group you have helped to establish an ethos of community service and civic engagement. This past year, CU was one of only three universities in the nation to be selected from more than 530 nominations, to receive the Presidential Award for Community Service and Civic Engagement. Nearly 14,000 students devoted more than 360,000 hours of community service in 2007 alone. As a group, you helped redefine CU-Boulder as a place where scholarship, social consciousness and civic engagement are the norm.

Third, together we moved forward in supporting a sustainable planet. CU was a founding signatory of the President's Climate Commitment in which we promised to bolster our already substantial efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now, more than 500 universities have followed our lead and signed this pledge. With this commitment and others, the Class of 2008 steadfastly upheld CU's legacy of leadership in sustainability and renewable energy.

Fourth, you are the first era of students to live the entirety of your career at CU by a student-developed Honor Code. And you have fully embraced the Colorado Creed, a voluntary code of conduct that promotes principles such as action, honor, integrity and accountability.

 As Mahatma Ghandi said, "What lies ahead of you and what lies behind you—is nothing compared to what lies within you."

When people invest in an organization during difficult times, that investment has special meaning. The investment by you and your parents is not lost on us. It was your commitment and confidence in CU that has helped raise CU to a level of excellence and success we enjoy today. The payoff will be the eternal value of your CU degree.

As part of this celebration, I would like to recount some of the remarkable successes that you—as members of the class of 2008—along with our outstanding faculty have accomplished. 

Just last week we learned that, according to a national report published by the Center for Measuring University Performance, CU-Boulder ranks 26th in the country among Top Public Research Universities.

In graduate school rankings released by U.S. News and World Report in March, five CU graduate specialty programs were ranked in the top 10 nationally. This includes three physics specialty programs, environmental law and physical chemistry.

While this national ranking places us ahead of a number of several accomplished universities and reflects our many successes, it is not all that we aspire to be. We want to attract, develop and retain the highest quality faculty possible and we are succeeding.

In Arts and Sciences, two CU-Boulder faculty have been elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences. They are former University of Colorado Museum Director and anthropology Emeritus Professor Linda Cordell and Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Professor James Hynes. These are two among only 212 scholars, scientists and artists from 20 states and 15 countries elected to the academy in 2008.

Nobel-laureate Physicist Carl Weiman is bringing new approaches to learning and the teaching of science to several academic departments on campus. For his ground-breaking efforts, he was elected the prestigious National Academy of Education.

Two University of Colorado at Boulder professors have been awarded Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships for 2007 and a third has received a Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship. The Guggenheim recipients are Professor Paul Kroll of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Professor Mark Winey of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. Professors Kroll and Winey were among 189 fellows nationwide selected from more than 2,800 applicants.

Chemistry and biochemistry Professor Marvin Caruthers earned the nation's highest accolade for scientific achievement, the National Medal of Science, during a White House ceremony last July.

Professor Andrew Staehelin has been named the first recipient of the new Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists award in July for his distinguished contributions to plant biology.

And three faculty members were named distinguished professors, the highest honor bestowed by CU on its teaching faculty. This prestigious designation was awarded to Professor Kristi Anseth of chemical and biological engineering, Professor Margaret Murname of physics and electrical and computer engineering and Professor Norman Pace of molecular, cellular and developmental biology.

To assist in our teaching mission, the School of Education together with the College of Arts and Sciences received a $2.4 million dollar grant from the National Math and Science Initiative to recruit math and science students to become educators, and to improve the preparation of math and science teachers.

And our students are excelling as well. Mario Diaz-Moresco, a junior in the College of Music, has been invited to join the roster of national and international professional singers at Central City Opera, to appear in a major role in their production of West Side Story this summer.

Graduate student Josh Quinlan just won a national Downbeat Magazine Award for "Best Solo Jazz Performance of the Year." This is the 15th award garnered by CU Jazz students in the past 8 years.

Just this week, Elena Smirnova, a senior in the College of Music, was awarded first prize in the College Adult Division of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition and will perform at Carnegie Hall on May 18.

And composer Daniel Kellogg's major work, entitled "Fiery Furnace" had its world premiere by the San Diego Symphony and Symphony Chorus in April.

In Engineering, Benjamin Safdi who is graduating with dual degrees in engineering physics and applied math was selected as one of 13 Churchill Scholars, a $25,000 award for a year's study at Cambridge University. Ben also received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

The Integrated Teaching & Learning Program, which provides hands-on, interdisciplinary education to thousands of engineering undergraduates and K-12 students each year, was recognized with the nation's top prize for innovation in engineering and technology education, the 2008 Bernard M. Gordon Prize from the National Academy of Engineering.

Bernard Amadei, a professor of civil engineering who founded Engineers Without Borders, along with his students, received three major honors for his leadership in bringing the basic necessities of water, power, and sanitation to remote, poverty-stricken areas of the world. Engineers Without Border's sustainable engineering projects now total 50 in 48 countries and involve countless students from a variety of disciplines.

In the Leeds School of Business, three of our MBA students in the Leeds School of Business—Tetyana Hinkson, Kristin Apple and David Crater—teamed up to win an international case study competition in Germany and can rightfully be called World Champions. Their win clearly demonstrated that our Leeds School of Business students are among the best in the world.

Students studying at CU Law School's American Indian Law Clinic won cases in front of both the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court. These pro bono cases dealt with the adoptions and guardianship of American Indian children.

And for the first time in the Law School's history, student teams won second place in two national moot court competitions against more than 150 law schools nationwide.

Clearly, you have all been a part of an exciting and momentous time in the history of this great university. I ask that you remember this day as we celebrate with you the completion of one dream and the beginning of many others.

To the class of 2008, I ask that as you move onto your next challenge you remember us and know that you remain a valued member of this community that is the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Congratulations again and best wishes to you all.

Introduction of Jeanne Jackson
Now, it is with great pleasure that I introduce today's commencement speaker, Ms. Jeanne Jackson.

Since this special class of students and the university have persevered together to find remarkable success, it's only appropriate that our commencement speaker today epitomizes the definition of success. Jeanne P. Jackson, a 1974 CU-Boulder graduate in finance, has been recognized among Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" and was named one of "America's Most Influential Women" by Vanity Fair. She also is one of Business Week's "Top 25 Managers."

As a former CEO of Walmart.com, Banana Republic and Gap Direct, she serves on the boards of directors for the McDonald's Corp., Nike and Nordstrom.

She is the President of the Board of Trustees for the United States Ski and Snowboard Association, which is the governing body for the U.S. Olympic snow sports teams. She is a past member of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean's Advisors, and a current member of the University of California at Irvine Merage School of Business Board of Advisors.

Today she is general partner of the consumer goods strategy and investment firm she founded, MSP Capital. It's befitting that a person of such accomplishment was chosen to speak by this year's Senior Class Council. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Jeanne Jackson.