President Richard Guarasci - Remarks
May 24, 2006
Wagner’s 119th Commencement
Welcome to the 119th Commencement Exercises of Wagner College. After four challenging years, your special day of recognition has arrived. You are an excellent class of graduates! On behalf of the entire College community, we extend our congratulations to and our admiration for all of your achievements, your leadership and your service to the campus, to New York City and to the nation.
I welcome all of our parents, families, friends, distinguished guests and members of our community.
You are a very special class. I can honestly say that in my 30+ years as a teacher, faculty member, dean, Provost and President, I have never met a graduating class that I admire more than the class of 2006. Collectively your accomplishments mirror the Wagner College mission of achievement, leadership and service.
You arrived at Wagner from all parts of the United States and a number of other nations; 40 states and 11 nations to be exact.
Your record of academic achievement is superb. In every department you have reached excellence, evidenced by the remarkable profiles of the 60 seniors selected for ODK Honor Society with a collective GPA of 3.84.
Several of you have received national and regional recognition for research findings and presentations as well as authored papers with faculty members. Once again, Wagner science students performed superlatively in presenting their own research at the Eastern Collegiate Science Association Meetings.
One of our graduates, Joy Gallagher, received the prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Award ---the first in Wagner's history. Joy, a Chemistry major with a 3.9 GPA, captain of the basketball team, and the shortstop on our successful softball team, was one of only 50 athletes ---men and women from all 3 NCAA Divisions to win this scholarship. Joy will pursue the MBA degree and then follow that with a Ph. D. in Chemistry.
Seniors in economics, anthropology, biology, chemistry, physics were singled out for awards and honors, and a number of seniors in English, government, history, business administration, education and nursing have received hard earned scholarships to medical, law and graduate schools as well as premier positions in their chosen careers. Seniors in the arts have made their mark at Wagner and our Theatre students continue to uphold the highest standards, twice being named The Best Collegiate Theatre Program in the nation by The Princeton Review.
Your class took responsibility for the health and progress of the campus community like no other in recent years. The Student Government Association and ODK established a new program in leadership training for all students, a legacy that will continue into the following years. The Student Athletic Advisory Committee -SAAC - played a key role in the review of our goals and standards for Athletics, particularly in our NCAA accreditation process.
Your class established the Judicial Review Board ---where students established standards and expectations for resident and non resident students on campus, helping to create a genuine meaning for campus citizenship and helping to define what we expect from each other in our daily lives on Grymes Hill.
In service, your class responded to the disaster of Hurricane Katrina by raising funds, spending time in January helping to rebuild New Orleans. Our new Habitat for Humanity Chapter built homes in New York City, to be delivered to Gulf Coast victims.
Many of you raised very significant funds for the St. Jude's Fund in support of the St. Jude's Children’s Hospital. Others participated in the Relay for Life in the struggle against cancer, and yet others ---many others ---ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel with 10,000 others from around the nation in honor of our fallen 9/11 firefighters and their families in New York City's Tunnel to Towers run in honor of deceased Staten Island firefighter, Stephen Siller.
Your class helped establish Project Pericles at Wagner College, joining a national effort in making public service and civic leadership an instrumental part of a liberal arts education. With Project Pericles, and its founder Eugene Lang who we will honor today, you registered your commitment to the critical role of education in developing a generation dedicated to democratic values, public service and civic leadership.
And finally, many of you have tried your best to arrest the horror and genocide taking place in the Sudan, in support of your fellow graduate today Joseph Malual Thuc.
Your class has provided a remarkable record of achievement, leadership and service. You leave us with your senior gift ---these wonderful banners on our lampposts throughout the campus, celebrating this special place and your time here. We congratulate you; we embrace you and share your joy today.
Some of you have not yet hit your high note. Like many of the people on this stage, you worked hard and your accolades and recognition will come after Wagner, finding distinction in your professional and personal lives.
But all of you are ready for the next stage. You are prepared ---a little scared possibly of the next steps ---but you have a bedrock of solid values and strong personal skills to take away with you from Wagner that will serve you well in your careers and in your relationships. Let's celebrate these wonderful moments, and memories today ---together as part of the Wagner Family.
