May 22, 2005
Clark University Holds 100th Commencement
Be better leaders than the Boomers, David Broder urges graduates
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WORCESTER, Mass. - Four hundred thirty-six bachelor’s degrees, 335 master’s degrees and 32 doctoral degrees were conferred today during Clark University's 100th Commencement exercises. The ceremony began at 1:30 p.m. on the campus green.
Clark alumnus and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Lawrence L. Landry welcomed the assembled by recalling Clark’s first undergraduate commencement in 1905. (Clark was founded as a graduate school and until 1905 only offered the Ph.D.) The speaker in 1905 was President Theodore Roosevelt.
University President John Bassett introduced prominent journalist David S. Broder, who delivered the keynote address. Broder is the national political correspondent for The Washington Post and is the recipient of numerous awards including the 1973 Pulitzer Prize. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree.
In his speech, Broder bemoaned the partisan division marring the national political landscape under the leadership of the Baby Boomers, who--unlike the generations shaped and unified by the Great Depression and World War II--“came of age politically in the '60s and '70s.” Broder said the country remains a divided and divisive nation, citing how, during a time of high threat to national security, growing deficits and health care crises, rival candidates of the 2004 campaign focused on Vietnam war service records.
“Reluctantly, I have come to the conclusion that, as much as the parity of our parties has exacerbated the partisan conflict, the deeper cause of our political discontent is the curse that history seems to have laid on the generation now providing our national leadership.
“We may not escape from this bind until Boomers are replaced by a post-Boomer generation of politicians.” Broder named U.S. Senators Barak Obama (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as promising leaders.
Broder challenged the Clark graduates to learn from the Boomers’ mistakes. “I won’t be reporting you, but believe me, I will be rooting for your success.”
Class of 2005 Speaker and summa cum laude graduate Ben Thein, of Israel, presented the Senior Class Address.
Thein’s remarks focused on friendships: “Friendships, like any other types of relationships require hard work and determination. They require flexibility, sensitivity and humor. All of these qualities are necessary in today’s world and are the building blocks in constructing characteristics as human beings. …
“It is amazing what can be achieved when people are simply allowed to be friends and this is happening at Clark every day.”
Others who were recognized at today’s Commencement ceremonies included:
Mary Walsh, Kearns Chair in Education and Innovative Leadership and professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College, received a Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) degree. Walsh received her master’s and doctoral degrees at Clark. Clark Psychology Professor Emeritus Roger Bibace presented the honor.
Sam Bass Warner is regarded as the “dean of American urban history.” He is professor emeritus at Brandeis and visiting professor at MIT. He received an L.H.D., presented by Clark Sociology Professor Robert J.S. Ross.
E. O. Wilson is professor emeritus at Harvard University, and is generally considered to be the father of the study of social insects. He received a D.Sc. degree, presented by Clark Associate Professor of Biology David Hibbett.
Clark University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research university with 2,000 undergraduate and 600 graduate students. Since its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school in the United States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative programs such as the International Studies Stream, the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the five-year BA/MA programs with the fifth year tuition free for eligible students.
Jane Salerno
Assistant Director, Media Relations
Clark University
(508) 793-7554
jsalerno@clarku.edu
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