President James D. Spaniolo

President James D. Spaniolo

President James D. Spaniolo

The University of Texas at Arlington
May 9, 2008

Thank you, Regent Camarillo. And hello, Mavericks!

Tonight… we celebrate the achievements of UT Arlington’s Class of 2008. 

We admire your persistence. We mark your time spent on campus. And we thank you for your many contributions to UT Arlington.

At the same time, we note the progress of our University, and the progress that you’ve made personally here these last few years. Just like our University, you’ve grown and changed. You’ve achieved triumphs and successes, made discoveries and breakthroughs, reached out in service and partnership. 

You’ve received a first-rate education and formed lifelong bonds. And when you look back at your time here, I hope you’ll see that The University of Texas at Arlington made a real difference in your life. 

Today… and always… you are Maverick alumni. You are forever a part of a community of thinkers, scholars, doers, and achievers. Embrace this role. Be proud. And be bold.

Our nation asks its boldest citizens to be its leaders. Not those with the most money, but with the most desire. Not those with the best intentions, but with the best solutions. The future does not belong to those who are satisfied with the way things are. Forty years ago, Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy said this: “Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘why?’  I dream of things that never were and ask, ‘why not?’ ”

Our world needs leaders who will dream big… think broadly…and act wisely. We need catalysts who understand that bold ideas are needed, and that bold actions will make the biggest difference. We need champions who can influence the world through critical thinking, though their ability to see and interpret things that others can’t or don’t.

Now… it’s easy to be bold when things are easy. It’s easy to be bold on nights like this, when we’re celebrating our successes. But what we need… is boldness in the face of adversity. Boldness when you’re standing alone. Boldness when pandering is safer and simpler. That’s when you must gather your courage to make a difference, to make an impact. That’s when boldness is needed most.

Now… I want to make this clear:  There is a difference between boldness and recklessness. Be bold with a purpose. Be bold within the framework of your conscience… because you have an excellent education. Be bold not because it’s different … but because it’s necessary.

Today… as always… be proud of what you’ve accomplished here, but be hungry to achieve more. Dream big… think broadly… and act wisely. Be bold. And be a Maverick.

Congratulations.

Now, I’m honored to introduce to you someone who knows exactly what it means to be bold— and who’s made a career of it. You might call his style “quietly bold.” 

Bob Schieffer joined CBS News in 1969—almost 40 years ago. In that time, he’s been the CBS Evening News anchor, the chief Washington correspondent, the moderator and host of Face the Nation, and he’s one of the few journalists who has covered all four of the major Washington assignments:  the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and Congress. 

He’s won six Emmy Awards and is in the Boardcasting/Cable Hall of Fame. You can’t achieve all this without being bold— and determined. And you have to be good.

Many of you, I’m sure, remember Bob Schieffer as moderator of the third presidential debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry in 2004. Many of you have read his three books, including the autobiographical This Just In— in which he recalls covering major stories like the Kennedy Assassination, Watergate, the Vietnam War, the Election of 2000, and the terror attacks of September 11th. 

What you may not know is that as a young and enterprising police reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he drove Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother to the Dallas Police Station on Nov. 22, 1963, in reporting about The Kennedy Assassination.

Bob Schieffer is a Texan through and through— born in Austin and reared right here in Tarrant County. When he’s not covering the nation’s biggest news stories, he’s singing and writing songs for his swing band Honky Tonk Confidential.

(My favorite song of theirs is one called “TV Anchorman”— which tells the story of a young Texan who gets his break reading the news.)

We are honored to have with us, here in Maverick Country, a great newsman… a great American… and a great Texan. Please join me in welcoming… Mr. Bob Schieffer.