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|School of Urban and Public Affairs Commencement
May 14, 2005
UC Rio Grande
Thank you, David, for that fine welcome.
It's nice to be here this morning...even if I was your second choice. Seriously, I'm pleased to pinch hit for Mayor Bob Cluck, as he is recovering from emergency knee replacement surgery.
As some of you know, I myself have a master's degree in Public Administration. It doesn't seem like so long ago that I sat where all of you are this morning, excited about the possibilities such a degree would afford me. Of course I could not have imagined, at that time, becoming president of a major University. I would not have thought that I'd be here-best of all-to speak to a group of graduates on their special day. But that's what an education from a school like Urban and Public Affairs allows. Anything you can imagine...and some things you cannot!
I know many of you are bound for careers in academe or public service. These are noble destinations. Our country needs its best and brightest citizens in public service, working toward a common good; and in academics, training and educating the leaders of tomorrow. You are all to be commended, and I salute you.
I want to speak candidly for a moment about Dean Richard Cole. It didn't take me long to realize that he cares passionately about this school and this University, but even more so about all of you. Days like this, when your degrees are conferred and you move on, are bittersweet. But Dean Cole-and I-feel so proud that you will contribute to the greater good, and that you will put more back into life than you take out.
Public service, as you know-and I considered academe to be public service-is not the most fashionable of careers these days. You don't grow wealthy as a police chief or a city manager. Most people running 501[c]3's aren't famous. This is the reality. The fields most critical to society-I'm talking about planning our cities, keeping our charities running, developing small-market economies; jobs that are critical to problem-solving and social stability-these are also often the least glamorous. Or so they say.
Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with being financially successful. You don't need to apologize for being well-known. But there are many women and men of modest means who make huge contributions to their communities, state, or nation in largely unnoticed roles. And there is great wealth in that! Elbert Hubbard, the 19th century author, said that people "are rich only as they give. Who gives great service gets great rewards." I want to tell you about some women and men-graduates of this school-who are getting great rewards.
You probably know that Theron Bowman is the city's chief of police. What you probably don't know is that, if not for organic chemistry, he might never have donned the uniform. Theron's parents wanted him to be a physician, but one undergraduate organic chemistry class derailed those plans. He became a police officer, a profession that asks little in the way organic chemistry. Bowman, who earned a Ph.D. in this school, found a calling. As an assistant chief in the early 1990s, he developed the strategy of Geographic Policing, which gives one officer 24-hour accountability for a particular area. This eliminates a citizen's need to know when an offense occurred in order to get help from the appropriate person. This innovative policy saves time, and probably lives, and has become so efficient that other departments have begun copying Chief Bowman's plan.
Of course, there's more to Theron Bowman than police work. Off-duty, he heads a non-profit organization that oversees the redevelopment of one of Fort Worth's most-dilapidated neighborhoods. He has helped secure millions of public and private dollars to revitalize the area, and results are evident.
Someone once said to "make service your first priority-not success-and success will follow." John Suggs is proof of that. John, who earned his master's degree here, like many of you, has been executive director of the Presbyterian Night Shelter of Tarrant County since 1991. But even before that-for the last 30 years-he has made helping the area's homeless his personal responsibility. If you don't think that John has been successful, consider that his shelter serves almost 400 homeless men, women, and children every night. Ask them if John Suggs has made a difference.
George Campbell has made a difference, too. Among his roles as city manager of Weatherford is responding to citizens' needs and making Weatherford, Texas, a better place to live. George's recent contributions to the quality-of-life include the completion of a comprehensive land use plan, research on a new power plant, and an investigation to determine how to alleviate traffic congestion downtown. Throughout his career, George has served on the North Texas Management Association and several UTA service projects.
Let me tell you about Nancy Grant, who earned her Ph.D. here. Nancy fills the important task of service through education. She is the chair of the Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies the University of Akron. But Nancy also develops curriculum for the National Fire Academy, which has trained more than 1.4 million firefighters, and for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is a first-responder to tragedies all over the nation.
These men and women are not famous. They're not role models-or even known-to most people. But they are true heroes, in every sense of the word, because they put others first and reach out to those who need it most. I know many of you will do the same.
Woodrow Wilson, the great American president of the early twentieth century, and a onetime university president himself, said "There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed."
Each of you personifies that. Two graduates, who are not with us this morning, have completed their Ph.D.s and already accepted tenure-track faculty positions. They are already engaged in educational service. Nearly 50 of you will be conferred master's degrees, and I understand that most of you plan careers in the public sector-everything from urban planning to non-profit work. These are our most noble causes, which are reserved for our most noble citizens.
I recently read a wonderful commencement speech that was just one sentence long. I'd like to share it with you because it's appropriate and poignant. It says: "The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up." Let me say it again: "The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up."
As servants in the public sphere, you will reach down and pick someone else up every day. As I congratulate you on your commencement this morning, let me also be the first to say thank you ... for all that you will do.
Thank you.
