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ANNOUNCER: The procession has arrived. Leading the procession is the University Marshall, Professor Charles Wolcott. Following the University Marshall is the banner for the class of 2010.
[APPLAUSE]
The banner bearers are Bryan Biello and Candice Grant, Class Officers. First to arrive behind the class banner are the PhD degree candidates of the graduate school.
[APPLAUSE]
The graduate school symbol banner is carried by Coalton Bennett. The degree candidates are led by the Dean of the Graduate School, Professor Alison G. Power and Faculty Marshalls, Professor Jack Booker and Professor Jane Fajans. The PhD banner bearers are Justin Allen Atchison and Lian Shao. The Degree Marshals are Amy Rebecca Bentley and Isao Fujimoto.
Once again, the PhD degree canidates from the Graduate School. The master's candidates from the Graduate School. The Master Degreee Banner Bearers are Ana Patricia Cajina and Sam Kweku Peprah. The Degree Marshals are Peer C. Tepperwien and Sonia Grace Thangavelu.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the master degree candidates from the Graduate School.
[APPLAUSE]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the master candidates from the Graduate School.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Next in the precession of the candidates from the College of Veterinary Medicine, who will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. They are learned by Dean Michael I. Kotlikoff. The Degree Marshals are Lisa Jane Bazzle and Sophie Kartika.
The Standard Bearers are Carole Harbison and Rachel Matusow. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Michali Berenstein.
Now entering the stadium are the Doctor of Law and Master of Laws candidates from the Law School, led by Dean Stewart J. Schwab. The Degree Marshals are Tassadit Cherifi and Craig Mitchell Fischer.
The College Bearers are Leslie Oguchi and Ryan Strasser. The symbol banner bearer is Pamela Lauren Schoenberg. Well they are the Master of Business Administration candidates from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, led by Dean Joe Thomas. The Degree Marshalls are Tyeise Huntley and David Pisacich.
The College Banner Bearers are Michael Anderson and Shari Elizabeth Aser. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Randy Heffernan.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, for your information, degree candidates from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar participated in a separate commencement ceremony earlier this month. Degree candidates from the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City will participate in a separate commencement ceremony on June 3.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the Johnson Graduate School of Management.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Now entering the stadium here are the first of the undergraduate degree candidates, led by two Class Marshals. They are Jeffrey Katz and Qing Zhao. The Senior Class Counsel banner is being carried by Kathleen Donley and Donna Mordente, also members of the Senior Class Council.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The first undergraduate group is the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, led into the stadium by Dean Harry Katz. The Degree Marshals are Steven Church and Aimee Krause.
The school's Banner Bearers are Heather Levy and Andrew B. [? Wolfe. ?] The Symbol Banner Bearer is John Luke Dueltgen.
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
[APPLAUSE]
The College of Architecture and Planning is now being led into the stadium by Dean Kent Kleinman. The Degree Marshals for the architecture program are Timothy Liddell and James Pelletier. The Degree Marshals for the fine arts program are Sarah Lauren Carpenter and Laura Friend.
The Degree Marshals for the planning program are Danielle Schlanger and King Hang Esther Wong. The College Name Banner Bearers are Jeremy Bacharach Siegfried and Christina St. John. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Andrew Lerner Schwartz.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
And the School of Hotel Administration is led into the stadium by Dean Michael Johnson. The Degree Marshals are Alexander Stephen Fisher and Christina Elaine Heggie. The school's Banner Bearers are Brett Kelly and Sarah Lim. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Michael Scheinman.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the two candidates from the School of Hotel Administration.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Now entering the stadium are the degree candidates from the College of Human Ecology, led by Dean Alan Matios. The Degree Marshals are Stacey Elbaum and Emily Gail Lefkowitz. The college's Banner Bearers are Eric Brooks and Eric Zember. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Melissa Amy Lumish.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Human Ecology.
[APPLAUSE]
The College of Engineering is next led into the stadium by Dean Christopher Ober. The Degree Marshals are Christie Brandt and Frank Chen.
The Banner Bearers are Jouha Sylvia Min and Hyeongsu Park. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Alexandra Woldman.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Engineering.
[APPLAUSE]
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is led by Dean Susan A. Henry. The Degree Marshals are Rachel Hatch and Alice Lu. The college's Banner Bearers are Richard Edwin Offutt III and Richard Beard Thompson II. The symbol banner bearer is Daisy Lee.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
[APPLAUSE]
The degree candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences are now being led into the stadium by Dean G. Peter Lepage. The Degree Marshals are Hannah Chae and Jason Ramsey. The College Banner Bearers are Mihai Antoci and and Rosenberg. The Symbol Banner Bearer is Gregory Strabel.
Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the degree candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences.
[APPLAUSE]
Will all candidates for degrees please stand at this time? Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
Now entering the stadium is the administrative staff of the University, led by Provost W. Kent Fox and two faculty marshals, Professor Howard Evans and Professor William D. White.
The members of the faculty are now entering the stadium. They are led by the Dean of the University Faculty, Bill Fry. The Faculty Marshals are Professor Steve Carvell, Professor Cornelia Farnum, Professor John Hermanson, and Professor Drew [? Noted. ?]
Thank you, faculty. Next in the procession are members of the University's Board of Trustees. The Trustees are led by Chairman Peter C. Meineck. The Faculty Marshals are Professor David Gries and Professor Michael Gold.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
University Marshall Charles Wolcott will now escort President David J. Skorton and the Mace Bearer, Professor Laura Brown, to their places on the platform.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER: Mr. President, for the 142nd time, candidates for degrees from Cornell University have gathered for conferring of degrees and to celebrate this commencement. Members of the Board of Trustees, the faculty, administrative officers, and guests are in their places. The assembly is hereby called to order.
Please remain standing as we join the Cornell University Glee Club and Chorus, accompanied by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble, in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
CHORUS: (SINGING) Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars through perilous fight.
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
[APPLAUSE]
ANNOUNCER: Everyone, please be seated.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Good morning, and welcome to the 142nd commencement of Cornell University, I offer my congratulations to all of our graduates. All University commencements are special moments in time. The graduation of the undergraduate class of 2010 is a particularly special one for me.
I came to Cornell with many of the graduates, when you arrived as first- year students in 2006. We have shared these four years. You are moving on, but I am not quite ready to graduate.
As I trust you have learned much from your professors and fellow students and our staff, I thank all of you for what you have taught me-- about Cornell, about yourselves, and about education. I appreciate the friendships we have forged in these four extraordinary years.
Graduates, both undergraduate and those gaining advanced degrees, let us take a moment to recognize your families, who have helped make this glorious day possible.
[APPLAUSE]
Nearly a dozen of today's graduates are the fourth or fifth generation in their families to earn a degree from Cornell. They include Sammy Perlmutter, Arts and Sciences, my boss at the Cornell Daily Sun. Sammy edited my column mercilessly for much of the current academic year. And his father and grandfather and great grandfather also earned Cornell degrees.
[? Christina ?] [? Kroll, ?] daughter of David D. [? Kroll, ?] a member of the University Board of Trustees, who also has a Cornellian grandfather and great grandfather. And fifth generation Cornellian Kevin [? Schoonover, ?] Arts and Sciences, whose father and grandmother and great grandfather and great grandmother and great great grandfather all earned degrees from Cornell.
[APPLAUSE]
But it is also true that many others among today's graduates are the first in their families to earn a degree from Cornell.
[APPLAUSE]
For example, [? Freulen ?] [? Mullet, ?] earning a degree from ILR today, is the first member of his family and the first member of his tribe-- the Gadon of the Philippines-- to earn a college degree.
[APPLAUSE]
In the Philippines, from about the age of six, [? Freulen ?] worked with his grandmother as a flower picker for less than $2 a day. After immigrating to California with his siblings five years ago and speaking only his native language and Tagalog, [? Freulen ?] worked three jobs, enrolled in a community college to improve his English, and then successfully transferred to Cornell. Here, he founded Global Youth Concept, a Cornell student organization and international NGO, that seeks to combat malnutrition and educational gaps in rural areas of the Philippines-- work that he will continue next year, while also completing a master's degree through the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs.
[APPLAUSE]
I also want to recognize Senior Class President [? Jeff ?] Katz, and Alumni Class Co-presidents Stephanie [? Reggioni ?] and [? Darren ?] Lamar Jones, who many of you met at yesterday's senior convocation.
Thanks to their leadership and the participation and support of so many classmates, the class of 2010 is leaving a wonderful legacy for those who will follow as students on the hill. And I hope all of you, as well as those earning graduate and professional degrees, will stay connected with your alma mater for years to come.
Let's take a moment and share our memories from the graduates' time at Cornell. We have together enjoyed and learned from many leading thinkers and public figures who visited Cornell during these years. Just a few of these notable visitors include Angela Davis, the Dalai Lama, Stephen Colbert, Mike Huckabee, and Toni Morrison, Cornell MFA class of '55.
We also had the honor of hosting and interacting and learning from a wide range of international leaders of the highest rank, including Pervez Musharraf, then president of Pakistan, Shimon Peres, former and current President of Israel, Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor, [? Joe ?] [? Wenjun, ?] Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki Al-Faisal from Saudi Arabia, and Madame Duvivier Pierre-Louis, former Haitian prime minister-- and of course yesterday, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House, as a senior convocation speaker.
[APPLAUSE]
My wife, Robin Davidson, Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Weill Cornell Medical College-- Robin and I met many of you during your first week as Cornellians, when we spent the week living with you in Donlon Hall. We've enjoyed watching you grow into admirable young adults and true Cornellians, and participating with you together and separately in events on campus and in our home-- and standing with you at vigils to commemorate those lost in natural disasters, including the earthquakes in China and Haiti.
Let's reflect also for a moment on just a sampling of the many incredibly impressive projects and initiatives that you degree candidates undertook in these years. Some of today's graduates while they were at Cornell created novel high-tech inventions-- from a shoebox-sized car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, which took first place in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Student Car Competition, to an autonomous underwater vehicle, which also earned first place in an international competition-- to the 100-miles-per-gallon vehicle team that is now competing for the Progressive Automotive X Prize next month.
Four seniors-- four members of the class of 2010 won first place in the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, using their knowledge and critical thinking skills to assess a working dairy farm and make recommendations on nutrition and reproduction and milking procedures in animal health, housing, and financial management.
Others have been involved in outreach to the community, including the Cornell Farm Worker Program, which seeks to improve the living and working conditions for farm workers and their families across New York State-- efforts which earned it this year's Perkins Prize for Interracial Understanding and Harmony.
[APPLAUSE]
Yes and the Cornell University Winds has shared music, not only with all of us in the Cornell community, but in so many other places, including with younger students from Philadelphia to Costa Rica. And how about Big Red athletics?
[APPLAUSE]
We enjoyed victories aplenty during our time together in these years, including but not limited to women's and men's ice hockey, gymnastics, fencing, polo, men's basketball, softball, and men's and women's track and field-- which claimed the outdoor [? hep ?] team titles-- the men for the eighth straight year outdoors and the women for the eighth time in nine years outdoors-- and men's lacrosse, which made it to the NCAA Final Four for the third time in four years. Go Big Red.
[APPLAUSE]
And I'm so proud of the many Cornell students who earned a large array of the most prestigious and competitive awards for students in higher education. Among today's graduates are recipients of Marshall, Churchill, Truman, Goldwater, and Fulbright scholarships and awards.
[APPLAUSE]
And I want to make special recognition of graduate Isao Fujimoto, age 76, who is serving as a Degree Marshal for this commencement. Now, Dr. Fujimoto is a Senior Lecturer Emeritus at the University of California Davis, who completed his PhD this year, 50 years after he put his dissertation on hold to begin an academic career working in rural sociology, farm labor issues, ethnic studies, social justice, and community immigration and labor organizing. Dr. Fujimoto.
[APPLAUSE]
Their success and all of your success confirms that a Cornell education, which all of you have worked so hard to acquire, is a significant achievement, and is so recognized nationally and internationally. Now of course, we have not only enjoyed accomplishments victories and times of joy and celebration, we have also had our very difficult times together as a University family. Especially this year we have faced as a family considerable challenges, with the unusual number of deaths from accidents, disease, and suicide.
I want to thank the many parents and family members who sent advice to me and to Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy. Both of us so appreciate your perspective and your concern and your support.
I want to recognize Vice President Murphy and her staff-- Gannett Health Services Director Dr. Janet Corson-Rikert and her colleagues, and Vice President for Human Resources Mary Opperman and her many colleagues, and other Cornell professionals, who helped all of us move through these very difficult times.
And I thank our student leaders, who kept me focused on the future and on the bright horizons ahead. In particular, I want to recognize this year's Student Assembly President [? Rami ?] [? Salim ?] and his colleagues. Rami.
[APPLAUSE]
While walking across the Arts Quad the day after the wonderful Lift Your Spirits event organized by our student leaders, I noted a moving and very important reminder written in chalk on one of the walkways. It said, life is full of wonder. Yes, we can all learn so much from our Cornell students.
As difficult as these losses have been for all of us, they have reminded us of the importance of taking care of ourselves, of asking for help when we need it, of noticing and responding appropriately when we observe that other members of our University family are in distress-- and accepting our responsibilities as members of a caring community.
Students, as we prepare to send you off into the world has Cornell's newest graduates, I want to remind you of four lessons that we have all learned together. Lesson number one, continue to forge connections with those around you, in your place of employment, your research group, your community, and your family. All of you have people who care about you, as evidenced by the Cornell faculty and deans and senior University leaders and trustees who marched into the stadium with you this morning and the thousands of family and friends who are celebrating with us today in Schoellkopf.
For example, here with David [? Heartino, ?] who is earning a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at age 42, is his wife [? Alisa ?] and 7-year-old daughter [? Arabella. ?] David spent more than 16 years as a construction worker before coming to Cornell.
As a Cornell student, in addition to making the Dean's List, David, through his work at our wonderful local science center, became a developer of virtual worlds for the National Institute of Aerospace-- and works in an Educational Outreach Division of NASA that provides programs to underserved schools and disadvantaged students. And he says that he could not have completed his college journey without the limitless support and patience of his family.
In our modern world being connected via technology too often replaces being connected with real people in real time and real space. In her book, The Connection Gap, Why Americans Feel So Alone, Laura Pappano notes that in 1974 1/3 of Americans socialized with the neighbor at least once a week. By 1994 that same number had dropped to 1/5, and 40% never did.
During roughly that same period of two decades, the percentage of Americans who rarely or never spend a social evening with parents or siblings also rose to 25% and 35% respectively. -- And perhaps not coincidentally during roughly the same time period the percentage of Americans who felt that others could be trusted fell from 1/2 to 1/3.
You have made it through Cornell because of your skills and drive, but also because of the connections you have to those who care about you here and at home. As you go forward, please keep those connections strong and intact.
Remember that there is more to life than completing your next work assignment, planning your next experiment, writing the next chapter in your novel, or making the next judgment on a matter of professional concern. Success depends more than the strength of your analytical abilities or acuity of your professional skills, no matter how formidable they may be.
A satisfying life is grounded not just an individual achievement, but in the strength of the connections we form with others-- working with others toward shared goals, professional and personal and civic and societal.
Please find ways to build and hold human connections after Cornell. As our colleague Professor, Dean, and Vice President Glenn Altschuler has reminded us, we should heed the wisdom of EM Forster in Howard's End-- only connect.
Lesson number two, sometimes life throws things at you that you didn't expect, and you have to improvise. As all too many of us have discovered in this difficult economic time, life doesn't always unfold according to our best-made plans. Companies are downsized, jobs disappear, friends sometimes drift away-- illness or accident can cause abrupt changes in life's course.
In the book Water For Elephants, Sara Gruen, the life of the main character changes abruptly when in the last weeks before earning the Cornell veterinary degree his life plans are upended by the death of his parents and the loss of the family veterinary practice he was expecting to join.
The story is set during the Great Depression, when things are tough for so many. And through happenstance, he lands a job with a traveling circus and a life of more danger and brutality and intrigue and passion than most of us could ever imagine occur under the big top. The book has a happy ending through a series of unexpected events, which I won't give away.
But the point is that when one door closes, a window may well open somewhere else, but it is up to us to find and go through that window. Be open to new opportunities and experiences.
As. Carefully as you have prepared for your future, life is improvisation you may think of yourself as a future attorney, poet, physician, writer, entrepreneur, research scientist, architect, farmer, social activist-- and you may carefully prepare yourself for that role. But be alert for the unexpected opportunities that may and probably will coming your way.
In a campus with such a distinguished faculty in music, the analogy to jazz improvisation is compelling-- staying in tune with those around you, but finding your own means to express yourself and to contribute to the whole.
Lesson number three, if you learn anything at Cornell, learn to ask for help. Professor and Dean of Faculty Bill Fry reminds us that there are an infinite number of bad jokes about men who would rather drive around lost than ask for directions. And of those of who have ever ridden with me, it's still a problem for me, even in the era with GPS.
But seeking help when you need is a sign of strength, not of weakness. On campus there have been resources available at every turn, and students, faculty, and staff members ready to notice and respond.
Two weeks ago, at the Cornell Law School Convocation, I met a remarkable JD graduate, Jesse Horn, who was selected by his classmates in the law school class of 2010 to give the student's address.
Jesse was born without legs. But in addition to completing the rigorous requirements for a Cornell Law degree, and serving as a leader of his law school class, he is an accomplished snowboarder-- the winner of 17 gold medals in the US Amateur Snowboard Association Championships and Co-founder of the Association's Disabled Snowboard Division.
[APPLAUSE]
Jesse is an inspiration to me. He is joining a Denver law firm, and eventually hopes to work for the federal government as a trial lawyer and an advocate. And speaking of his experience at the Cornell Law School, in his address, Jesse said, "One of the incredible things with Cornell Law is it's such a small school. You can approach anybody, and everybody can take time to talk to you-- and that extends from the faculty to the staff to the students themselves."
It may not always be as easy to find support in the real world, but here are some ideas for you to consider. Stay close to your families and to the friends and classmates and faculty and staff who have been important to you during your time at Cornell. They are a strong support team, and will be ready if and when you need us.
Check in with the mirror from time to time. Make sure you are taking care of yourself mentally and physically and spiritually. Get enough sleep and eat right and exercise, and find ways to reduce stress and make new friends and help others-- and continue to get help for yourself when you need it. And remember to tap into the vast worldwide network of Cornell alumni, who can and will help you make professional connections, or find out more about a career that interests you.
Among those alumni sitting in Schoellkopf today, for example, is James [? McClung, ?] class of 1978, whose daughter [? Sarah ?] is graduating today. James is Founder and Senior Vice President of Louis Berger Asia, based in Delhi, India.
And over the past six years, he has helped Cornell students gain international experience, including 12 landscape architecture students whom he hosted in India over this year's spring break so that they could learn sustainable cultivation and energy methods-- and who are earning their degrees today.
As you join the ranks of Cornell alumni, I urge you to reach out to other alumni, both receiving assistance and giving assistance to those who come after you. You have learned a lot at Cornell, including how to adapt to changing conditions, to see problems from new perspectives, to create your own opportunities-- how to find the open window instead of the closed door. And those skills will continue to serve you well wherever you go after Cornell. So remember, you are Cornellians for life.
And lesson four, and most important, take the time to taste the wonder. This is so very important, and something I urged all Cornell students to do in my Cornell Daily Sun column of a few weeks ago. And it is especially important for those graduating today.
As Cornell graduates, you will likely feel the pressure to keep moving forward, to graduate or professional school, or to a job that will put you on course to a bigger paycheck, or a nicer office, or a more impressive business card. And I will be the last person to counsel you against working hard to realize your material dreams. You are bright and talented and knowledgeable and resourceful, and you deserve the good things that I hope will come your way.
But if you spend all your energy thinking about the future and getting to the next level, you will run the risk of missing the joy and beauty of the here and now. The precious gift--
[APPLAUSE]
You will run the risk of missing the joy and beauty of the here and now, the precious gift of a sunset or a flower, the sun or the rain on your face-- or in Ithaca, the snow. The joy and curiosity and optimism in a child's face, the friendship of a classmate, the love of the parent or grandparent who made a special effort to be here with you on this special day. So in the midst of striving to reach your goals, take time to savor the special moments and the special people that are yours to celebrate every day.
Finally, I charge you, in the tradition of Cornell graduates for 145 years, to effect real and positive change in a world urgently in need of your strength of ideas and your spirit. As graduates of Cornell, you have had an extraordinary education and unlimited potential, even in these difficult times.
But with the extraordinary privilege of being Cornell graduates comes the responsibility to use your skills and knowledge to serve others. Many of you have already done so this spring during your time at Cornell and in years past, founding organizations, volunteering your time and energy, making a difference on campus and around the globe.
I think of graduate students in the Hotel School and the Johnson School, including some of today's graduates, who, with Professor Robert Kwortnik, are marketing the African nation of Zambia as a tourist destination. Their goal-- to increase tourist visits to Zambia from about $800,000 a year to $3 million, and to help the Zambian people begin to work their way out of poverty.
Similarly, there has been a great outpouring of support both at the Weill Cornell Medical College and here in Ithaca for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. We have reached out to support relief efforts and the rebuilding of the GHESKIO Clinic in Port-au-Prince, founded by Dr. Jean Bill Pape, a 1975 graduate of the Cornell Medical College which has been carrying out research and education and providing clinical care for those with HIV/AIDS and related diseases for three decades.
In recognition of its work and to support future efforts, GHESKIO recently earned the 2010 Gates Award for Global Health-- a $1 million prize, to support the work of the clinic. And Dr. Pape was further honored by the Merieux Foundation, with the 2010 Christophe Merieux Prize, worth 500,000 euros, given for research in infectious diseases in developing countries.
Yes, there is a strong tradition of public service at Cornell-- the ethos that Vice President for University Communications Tommy Bruce, himself a proud Cornell parent, recognizes as our aspiration to be the land grant university to the world.
Our students contribute some 200,000 hours of volunteer effort to the campus and larger community every year, and our faculty and staff and alumni are among those making the world a more just and safe planet every day. I charge you, then, to continue to lift the world's burdens, locally and nationally and globally, no matter where your path takes you from Schoellkopf today.
And so it is with high hopes and great expectations that we send you off this morning as Cornell's newest alumni. Congratulations. Do great things. Taste the wonder, and stay in touch. You are Cornellians for life. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
CHORUS: (SINGING) [INAUDIBLE]
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: We will now proceed to the conferring of degrees granted in course, the first groups to be presented to the president for conferring of degrees are the graduate candidates who have completed work in the graduate school, or in one of the professional schools.
Will the Dean of the Graduate School, Alison G. Power, please step forward? Will the candidates for the doctoral degree from the Graduate School please rise and the degree marshals come to the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
ALISON G. POWER: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the graduate school, for the degree of doctor of philosophy, doctor of musical arts, and doctor of the science of law.
DAVID J. SKORTON: you, Dean Power. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the doctoral degree appropriate to your field of advanced study and research, with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations, doctors.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Cornell University welcomes the new doctors of philosophy and doctors of musical arts to the ancient and universal company of scholars. Will the doctors please be seated?
[APPLAUSE]
Will the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Michael A. Kotlikoff, please step forward? And will the degree candidates for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine please rise, and the degree marshals come to the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
Mr President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine, for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
[APPLAUSE]
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you. Thank you, Dean Kotlikoff. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the doctors of veterinary medicine please be seated. Will the Dean of the Law School, Stewart Schwab, please step forward? Will the candidates for the degrees of Doctor of Law or Master of Laws please rise and the degree marshals come to the platform?
STEWART SCHWAB: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the law school for the degrees of Doctor of Law and Master of Laws.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Schwab. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the degree of Doctor of Law and Master of Laws, with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. My congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the Doctor of Law and Master of Laws candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the Graduate School, Alison G. Power, please return to the microphone?
Will the candidates for the master degree in studies that have been directed by the graduate school please rise? And will the degree marshals please come to the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
ALISON G. POWER: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the graduate school, for the master degree in Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts and Teaching, Master of Engineering, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Health Administration, Master of Industrial and Labor Relations, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Management in Hospitality, Master of Professional Studies, Master of Public Administration, and Master of Regional Planning.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Power. Upon the recommendation of the faculty, and with the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the master degree to which you are entitled, with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. My heartiest congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the master candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Joe Thomas, please step forward?
[APPLAUSE]
Will the candidates for the degree of Master of Business Administration from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management please rise, and will the degree marshals please come to the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
JOE THOMAS: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and our duly recommended by the faculty of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, for the degree of Master of Business Administration.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Thomas. Upon the recommendation of the faculty and by the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the Master of Business Administration degree, with all the rights, privileges, honors, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Well done.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the master candidates please be seated? The next groups to be admitted to the fellowship of educated men and women are the candidates for bachelor degrees.
[APPLAUSE]
Will the two class marshals representing the entire Cornell University senior class please come to the platform?
In a moment each college group will be called to rise for presentation to the president, and then asked to be seated. After all the bachelor degree groups have been presented to the president, all the groups will be asked to rise again for the awarding of the degrees. The degree martials for the bachelor degree groups will come forward to the base of the platform as each group is called.
Will the Dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Harry Katz, please come forward?
[APPLAUSE]
Will the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations please rise, and will the school degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
HARRY KATZ: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recognized by the faculty of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations for the degree of Bachelor of Science.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Katz.
SPEAKER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Kent Kleinman, please come forward?
Will the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Science from the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning please rise, and will the degree marshals from the college please come to the front of the platform?
KENT KLEINMAN: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning for the degrees of Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Fine Art, and Bachelor of Science.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Kleinman.
SPEAKER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the School of Hotel Administration, Dean Michael Johnson, please come forward? Will the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science from the School of Hotel Administration please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
MICHAEL JOHNSON: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the School of Hotel Administration, for the degree of Bachelor of Science.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Johnson.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Human Ecology, Alan Mathios, please step forward? And will the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science from the College of Human Ecology please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
ALAN MATHIOS: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and you are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Human Ecology, for the degree of Bachelor of Science.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Mathios.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Engineering, Christopher Ober, please come forward? Will the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science from the College of Engineering please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
CHRISTOPHER OBER: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Engineering, for the degree of Bachelor of Science.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Ober.
SPEAKER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Susan A. Henry, please come forward? Will all the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the classroom?
[APPLAUSE]
SUSAN A. HENRY: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and have been duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Science, for the degree of Bachelor of Science.
DAVID J. SKORTON: Thank you, Dean Henry.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will the candidates please be seated? Will the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, G. Peter Lepage, please come forward? Will the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the College of Arts and Sciences please rise, and the degree marshals please come to the front of the platform?
[APPLAUSE]
G. PETER LEPAGE: Mr. President, I have the honor to present these superb candidates, who have fulfilled the requirements and who are duly recommended by the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
SPEAKER: Thank you, Dean Lepage.
[APPLAUSE]
ANNOUNCER: Will all the bachelor degree candidates please rise?
[APPLAUSE]
DAVID J. SKORTON: It is my privilege to recognize the candidates recommended by the deans and the faculties of the several schools and colleges for the appropriate bachelor degrees.
By the authority vested in me by the trustees of Cornell University, I hereby confer upon each of you the bachelor degree appropriate to your field of study, with all the rights and privileges and honors and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Congratulations, you did it.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Will all the bachelor degree marshals please come up on stage and shake hands with President Skorton?
[APPLAUSE]
One more time.
[APPLAUSE]
Will the assembly please stand for the singing of the evening song and the alma mater?
CHORUS: (SINGING) When the sun fades away in the crimson of the west, And the voices of the day murmur low and sink to rest.
Music with the twilight falls o'er the dreaming lake and dell. 'Tis an echo from the walls of our own, our fair Cornell.
Welcome night and welcome rest, fading music fare thee well. Joy to all we love the best, love to thee our fair Cornell.
Music with the twilight falls o'er the dreaming lake and dell. 'Tis an echo from the walls of our own, our fair Cornell.
[MUSIC PLAYING - "HAIL, ALL HAIL, CORNELL!"]
(SINGING) Far above Cayuga's waters with its waves of blue, stands our noble Alma Mater, glorious to view.
Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell, Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, Hail, all hail, Cornell.
Far above the busy humming of the bustling town, reared against the arch of heaven, looks she proudly down.
Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, hail, all hail, Cornell.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: We are nearing the conclusion of this 142nd Cornell Commencement. We thank you for being with us, and we congratulate our new graduates. Please remain standing during the recessional, until the faculty have left the field. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ceremony at Schoellkopf Stadium for all Class of 2010 undergraduate and graduate students.
