Dream big and change the world
It’s graduation season — one of my favorite times of the year, second only to the holidays when my children and grandchildren come to visit. We in academe call it “commencement” — a word that means “the beginning” — which is fitting because we are celebrating the start of something new in the lives of our graduates. We come together to celebrate their success and to honor the dedication of our remarkable faculty and staff who have helped them reach this point. This month, thousands of PASSHE university graduates all across the state will join the ranks of nearly 850,000 who came before — taking what they’ve learned and doing great things in the world. For those graduating this year, their resilience and determination are exceptional, especially considering the many challenges they’ve faced during their university years, not the least of which was a worldwide pandemic. When I was a faculty member — and then as university president — I committed...