Thank you for this incredible honor. 

As I prepared these remarks, I was struck by the juxtaposition of this honor and the current attack on the fundamental purpose of higher education. Specifically, I am being honored for achievements that flowed directly from my Swarthmore education.   

Today, we honor the achievements of the Class of 2025.  I am confident that this class will demonstrate, through action and impact, the value of the education and experiences that they have had at Swarthmore.  And I hope that they — and all of us who have benefited from education — will be persistently explicit about how education has been integral to our lifes’ pursuits.

Class of 2025, the world that you are entering is challenging in ways that we probably could barely imagine a few short months ago, but Swarthmore has prepared you not just generally, but particularly, for this moment. I don’t know about you, but I had some intellectually humbling moments at Swarthmore. I will never forget my first bio exam. The exams were handed out and when I looked at the questions, I thought I was in the wrong class.  I would have raised my hand to share that revelation, but it was my biology professor who handed out the exams, so I figured this must be the right test. After some panic, I buckled down and thought hard, questioned assumptions, looked beyond the simple solutions and drew on what I had learned.  It certainly was not my best grade during my college career, but it wasn’t a bad first step. During other challenging moments at Swarthmore, I reached out to the incredible mentors and faculty that I had the privilege to learn from — and I worked collaboratively with my peers. I was continually challenged to stretch and to grow — and had amazing opportunities to explore controversial ideas, to participate in cutting edge research, and to learn from intellectually diverse faculty and classmates. 

The point is that Swarthmore gave me (and has given you) the tools and the experiences that you need to learn and to do anything.  If you always remain inquisitive regarding new ideas and viewpoints, if you work hard, if you have some humility, if you ask good questions, if you engage complexity, and you work collaboratively with others, you have what you need to make a difference.

As a college president, 35 years after that fateful bio exam, I was reminded of the fundamental significance of that experience. I had never imagined that I would assume responsibility for the health and safety of thousands of employees and students during a global pandemic. There I was with a set of questions for which I couldn’t have specifically prepared, and certainly hadn’t directly been given the answers in advance. And while the stakes were higher, the feeling was familiar. And so I did what I learned here --- I found reliable sources and outstanding teachers, I asked hard questions, I pushed my brain to engage the complexity of the situation, and I worked collaboratively with my team (including with my wonderful colleagues at Swarthmore and Haverford). 

And I urge you to do the same. Try not to stress over the challenges ahead. Use the tools you have honed here — and draw on the knowledge that you have done it before and will do it again. Make the value of your Swarthmore education living proof that the experiences that you have gained here make a difference — no matter what pathway you choose. Your lives and the impact that you will make are the best argument we have for the value of higher education. 

At Bryn Mawr, we have a commencement tradition of asking graduates to thank those who made this day possible, because no achievement is earned alone. I am incredibly grateful to those that have supported me — parents who love me always, generous financial aid that allowed me to attend Swarthmore, the incredible faculty here who invested in me and who encouraged me throughout my career, my extraordinary colleagues, friends and collaborators at Bryn Mawr and beyond, my patient and supportive children— and most importantly, my incredible spouse whom I met at Swarthmore (yes, the Quaker Matchbox) — the best possible partner throughout my journey.  And I also hope you will join me today in saying thank you to Swarthmore — and to all the wonderful people who have helped facilitate your journey. 

I wish you all the best.