Thursday, June 11, 2009
Greenfield Community College's Commencement, President Bob Pura
President Bob Pura has given me permission to post an excerpt from his speech at Greenfield Community College's commencement on June 7th, 2009.
Honored Students, Colleagues & Guests—I thank you for this opportunity to share in an event so meaningful to you. It is both an honor and a privilege.
In just a few moments you will walk across this stage and receive your GCC diploma. Good for you! You have earned it. You have met all of the academic requirements established by the faculty and staff; you have overcome financial barriers, met your family responsibilities and you have handled the stress of those demands. You have worked hard and we are all proud of your accomplishments.
Not long ago, you came here not knowing what to expect. For many of you, GCC was your first visit to a college campus. For many others, you are the first in your family to attend and now graduate from college. Well, we applaud your persistence, your patience and your hard work. We applaud with all of our heart, the courage that you have demonstrated in the pursuit of a better life for yourselves and your families. Most of all we applaud the active pursuit of your dreams. You stepped into the unknown and you persevered.
You have learned a great deal here at GCC. You have studied math, science, and the English language. You have learned how to be good teachers, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, and have learned the healing touch of massage therapy. You can now communicate more effectively, think more critically, and solve problems more creatively. Graduates you have learned more about other people, other cultures - and you have learned more about yourself. You have discovered your voice and have developed the courage to express it. Most important, you have learned how to learn. Learning is not something that you do as a student in preparation for life – learning is a way of life.
Research suggests that you will change your job 13-15 times and change your career 8 times. Each new job, new career or new skill will demand change and that change will require your learning. And in this economy, I can assure you that nothing will be more significant or more empowering than your ability to learn.
It would be impossible to celebrate your achievements without recognizing all of those who have supported you along your journey. I ask that you first recognize your parents, grandparents, sons, daughters, partners, and friends, who were with you – even when you thought you were alone.
Please stand and let them know just how much you appreciate their support.
And it would be impossible to think about your academic success and your learning without thinking about the passion, courage, commitment, and professionalism of the GCC faculty and staff. It was your teachers - those in and out of the classroom – that saw your potential, often before you, and then worked with you to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve that potential. Graduates – I ask that you stand, recognize and thank the heart and soul of this college, your teachers – the faculty and staff of GCC.
2009; Wow, what a year to graduate! There is a good chance that you will not remember today’s speeches and I am fairly sure that you will remember the party that you will go to this afternoon. I am 100% certain, however, that you will always remember that you graduated from GCC in 2009, the year that Barack Obama became President of the United States of America. Think about the level of optimism and hope that prevailed the day of his inauguration. Hold on to that moment. The hope and optimism that is born of the work of individuals and the power of community will be celebrated again in this great nation. I know that - because you get it. You understand that the real promise of our Democracy is not as much about the services provided as it is about your level of service. The hope and promise of this President is that he gets it as well. And although the seeds for this economy were planted many years ago, 2009 was also the year of the Great Recession. What a year indeed!
How many times this year have you heard that the Chinese symbol for crisis is also the symbol for opportunity or some variation on that theme? Graduates, because it has the advantage of being true, I will add my voice to that chorus, this IS the golden moment for you to make things better. If you want to see the world change for the better, then America must regain its status as a global citizen born of moral convictions. If our nation is to again achieve that status, then Massachusetts must remain united with intention. If our commonwealth is to be a better place to live and work, then our communities must be fully engaged. If our communities are to develop economically as well as socially, then each of you must step up to the plate and make that change happen in your lives. Graduates, you must be the change that you want the world to embrace. I suggest three steps along that journey:
1. Live within your means
2. Take stock
3. Hold Fast your Dreams
#1 - Live Within Your Means: By all accounts we are in the midst of the worst economy in 70 years. Although the data and key indicators suggest we are nowhere near the economic environment of the Great Depression, these are hard times. The 8% unemployment of today is significantly lower than the 24% of the 1930’s. But to those 8% and their families it feels exactly the same today as it did to the families who suffered during the Great Depression. Our compassion and support are needed.
I am confident that we will find our way out of this economic moment – we know the economy will recover. I trust that you feel the same. History teaches us that many good things will come from this recession – many will create opportunity from this crisis. In his book “Pop,” writer Daniel Gross points out that railroads and the technology boom are just two very good examples of major developments that occurred during very bad economic times. Will the so-called “green technologies” be the spark that revitalizes this economy?
Will those two photovoltaic panels soon become laughable antiques because solar panels will become so small, so powerful and so affordable that they become an integral part of our way of life? I suggest that this is not only possible, but that you will help make that happen. But will we, as a nation, have learned anything at all? Will we look back to the great recession of 2009 and see lessons learned? Or, will we have missed this opportunity; destined to repeat our missteps?
Ladies and gentlemen, Capitalism is not broken. It has just been mismanaged. Capitalism is but a vehicle; it is the drivers of that vehicle that determine the destination and the direction. If the drivers are greedy, then greed will be rewarded. It seems to me that beginning somewhere around 1980 our economic engine became less a vehicle in service to people –and more of one in which people began serving the economy. Our economic system resembled a runaway train destined to derail.
The gap between those that have wealth and those that do not grew to historical proportions. The top 20% of our nation’s citizens accumulated 85% of our nation’s wealth. Driven by the incredible power of Madison Avenue and the advertizing industry, the only thing that trickled down was the illusion of wealth and the reality of great debt. Credit was flying around like turkey vultures.
We went on an unprecedented shopping spree. That buying binge did stimulate the economy – production increased dramatically. However, so did income disparity. Fewer people had fewer resources with which to buy homes, buy goods and services, or afford go to college. The bubble had to burst, and so it did.
We have in this moment a great opportunity to take control of that vehicle, strengthen our economy and communities and in doing so, strengthen America. You can make that happen. You do have great economic power and you have more than you realize.
Why, for example, do you think that fast food numbers are down and organic and locally produced food sales are increasing? Hybrid cars? Cell phones? lap tops? You can impact the direction of our economic engine and you must take some measure of control.
How? How can each of us under this tent impact the economy of our nation for the better? One answer - is that we can all live within our means. A stronger economy is not always a bigger economy. By living within our means – we will lead the way for America to live within its means. By living within your means you will save money for your future and in doing so, you will be investing in the future of America.
Well Professor Roth’s grandmother was absolutely correct. It is essential that every once in a while we step back from the day-to-day and take stock. Dear graduates, now is a good time – a perfect time- to take stock. But what does that mean and how do you do it?
I know what a stock room is and I understand the work of taking inventory. Taking stock in this instance, however, is not just about the canned goods in the kitchen cabinet. I am talking more about taking a snapshot, a black and white photo, of who you are. What are your ideas: not the ideas of Fox news, National Public Radio, Sarah Palin or Nancy Pelosi? What are your core values and your core beliefs: not your parents, your friends, neighbors – but yours?
What brings meaning and purpose to your life: Making art; writing poetry; science and medicine; creating new businesses; the healing arts; mathematics; music? Who are the significant people in your life? Who are you now: not who you were growing up in the eyes of family or friends, but who you really are - right now?
Research tells us that during hard times many good people do lower their aspirations; they diminish their dreams and suffer from increasing hopelessness.
Hopelessness is taught. Hope, therefore, can be taught as well. You have a responsibility to your family, to your community – to yourself - to pursue your dreams – and in the process you are teaching hope. In the pursuit of your dreams – you are creating hope for others to pursue their dreams. Hope is not just a street name here in Greenfield. It is the emotional fuel that has the power to create a better tomorrow. The pursuit of your dreams - will lift us all.
So while the knee-jerk reaction to this economic crisis might be to duck and cover, you dear graduates will follow a better path, an empowering journey that elevates you, elevates your family and will elevate this community.
What are your dreams? What aspirations do you have? What dreams have you stored somewhere all too safe within your heart, held captive, by your sleep? Let me tell you what we (point to faculty) see in you.
We see a nurse who will provide healing to those who suffer and compassion to those in distress; A teacher who will change lives for the better every day; An entrepreneur with just the right idea at the right moment at the right location; A farmer who will take over the family farm; A scientist who will help transition our nation from complete dependency on fossil fuel to the broader and more affordable access to sustainable and re-usable energy; A parent whose child will grow and develop with the support and guidance of a college graduate; A poet and writer eager to build a writing shack with the ambition of writing – just for the pleasure of writing; An elected official off to Washington, Boston or Town Hall passionate about economic and social justice for all; A community college president, lawyer, accountant, police officer, community organizer, musician, university professor, banker, an artist and, and, and… Dear graduates – we see your dreams – and we see them fulfilled.
Take Stock, Live within your means and hold fast your dreams. If you want America’s economic engine back on track – then become an informed and engaged consumer and live within your means. Help drive our economy beyond recovery to a sustainable one that serves all of our Nation’s citizens. Stop the noise for just a moment and take stock of who you are. By clarifying your core values and beliefs you will have a stronger foundation in which to build a more hopeful tomorrow. And although it was Langston Hughes that first wrote “hold fast you dreams,” it is the words of Henry David Thoreau that I would like to leave you with. He wrote, “I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Dear graduates - go in the direction of your dreams and live a life that only you will imagine. Live life so that you will never want to sleep. Hold fast your dreams, for in doing so; you will be lifting a nation. To the great class of 2009, Congratulations on your achievements and we wish you all Godspeed.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
How do we define a service economy?
Recently, a lot of discussion has centered around the kinds of jobs where people expect to see the most growth in our region, the service sector. As community colleges are looked at to prepare students to enter this kind of workforce, how we define and frame the service sector is vitally important.
At the core of who the service sector services, and the expanding need for service sector employees, is a potential to refocus how we integrate our understanding of community and employment, and how they build an economy that is centered on the quality of life for people.
The service sector (as defined by the U.S. Census) is a broad category:
- Accommodation and Food Services (Sector 72)
- Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (Sector 56)
- Arts, Entertainment and Recreation (Sector 71)
- Educational Services (Sector 61)
- Finance and Insurance (Sector 52)
- Health Care and Social Assistance (Sector 62)
- Information (Sector 51)
- Management of Companies and Enterprises (Sector 55)
- Other Services (Except Public Administration) (Sector 81)
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (Sector 54)
- Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (Sector 53)
- Retail Trade (Sector 44-45)
- Transportation and Warehousing (Sector 48-49)
- Utilities (Sector 22)
- Wholesale Trade (Sector 42)
From: http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/economic.html
These growth and focus on these sectors is different from and potentially more diverse than tooling up for a manufacturing industry, or a specific kind of I.T. training. What we are seeing in healthcare is only the first indicator of a need our communities will face for all kinds of services that cater to the things we utilize to participate and enjoy life. As our communities are faced with limited resources, more and more our choices will become thoughtful, aesthetic, and experiential choices dictated by the quality and value of the service, rather than availability and affordability. In a time with limited resources, cheap and inferior is wasteful. There is an opportunity to re-engage our communities with what they need at a local level to find fulfillment that is not based on a material products, but based in human relationships and interactions that incorporate meaningfulness.
If an external environment reduces the availability of material consumption, that as a nation we have looked to for fulfillment, where do we turn to provide that stimulus? What had become a primarily private activity delivered by UPS trucks in nondescript cardboard boxes can shift to more public arenas, to areas of commons, or varying degrees of commons where the activities, the action and engagement, is what stimulates fulfillment.
There is a potential, as work hours are potentially curtailed in employment, for a different kind of work to supplant that, one that is based more in care giving, community, and creativity. How does one person invest in the world that he or she creates and inhabits for him or herself? How does an institution help students inspire, develop, and legitimize the independence and interdependence necessary to effect these changes in the workforce? How does the conceptualization of work ethic and purpose change for employees and industry? How do the artists balance their role in a commons based experiential economy with the material needs to continue the pursuit of art making?
Monday, June 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)