Accepted Student Day

Why is it important to me? Because, when you graduate, I will be the one who will personally confer your baccalaureate degree, and also charge you to meet, challenge and change the world. I wanted to be here today to deliver a clear and compelling message to prepare you.  Not about graduation day in May, 2003, but rather for what you will face in May, 2011. 

Why 2011? Quite frankly, I'm not much worried about what you are going to be doing immediately after graduation in 2003.  Fairleigh Dickinson University has an exceptional record of career preparation.  Our graduates get jobs — good jobs.  The history of FDU's more than 90,000 alumni confirm that.  So I am confident you will be prepared for the job market of your choice. But, in 2011, most of those who graduate from high school this spring will be entering the decade of their 30's. 

Your 30's are when you will be just beginning to come to the peak of your professional performance and earning your reputation.  That is also when you will likely consider and re-consider the overall purpose of your life in the years to come — to consider and re-consider what will provide you long-term happiness and success. I place the greatest importance on these considerations and on insuring you have the skill set fundamental to life-long success and happiness — however you choose to define those terms. 

And what is the skill set for your 30's and beyond? I believe it is adaptability, comfort with diversity and different cultures, facility with change and the ability to synthesize ideas and information. At Fairleigh Dickinson University, we're committed to helping you acquire these skills and understandings.  We are committed to helping you acquire the skills which will make you successful upon graduation, but most importantly, prepared for the adventure of your decades beyond. 

The world is a very different place today from what it was even a decade ago.  And by the time you are thirty, it will have again seen even more profound change.  It will be an era of extraordinary competition.  For those of you who want to be writers or artists, to those of you who want to work on Wall Street; for those of you who yearn to teach, to those of you who see scientific research as your calling; and for even those who have not yet determined a goal — Fairleigh Dickinson is there to assist, guide and advise. 

It's a job we will work on together.  Our purpose is to help you define and refine your life's passion so that your passion will define your life. 
Allow me to restate that because it is important.  At FDU, our purpose is to help you define and refine your life's passion so your passion will define your life. 

This not some sort of unrealistic, New Age, follow-your-bliss rhetoric.  It is a belief that what you want to do can be done if you learn to be open to new ways of thinking .  .  .  if you learn to take the broad view and build areas of strength that make you unique. 
Allow me give you an example. 

When I was a professor at SUNY, a young woman, let's call her Sara, came to me for advice.  She said, "Dr.  Adams, I am a geography major with three semesters left before graduation.  I don't think I can get a job in geography, but I love the field.  Can you help?" 
Together, we assembled a series of elective courses in photography, business, printing and basic design.  We labeled it a "concentration." The day after Sara graduated she was hired by National Geographic.  Today she is responsible for map reproduction for the world-wide National Geographic Society.  They chose Sara because she was unique among everyone who applied. 

You must follow your passion, but build areas of strength that make you unique. 

So the question is, how can Fairleigh Dickinson University help you live a successful, committed life like Sara's? What is important about FDU that will make a difference in your life? At Fairleigh Dickinson teaching comes first.  Our faculty, whether renowned academicians or professionals working in the field, are exceptional individuals who are here because they love to teach. 

We value the magic of what happens between teacher and learner in the classroom, studio, lab or even over coffee.  So we make it easy to get to know your professors.  We do this by keeping class size appropriate to the method of instruction — which means that many of your classes will be smaller than 22 students.  This makes you an individual, not a number on a class list.  Your teachers learn your name.  You will probably even get the opportunity to have tea with the new President.  Don't worry, that's not mandatory. 

At Fairleigh Dickinson, we believe ultimate life satisfaction and success is strongly influenced by broad exposure to the liberal arts.  You need to understand the world — its history, its cultures and its people.  Our University Core curriculum provides the basis for just that.  And study in the liberals arts is continued through every major in the University. 

At Fairleigh Dickinson, we understand there is a second curriculum — parallel to the courses you take as part of your degree program.  That second curriculum is involvement in campus activities, such as the student-run radio station, the campus paper, varsity or intra-mural athletics, a service sorority or service fraternity, the theater, or hundreds of other activities.  Get involved and take advantage of opportunities to build that second dimension of your undergraduate experience. 

At Fairleigh Dickinson, we believe you should have exposure to the international community.  So, here you'll meet, work with and get to know students and faculty from more that 60 countries.  What's more, you'll have the opportunity to study at our campuses in Wroxton, England and Tel Aviv, Israel.  I personally endorse and encourage an international experience for every student. 

It sounds like we do a lot.  And we do.  But what we can't do is educate you.  No university can.  Education is not something we give and you take.  It is a collaborative process between you and the world.  We will be partners to help you along in that process.  A process that will last your entire life.  A process that will make you successful and happy.  And that is the clear and compelling message I offer to prepare you for the year 2011. 

If you would like confirmation of this message, then ask the most critical, discerning, credible sources: Fairleigh Dickinson Alumni. 

Ask Michael King about what laid the foundation for his success.  Michael's company, King World, owns Jeopardy, the new Hollywood Squares, and a daily television show you might recognize, it's called Oprah.  He and his brother grew their small company into a Hollywood empire.  You might be interested to learn that CBS recently proposed purchasing King World for 2.5 billion dollars. 

Or ask Ronald Brill, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Home Depot. 

Or, Peggy Noonan, known for her brilliant speeches for Presidents Reagan and Bush, and who is now an acclaimed author, TV commentator and columnist. 

Or, Reed Brody, who was the principal architect of the UN Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances. 

They are all graduates of Fairleigh Dickinson.  They all developed the insights and skills which result in a fulfilling, satisfying, passionate life.  They all chose Fairleigh Dickinson University. And consider a recent national survey of college graduates which ranked schools by those who go on to earn a doctoral degree.  Fairleigh Dickinson ranked Number One in New Jersey, — yes, more than Rutgers or Drew.  If your goal is graduate school, then the odds are with you at FDU. 

Class of 2003, I look forward to conferring your baccalaureate diploma as you walk across the stage in four years.  But my colleagues and I at Fairleigh Dickinson University more look forward to being part of the lifelong adventure you will begin next fall. 

Oh yes, and I also look forward to personally meeting you this afternoon.  Best wishes to you all.  It will be a wonderful adventure. 

 
 
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