Commencement speaker Dr. Condoleezza Rice shares insight on importance of higher education to a crowd of more than 6,600
Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state, addressed
more than 1,100 graduates and 5,500
guests, faculty, administration and staff attending Walden University’s 52nd
Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, July 12, 2014, at the Gaylord National
Resort near Washington, D.C. Dr. Rice,
who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa degree, from
Walden at the ceremony, shared her compelling personal story and experiences
from her distinguished career in higher education and diplomacy. She also
offered the audience inspiring insight into the importance of education and the
responsibility that comes with earning an advanced degree.
“Education is such a privilege. … I want you always to
remember that, [for] those of you who took this chance to receive higher
education, … this is a very special gift,” Dr. Rice told the Walden graduates.
In her speech, Dr. Rice also
recognized Walden’s “great mission” of positive social change and the
important role its students play in using their education to “… reach back, and
down, and across …” to make a difference in the world.
“I know, too, that this is a very global internationalstudent body. Walden reaches out to people all over the world who just want
that promise of education,” she said. “Those of you who have been a part of a
truly international community, a global community, can now be ambassadors for a
world in desperate need of people who can translate, people who are not afraid
of those who are different, and people who recognize the differences as a
source of strength across our human community.”
The newest alumni are part of a graduating class of nearly
5,500 students representing 50 U.S. states and more than 70 countries who have
completed their bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral or education specialist degree
programs at Walden during the past six months. The graduating class also
included the first graduates from the Executive Master of Business
Administration (EMBA) program, which began in the School of Management in fall
2012.
Several alumni and faculty were honored before the ceremony,
including:
Dr. Saulat Jahan, 2014 Ph.D. in Public Health graduate from
Saudi Arabia, who received the Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for her dissertation,
“Gestational and Pregestational Diabetes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: A
Meta-Analysis of Maternal and Fetal Outcomes.” This award is bestowed upon a
graduate whose dissertation is judged as meeting the highest standards of
academic excellence.
Dr. Walter McCollum, 2004 Ph.D. in Applied Management and
Decision Sciences graduate from Fort Washington, Maryland, who received the
Outstanding Alumni Award. This award recognizes an alumna or alumnus who
exemplifies Walden’s mission to effect positive social change. He was cited for
his work in humanitarian projects around the world.
Dr. Peter B. Anderson, College of Health Sciences from The
Woodlands, Texas, who received the
Bernard L. Turner Award, given to the faculty dissertation chair of the
Harold L. Hodgkinson Award recipient.
Walden proudly hosts diverse speakers from around the world
who present an array of experiences and viewpoints with the hope of inspiring
scholarly conversation. Dr. Rice joins the list of accomplished individuals who
have addressed Walden commencement audiences, including former President Bill
Clinton, former Secretaries of Education Richard W. Riley and Margaret
Spellings, former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Laureate Dr. Óscar Arias
Sánchez, former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Rt. Hon. Lord
Mark Malloch-Brown, and social change leaders Lilly Ledbetter, Dr. Tererai
Trent and Paul Rusesabagina.
The Walden University community gathers to honor its
graduating students twice a year at summer and winter commencement ceremonies.
An archived version of the webcast will be available at
www.WaldenU.edu/commencement.
Source: www.waldenu.edu
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