OXFORD, Miss. – Charging graduates with finding a way to serve others and leaving a lasting mark on society, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus asked them a familiar question Saturday morning in the Grove.
“In your time at Ole Miss, you’ve heard this question probably a thousand times, and it’s almost a reflex,” said Mabus, delivering the commencement address at his alma mater. “But I’m going to ask it for a different reason today, in a different way. Graduates, are you ready?”
When one enthusiastic student shouted “Hell yes,” Mabus smiled and replied that she had the right answer. The Ackerman native, who served as Mississippi governor from 1988 to 1992 and was U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996, reminded graduates that success is measured in more than dollar amounts.
“I ask you to commit yourselves to something that is bigger than yourself, to do something with your own life that serves others,” he said. “Do something for someone you don’t know who needs help and may never even know what you did.”
He paid tribute to American armed forces stationed around the world, noting that more than 20,000 Marines are stationed in Afghanistan and more than 22,000 Navy sailors are afloat and ashore across the Middle East. His remarks echoed Chancellor Dan Jones’ call for all UM students, faculty and staff to engage in community service as a way of making life better for all.
This year’s graduating class included 2,259 candidates for degrees. Several thousand graduates and family members observed the speeches and academic pageantry on a stunning spring morning that seemed tailor-made for a special occasion.
“Just look at this,” Jones said as graduates and families milled about afterward. “There’s not a more beautiful setting in America for a commencement ceremony.”
This was the first general commencement ceremony for Jones, who became chancellor July 1, 2009. As vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, he presided for several years over commencement ceremonies for the UM Medical Center.
Following the general ceremony, the College of Liberal Arts and seven schools held separate ceremonies across campus to present baccalaureate, master’s, doctor of pharmacy and law diplomas. The Meek School of Journalism and New Media, which was created last year, celebrated commencement with the College of Liberal Arts and will conduct its own ceremony starting next year.
Recipients of doctor of philosophy degrees were honored at a hooding ceremony Friday evening in the Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
Mabus earned a bachelor’s degree in English and political science from UM in 1969. He served as a Navy officer aboard the USS Little Rock, earned a law degree from Harvard University and worked as a law clerk in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals before being elected state auditor in 1983.
As governor, Mabus stressed education and job creation, and was named one of the top 10 education governors by Fortune magazine. In his current post, he leads the Navy and Marine Corps and is responsible for an annual budget of more than $150 billion and almost 900,000 people.
Mabus recounted the example of his father, Raymond Mabus, as a model of faith and service.
“My dad ran the local hardware store in Ackerman and grew trees,” he said. “The last year of his life, he didn’t harvest a single tree, but he planted thousands of them. He knew he would never harvest any of those trees, but he did it out of faith and he did it to benefit his children and grandchildren many years later.”
Offering another example of selflessness, he recounted the story of Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied about his age to enlist in the Marine Corps during World War II. He made it through basic training and gunnery school before officials discovered his deception and threatened to send him home.
Lucas stowed away on a ship taking the 5th Marine Division to combat in the South Pacific and was among the forces deployed on Iwo Jima. When his rifle team came under attack, two grenades landed in their trench, and Lucas shoved them into the sand and covered them with his body. One exploded, badly injuring Lucas. For his heroism, he was the youngest Marine ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
“He went to the White House to receive his Medal of Honor, then he went back to south Mississippi and started ninth grade,” Mabus said.
“I’m not saying you have to join the Marine Corps, but you might take a look at the Peace Corps. You don’t have to run for office, but you do need to vote. I ask that you be passionate about the issues that face us all. Change our world, make it better.”
During the ceremony, Kelly Wilson, associate professor of psychology, was honored as recipient of the 2010 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award, presented annually to the campuswide outstanding teacher.
Charles Reagan Wilson, the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Chair of History and professor of Southern Studies, was named recipient of the university’s third Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award.
The university also recognized the winners of this year’s Frist Student Service Awards: Thelma Curry, campus crime prevention coordinator; Valeria Ross, assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs and volunteer services; and Charles Eagles, William F. Winter Professor of History.