Commencement Address Spring 2022

May 15, 2022

Welcome to the 2022 Commencement!

As we begin, I wanted to thank and congratulate everyone who was a part of that terrific video. Many of the students shared their plan after graduation. The narrator, Patrick Nnoromele didn’t share his plans on video, but I happen to know that he has been accepted into an MD/PhD program in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. All of our Comets shine bright! Congratulations!

Joining me on stage are members of the University leadership and faculty.

And, on their behalf, I want to say to this wonderful gathering of students, families and friends: Welcome to UT Dallas!

Tonight is a first in a very long while — a gathering for an All-University Commencement! You are making history!

We are all here together, outdoors, with a view of our beautiful campus, and enjoying some Texas warmth. Later, when we have celebrated your achievements with this new ceremony, we will wrap up the evening with fireworks and a party on the mall. We understood the assignment!

It is our goal to make this a special celebration — the kind of event that you will forever remember with fondness.

I certainly remember my undergraduate graduation ceremony, nearly half-a-century ago. It feels like it was just yesterday.

It was a day of exhilaration and pride, blended with deep gratitude and friendship for my teachers and classmates. I wish you that same everlasting pride and joy … which starts today!

Speaking of half-a-century ago, UT Dallas was established in 1969. The first classes — all graduate level — were offered in the fall of 1970. The very first commencement ceremony held for UT Dallas was in 1973.

There were no undergraduates in that first graduating class of four people; no Alma Mater to sing; no Temoc; and no fireworks.

In our archives is a black and white photo of the first graduates accepting their diplomas from the University’s first president — Dr. Bryce Jordan.

I want to say a little bit more about those four students who graduated in that first class in 1973. All of them were graduate students, majoring in science and mathematics. They were taught by some of the best scholars in their disciplines. And while we were not yet a tier-one research university, we were already charging forward toward that designation.

UT Dallas at that time only had a few buildings, including Founders. What we had was a lot of space and a lot of room to grow into what our founders had envisioned for us.

I’ve seen some artistic renderings of early plans for campus that included a monorail between buildings. We may not have that, but in less than two years we will have a light rail connecting our campus to the D/FW Airport and other points across North Texas.

Much has changed at UT Dallas over the decades. But you do share something in common with our first graduates.

Just as they did, you found encouragement and support from your family members and friends who made it all possible.

This seems like the perfect opportunity to let your family and friends know how much you appreciate what they have done.

Students, you came to UT Dallas for your degrees, and you will soon have them. But you also came here for more — to explore the world as you did not yet know it, to expand your circle of friends, to seek answers to life’s questions.

Many of you began your time at UT Dallas with another large gathering — University Convocation — when all of our new students are welcomed to campus.

By my estimation, some of you may have been a part of Convocation in 2018. On that particular day, I put on my professor’s cap and revisited Newton’s first law of motion: an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by a force.

I am certain that each of you has encountered the “Newtonian” forces of your fellow students, faculty and staff during your time here, and that your trajectory got a great boost. As a result, you have grown wiser and more broadly educated.

This, in turn, strengthens the University. So, thank you for choosing UTD for your education, and thank you for all you have given back to the Home of the Comets. It has been our honor and privilege to be a part of your journey.

Whoosh!