Remarks and Speeches
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Remarks at the Stockbridge School Commencement
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May 22, 2009
Thank you students, families, friends and faculty for coming today. According to the historical sources that I have come across, when the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the precursor to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was being developed in 1867, Levi Stockbridge became the first farm superintendent and an instructor in agriculture; later he would answer the call to become president of the school. William Bowker, who graduated from Mass Aggie in 1871 and for whom this room is named, spoke of Professor Stockbridge at the 1904 Commencement, stating:
“What a work he undertook! It must be borne in mind that when he came from the Hadley farm to take charge of the College farm and to superintend the erection of the first buildings, it was practically the first agricultural college to be started in this country. The field was absolutely new; there was not a model to go by. The buildings were to be built and arranged not only for academic but for practical training. Again, when he undertook instruction in agriculture there was not another chair of agriculture in the country, and there was no one to whom he could turn for advice. He had to blaze the way, without books and without chart.”
Today I address you, the 2009 graduates of the school that bears his name, as we seek to remember and protect Levi Stockbridge’s pioneering legacy in the recognition of your work at this prestigious institution and still further through your endeavors beyond these walls.
Levi Stockbridge was a professor from 1871 to 1882 and was appointed President of the College in 1880. The college survived tremendous financial stress during his stewardship, and there were times when Stockbridge took out personal loans to float the institution, something which, given today’s economic realities, I assure you I most certainly could not afford to do! Yet today we survive and thrive in spite of our recent financial difficulties and economic uncertainty. I am pleased to reaffirm what you have come to know during your stay here, that this University’s academic and vocational fields remain fertile and sustaining.
Levi Stockbridge played an instrumental role in the development of the federal Experiment Station. He was renowned for his research in improving crop yields and for deriving formulas for fertilizers. In continuing that proud tradition of research for the public good, I am proud to say that UMass Amherst is the only public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that receives the designation “very high research activity” from the prestigious Carnegie Foundation. Research done through our campus has led to pioneering start-up firms and advances in areas critical to our long-term prosperity, such as renewable biofuels and other green technologies. Many of you before me today will go on to work in these leading-edge areas of the green sector as you take what you have learned at this school and shape our collective future, both economically and environmentally.
Amidst great budget difficulties, Levi Stockbridge advocated for greater investment in the college’s physical plant. Today our 790 million dollars of building and renovation projects focus on sustainable building, implementing techniques and technologies that minimize our carbon footprint.
Still it is our students that make this campus the success that it truly is. As Stockbridge students you have had the unique opportunity to graduate in two years, with about half of your class seizing the further opportunity to stay on at UMass for the additional two years needed for a baccalaureate degree. Your required internships have given you a tremendous advantage in terms of the practical experience that will make you a valuable resource as you seek that first job after college or take a more entrepreneurial track of your own. And you can count upon the loyal support of over 9,000 Stockbridge alumni who have a track record of hiring their own and giving generously to this school. Today you should consider yourselves fortunate to join their supportive ranks, and I hope you will continue in this fine tradition of giving back.
We have been fortunate to have had each one of you at Stockbridge, and I know I speak on behalf of our entire campus community in praise of your accomplishment. Your future is yours to determine, just as it was for Levi Stockbridge when he set the course for this school so many years ago. Congratulations to the Stockbridge School Class of 2009! I wish you all the best.
