FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Good morning.  Thank you, Joan (Browne, Chair of the Board of Trustees) for that lovely introduction.  It’s great to be back at the University of Toledo, my alma mater, and it’s great to be back in my hometown, with such a warm welcome. 

First of all, my heartiest congratulations to you the graduates.  But I understand one thing very clearly; a commencement speaker is the last thing to stand between you and your degree, so I know my duty well.   At many commencements, speakers go on and on with a result much like the winds of the desert that blow constantly without doing any good.   Some of my graduations went like that, bringing to mind the comment of a forlorn speaker who apparently went on too long too often as he said “I don’t mind people looking at their watches when I am speaking, but I do take strong exception when they start shaking them to make certain they are still going.”   This is a great day for you the graduates, your friends, parents and loved ones.

Some of you probably thought you would never make it here.  You’ve worked hard in class to earn your grades, and many have worked hard outside of class to earn a living and support yourself.  Some of you are supporting families as well, and depending on your families for support.  Some are the first in your family to go to college. 

I can see there are a lot of proud parents today.  Some are looking up here with mixed emotions: joy, relief, concern for the future.

I know how it is.  One of the reasons I came to the University of Toledo was because I was able to get a job here in Toledo, so I could pay for my education. And it was worth it.

It will be worth it for all of you.  You’ve shown commitment and perseverance and you’ve made it here.  You’ve made it to your commencement.  After all that, you’ve made it to… the beginning.

It’s a bit daunting, isn’t it?  All that work just to get to the beginning.  And believe me, this really is the beginning.  You have so much ahead of you, and it doesn’t get any easier.  But the good news is that it doesn’t get harder either.  Here’s the reason: the same values that got you to this commencement will get you anywhere you want to go.  Be sure to set your sights high.

I’m talking about hard work, perseverance, integrity, and commitment to your goals.  One of the great things about this country is that if you commit yourself to a purpose, you can achieve it, no matter what your background.  You’ve already proven that.  And all the education you have absorbed – it’s not about showing a degree on your résumé, or your office wall – it’s about learning how to solve problems; learning how to learn.  The learning never stops, for as long as you want to move forward in life.

As an illustration of that, let me mention Alan Greenspan, the eminent chairman of the Federal Reserve, a man noted for his deep erudition and mastery of financial matters.   In talking with Alan some years back, he told me he had gone back to the books, the mathematics books, and he would be working hard to master some elements of mathematical theory.  He explained that he felt compelled to do so because of the development of the derivatives market, which had taken on far reaching significance in the financial world.  Alan explained that derivatives were becoming a bigger and bigger part of what the Federal Reserve System needed to be concerned about.   And derivative, which is really sophisticated hedging on risks, is based on a system of underlying set of mathematical constructs.  Now think of that, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, who years ago got a PHD in economics, and one of the leading financial figures in the world, going back to the books.   But that is the world we are in, that is the world you are entering, so you can never be satisfied with what you know, but rather must draw strength from what you have learned about how to learn.

Let me put it this way: there’s no roadmap for success.  But you do have to know how to drive.  And it doesn’t hurt to know how to change a flat tire once in a while.  You’ve earned your driver’s license; you’ve gassed up the car.  It’s time to hit the road.

Now, I know that road gets rough sometimes, so I want to talk to you about commitment: commitment to your values, commitment to your family, and commitment to your country.

All of you have shown a great capacity for commitment, graduating from college.  Some of you have completed advanced degrees as well.  Think back on all the work that went into that.  Not only at Toledo, but also in the years before you started here.  How many times did you have to dust yourself off, overcome hardship, and push ahead?  Achievement requires commitment, and that starts with a commitment to your values.

If you believe in yourself, you’ll take intelligent risks.  Success doesn’t come from avoiding failure; it comes from daring to succeed.  Sometimes that means saying “yes” when everyone else says “no.”  Take a chance, and confound the cynics.  Grab your opportunity.  Do what you want to do, not just what you are supposed to do.

Recently I had dinner with Donald Rumsfeld and his wife and we were talking about this very subject.   I asked Secretary Rumsfeld about his early interests and inclinations, he said he had always tested well in math and science and was urged on in those pursuits, but that his real interests were elsewhere in government, politics and business.   Now there is a case of individuals following their interests and talents to great advantage. 

Other times it means saying “no” when everyone else says “yes.” Stand up for what you believe in, including yourself.  Articulate your principles.  You’ll be surprised how much people will respect you for it and what might happen as a result.   I am a living example of that.   After serving in the Ford Administration, I went to work for the Chessie system railroad as their Washington Vice President.   I was not really inclined to go to Chessie, as my career had been as a lawyer and my first reaction was to say “no” to the opportunity.   The President of the company Hays Watkins persisted and urged me to join the company.   I told him that I was close to joining a major law firm and I could make Chessie my first client.  He said no, you need to work for the company to get the job done, and commented that if it doesn’t work, you can always go back to practice law.  I took his counsel and joined the company.   Several years later, I was called to Cleveland, the headquarters of the company, for a meeting of the senior management to review legislative proposals to deregulate the railroad industry.  Mr. Watkins asked me to take the group through the proposals outlining the various issues, which I did.  At the end of my presentation and the discussion that ensued, he said to the group that it was time to decide where we wanted to go and he turned to me first and said, “ John, should we support these deregulation proposals?”   I said that it was important to modernize the regulatory framework, I recognized there were risks, but thought they were worth taking.   He went around the table, where I was the junior person.  First, one of the senior officers, and then another, voiced their criticism and voted no.  Vote after vote went no, until the vote was ten against one.  I wondered if Mr. Watkins remembered his commitment that I could leave and practice law if things didn’t work out.  Mr. Watkins then said,” I guess it’s my turn to vote, and I vote with John.”  So like Lincoln’s cabinet, the vote carried two to ten.  And about ten years later I succeeded Mr. Watkins as CEO of the company.

Another level of commitment you can never forget is commitment to your family.  They got you here, and they’ll support you the rest of the way.  Make sure the people you love can depend on you the way you can depend on them.  Another bit of counsel I would give you is to cherish your friends and nurture those friendships.  We all need people in our lives with whom we can be genuine and truly sincere -- people with whom we can think aloud and there may be no better definition of friendship than that.   And remember always Emerson’s observation that the only reward for virtue is virtue and the only way to have a friend is to be one.

Finally, make a commitment to your community.  I grew up in Toledo, and I saw this city go through some hard times.  The industries that built this city were hit hard and we lost a lot of jobs.  But just like a person sometimes has to remake him or herself through change and education, people remake their city, and this University has been at the forefront of that revitalization in Toledo.  University of Toledo programs and Toledo graduates have made a major contribution, and you are already a part of that.

Remember that this city, or whatever community you choose to make your home in the United States or even beyond our borders, is made up of people like you.  Community dilemmas, national debates, even international conflicts are not about other people.  They are about you.  Show some interest and make a difference.  You don’t have to be a politician to be a leader.  Set an example of caring about others, and others will follow your example.

As you do that, I would also suggest you remember those good souls who were your professors here.   If they were at all like my professors, forty years ago, when I attended the university, they were great people who gave their all, and cared about their students deeply.  Teaching is a noble calling.   A teacher effects eternity and no one can tell where their influence stops.    It was through my teachers here many years ago, that I discovered a lifelong interest in economics, a field I have now returned to after a long absence, holding a postion that would have been impossible without them.   I am often asked what it is liked to be the treasury secretary, I am not sure I have a real good answer.   The best I have been able to come up with is that it is like playing a violin, solo, in public, and learning the instrument as you go along.   I thank those university of Toledo professors from any years ago, who helped put me in the position many years ago to do that.

Now, before I let you go, I know you’re hoping to hear about one more thing from your Treasury Secretary: jobs.  It’s a tough market out there.  We’re working on it.  President Bush’s team has been promoting a plan that we think will create a lot of new jobs in this country over the next few years, by giving businesses and individuals greater incentives to invest.  It’s in Congress now, and we’re hoping for a successful resolution in the next few weeks.

But no matter what the government’s policies, in America, you can always take charge of your own future.  I don’t know anyone who hasn’t faced rejection in his or her life.  It never goes according to plan.  The biggest difference between the folks I know who have succeeded and those who have not is that the successful ones have stayed optimistic, stayed hopeful, and kept on driving.

In closing, I am reminded of the noble words of Alfred Lord Tennyson when he talked about the human spirit, faced with challenged and adversity.   We are what we are, he said, made weak by the struggles we face, but remaining strong and determined in the face of it all.  So that we continue always “to strive, to seek, and to find and not to yield” that is what you have done here at the University of Toledo and I commend you for your accomplishments and urge you on for the next set of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.