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RFH 2010, Colgate News

Colgate Class of 2010 Graduates Under Blue Skies

Sun, May 16, 2010

Colgate Class of 2010 Graduates Under Blue Skies

On a perfect May morning, the 694 students graduating from Colgate gathered in Sanford Field House to celebrate the liberal arts educations they completed. And, just before receiving their diplomas, they and their families and friends heard how America and other countries around the world are devaluing the liberal education in favor of one that

Sunday's keynote speaker, Dr. Martha C. Nussbaum, a philosopher and professor at the University of Chicago, told the assembled graduates:

"The type of liberal education you have received ... is under assault all over the world in our time of economic anxiety, as all nations compete to keep or increase their share in the global market.  All over the world, radical changes are occurring in what democratic societies teach both children and young adults, and these changes have not been well considered.  Thirsty for economic gain, nations, and their systems of education, are heedlessly discarding forms of learning that are crucial to the health of democracy."

Nussbaum, who received an honorary doctorate from Colgate during the ceremonies, said both the Busch and Obama administrations have focused on profit-making disciplines at the expense of the liberal arts she said are critical for successful participation in a democratic nation. Schools at all levels, she said, are being driven to focus primarily on preparing students to earn money and not necessarily on teach solid basics and the humanities. She said:

"Today, in elementary and high schools all over America, literature and the arts are being slashed away, since they look like useless frills that don't help America make money.  All too few colleges and universities send the strong signal of respect for them that your own does, and many are even downsizing or eliminating the arts themselves.  Literature is still hanging in there, because of its core role in many general education curricula, but wait twenty years and this too may be a thing of the past."

Nussbaum praised Colgate for maintaining its core curriculum with its focus on the humanities and critical thinking.

Read Nussbaum's complete remarks.

Also on Sunday, in one of his last official acts as Interim President, Dr. Lyle Roelofs told the graduates:

"During your four years of college, you have become empowered, with the knowledge you gained through your liberal arts education, with greater facility in critical thinking, problem solving and working in groups, with enhanced skills to communicate sophisticated ideas in sophisticated ways, and with your experience with and of new technologies that have advanced appreciably just in your four years here. Your well-educated voice has the potential to reach far and wide."

Read Roelfs' complete remarks.

A "green" gift

The Class of 2010 has raised more than $50,000 for an environmental sustainability fund, which will support projects designed to decrease the environmental impact of Colgate's operations and encourage a discussion of sustainable practices. About 84 percent of the senior class has made donations.

They're number one - and two

The valedictorian for the Class of 2010 is Roumiana Gueorgieva Zlateva of Sofia, Bulgaria. A mathematical economics major, Zlateva will graduate summa cum laude, with high honors in her major. In addition, she has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

The salutatorian is Carly Lauren Ackerman of Poughkeepsie. Ackerman, a peace and conflict studies major, is graduating summa cum laude, with high honors in her major. She has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Phi Beta Kappa

Twenty-eight students in the Class of 2010 have been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society.

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