A look back at Commencement 2008
James Quigley, CEO of one of the largest professional service firms in the nation, told nearly 2,000 graduates at Utah State University Saturday that three simple lessons provided the foundation for his successful career and helped define his life.
Quigley told students during USU’s 119th commencement ceremony that lesson one is basic: treat people with respect. Lesson two is that life is filled with opportunities, not entitlements. And the third lesson, which he said dramatically influenced what he would become: be a lifelong learner and strive to learn something new every day.
Quigley is CEO of Deloitte, Touche Tohmatsu – Deloitte’s global organization. He is lead adviser to some of the world’s largest and most complex multi-national companies. He graduated from Utah State University in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
“I urge you to open your eyes and your minds to see the incredible opportunities this world has to offer, and give your very best,” Quigley said. “Those who give their very best have a much richer set of opportunities, than those who simply do the minimum to get by.”
Quigley said being a lifelong learner has paid dividends for both his career and his family life, and he told the graduates that they should take the advice a former USU professor gave him and look at their degrees as the key that would open the door to “obtain” an education.
“It seemed counter-intuitive to me,” he said. “I thought my college degree was the key to a job and career, not the key to obtain an education.” But 34 years later he is convinced that his constant push to learn new things throughout his career has allowed him to achieve success and enjoy the fruits that life’s opportunities have provided him.
The university honored Quigley with an honorary degree. Four others also received honorary doctorates from USU: lawyer and philanthropist Clark P. Giles, lawyer W. Eugene Hansen, LDS Church leader L. Tom Perry and education advocate and philanthropist Beverley T. Sorenson.
The university also gave a number of other honors during the commencement, including:
Student Speaker: Drew Braithwaite, College of Natural Resources Valedictorian
Valedictorians:
College of Agriculture: Allison Scott
Jon M. Huntsman School of Business: S. Michael Young
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services: Adam Galovan
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences: Amberly Bown
College of Engineering: Colby B. Jensen
College of Science: Ryan J. Campbell
D. Wynne Thorne Research Award: Fred D. Provenza, College of Natural Resources
Teaching Awards:
Eldon J. Gardner Teaching Award: Timothy Taylor, College of Engineering
Distinguished teaching awards:
College of Agriculture: Rudy S. Tarpley
College of Business: Robert J. Mills
College of Education and Human Services: Nancy Glomb
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences: Christine Cooper Rompato
College of Natural Resources: Michael A. White
College of Science: Keith Mott
E. G. Peterson Extension Award: Robert W. Hill, College of Engineering
Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards: Terry A. Messmer, College of Natural Resources
Department Teaching Excellence Award: Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education, Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Honorary Degree Recipients
James H. Quigley: Quigley has become one of the nation’s most recognized spokesmen for honesty, integrity and ethics in the corporate world today. As CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the largest professional services firms in the nation, he plays a key role in setting the tone for ethical standards in business. His voice has been loud and clear on the issue of accountability in the corporate world and on the role of business integrity in the marketplace. Over his 30-year career with Deloitte, he has amassed a distinguished record of service to major clients in a range of industries throughout the country. Quigley has testified before Congress and has been named by “Accounting Today” as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. Recognized within the business community, he has testified before the House Committee on Financial Services about reducing the likelihood of fraud and restoring investor confidence in the United States. In addition to participation on key committees within the organization, Quigley is currently active on the board of trustees of Catalyst, the Financial Accounting Foundation, Japan Society, Economic Club of New York, and the National Advisory Committee – BYU, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Center Consolidated Corporate Fund, and the Partnership for New York City. He is the co-chair of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue and also a member of the Council on Competitiveness. He has been a member of the boards of the Center for Audit Quality, Southwestern Area Commerce and Industry Association and the Junior Achievement of New York. He has served on numerous committees of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a member of the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting. He is actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America and has been a member of the task force studying the role and mission of United Way in his region. Quigley graduated from Utah State University in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Commercial Science from Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.
Clark P. Giles: Giles has spent his life leading efforts to invest in one of Utah’s most precious resources, its educational future. As a trustee of the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, Giles has been at the forefront of the foundation’s commitment to educating Utah’s children. Besides providing generous annual gifts to USU’s recently renamed Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, Giles and the foundation’s trustees have a history of funding exemplary programs at the Edith Bowen Laboratory School in art, science and early childhood education that serve as ongoing models of excellence. Giles and the foundation have provided essential funding to the college for both physical facilities and for its cutting-edge programs. This sustained support has enabled the college to attain and maintain its top-tier national status. Giles is a lawyer, shareholder and director of the law firm of Ray Quinney & Nebeker in Salt Lake City where he specializes in estate planning, tax, probate and trust law, and non-profit organizations. He served as the firm’s Managing Partner and then its President, and was a long-time member of its executive committee. He has been included on the list of “Best Lawyers in America” in Trusts and Estates. He also has been voted by his peers throughout the state as one of Utah’s “Legal Elite” in the category of Tax. Giles is active in many professional organizations related to his practice and is involved in a wide variety of community activities. He also serves on the Advisory Committees of several charitable foundations including the Ray, Quinney & Nebeker Foundation; the S. J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation, the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, and the Ruth Eleanor Bamberger and John Ernest Bamberger Memorial Foundation. He is also a member of the Emma Eccles Jones Endowment Fund Board for the David Eccles School of Business. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard in 1959, and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1962. Giles has been steadfast in his commitment to programs that benefit children, teachers and family life in Utah; and his leadership and support for programs in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services have allowed the university to bring its outreach efforts to all corners of Utah.
W. Eugene Hansen: Hansen has distinguished himself through his legal career as a powerful advocate for countless people who have suffered as victims of medical malpractice. He has been recognized throughout his career for exceptional legal competence and heart-felt care in serving clients, as well as for the extreme integrity he brought to the profession as he pursued truth and justice. Hansen has the reputation of being one of the most competent trial attorneys in the Utah State Bar, recognized not only for his compelling style but also for his complete integrity. He was known as a competent trial attorney as well as a vibrant leader in the legal community. He served as president of the Utah Bar in 1980-81. He was a charter member and later president of the American Inns of Court No. 1, an international organization founded in Utah. He has been a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1979. Membership is limited to one percent of the national bar, and in 1983 he was elected to the American Bar Foundation, to which membership is limited to one half of one percent of the national bar. He has also distinguished himself during public service and service to his church. He has served Utah’s higher education community in several capacities, and he had a long career in the military, retiring as a full colonel. He was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a member of the presidency of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He graduated in agricultural economics from Utah State Agricultural College, and he has served as a member of USU’s Board of Trustees.
L. Tom Perry: Perry has dedicated his life to his community, the state of Utah and the nation. He has made significant contributions both in the business world and in his leadership positions with his church, and his life is a model of lifelong commitment to exemplary and selfless service. Perry is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He earned a finance degree from Utah State Agricultural College in 1949. He spent his professional business career in the retail business where he served as auditor, controller, vice president and treasurer in companies located in Idaho, California, New York and Massachusetts. He applied his gifted leadership skills in executive positions with prominent retail organizations, and for nearly two decades, he fulfilled a vital role on the boards of directors of Zions First National Bank, ZCMI and American Stores. After a series of volunteer church positions, he was called in 1972 to serve as assistant to the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1974 he was called to serve as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve where his assignments have taken him to almost all countries of the world. His national service began with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1944-1946, during which he was among the first occupation troops to enter Japan. He was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Advisory Council for the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, and he also represented the LDS Church in planning the U.S. Bicentennial celebration. Perry has represented Utah State University in an exemplary manner in the international relationships he has forged while serving the LDS Church in Germany as Area President of the Europe Central Area.
Beverley T. Sorenson: Sorenson has dedicated her life to enriching the lives and minds of Utah children. She is the founder of Art Works for Kids, a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing opportunities for elementary school students to experience the joys of music, dance, drama and the visual arts. Sorenson has been a tireless advocate of arts education for Utah children for decades, dedicating countless hours and substantial resources to this cause. In 1995, she founded the independent, non-profit foundation Art Works for Kids, which began as a pilot program to promote music, dance, theater and visual arts in six Utah elementary schools. Today, Art Works for Kids serves thousands of school children and teachers by supporting innovative, sequential arts education programs in schools and communities through grants, support services and advocacy work. Sorenson and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation have donated to the cause of promoting arts education for children. Her generosity has helped educators throughout the state give children a chance to express their creativity and learn something about the arts as part of a sequential classroom experience that spans their years in elementary education. Her voice has shaped many educational debates about art education in Utah, and she has lobbied tirelessly at the state legislature on this topic. Her work with school districts and schools has helped develop a renewed effort to ensure Utah children have a complete education that includes sequential K-6 arts education. She has been instrumental in reinvigorating elementary arts education at institutions of higher education that prepare classroom teachers and teaching artists to teach the arts. She graduated from the University of Utah and became a kindergarten teacher at a Quaker school in New York. Her love for the arts has been a lifelong passion as evidenced by her accomplishments as a musician, vocalist and dancer. She also has been a successful member of Utah’s business community, receiving the Utah Outstanding Business Award in 1986. Her most recent effort is bringing public and private entities together to advocate for more public funding in Utah schools. Thanks in large part to her passion and dedication, Utah Legislators passed in March 2008 the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Elementary Arts Learning Program, a $16 million, four-year initiative that will expand arts education opportunities for elementary children all through the state of Utah.