Commencement: Grads challenged to give back
The dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Salt Lake City challenged Utah State University graduates Saturday to give something back to their communities. The Very Reverend Frederick Quinney Lawson was commencement speaker at the university’s 117th undergraduate commencement ceremony in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Lawson, a priest in the Anglican Communion, told the graduating class of 1,913 students to practice good stewardship by sharing with the greater community some of the knowledge they gained at Utah State.
“Each of you has been given the opportunity to gather the finest tools into your own possession, and it is these tools that are now going to stand you in good stead,” Lawson told the students. “During your time here you have been more on the collecting side of the road. Now as you move from here, I would like you to take a moment to consider something I hope will make your future life have even a greater importance.”
He said he hopes the graduates leave the university as believers in education and what it can do for them, and he challenged the students to share their time, their talent and their treasure to ensure that others are able to follow in their footsteps and get a college education. Utah State is not just a “factory for facts,” he said.
“More to the point, you will leave here ‘educated’ to the extent that a university, guided by all that is good, has opened you to looking and loving life in a more profound and deeper manner,” Lawson said. “You will leave here ‘educated’ in the measure that Utah State University has revealed to you a world that excites and delights you to seek the more profound truths that exist.”
Jared Bench, valedictorian for the College of Engineering, also delivered remarks to the graduating class. Bench was selected by a committee of other valedictorians from among the pool of valedictorians from each of the colleges. He graduated with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering. In addition, he has concurrently pursued a second bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering that he will complete in fall 2007.
Approximately 330 master’s degrees were awarded Friday, and 31 students received doctorate degrees at the graduate ceremony Friday.
The university also gave a number of other honors during the commencement, including:
Honorary Degrees (short biographical info below at bottom of page):
— The Very Reverend Frederick Quinney Lawson, Doctor of Divinity
— Cecelia Harrison Foxley, Doctor of Education
— Young-Chul Hong, Doctor of Business
— James D. Laub, Doctor of Business and Entrepreneurship
D. Wynne Thorne Research Award: Ray Reutzel, College of Education and Human Services
Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards: Basudeb Biswas, College of Business, and Michael B. Toney, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
E.G. Peterson Extension Award: Terry A. Messmer, College of Natural Resources
Eldon J. Gardner Teaching Award: Laurie McNeill, College of Engineering
Teaching Excellence Awards:
n College of Agriculture: Paul R. Grossl
n College of Business: Stacey Barlow Hills
n College of Education and Human Services: Scott C. Bates
n College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences: Patricia Gantt
n College of Natural Resources: Karen E. Mock
n College of Science: Lance Seefeldt
Department Teaching Excellence Award:
Biological and Irrigation Engineering, College of Engineering
Student Commencement Speaker: Jared Bench, College of Engineering valedictorian
Honorary Degree recipient bio sketches:
The Very Reverend Frederick Quinney Lawson: Dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Salt Lake City, is a visionary community, religious and philanthropic leader in both Utah and the nation. He is an ordained priest in the Anglican Communion and has made significant contributions to his faith in Utah and abroad. In addition, as an individual and in collaboration with his family, he has played a significant role in the success of arts and education programs throughout the state. Father Rick was instrumental in bringing the Cultural Olympiad to Utah as part of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Utah. He continues to play a significant role in supporting the community in various roles and committees by serving some of the state’s leading cultural institutions, including Ballet West, Utah Symphony, Utah Opera and the Utah Arts Festival. Internationally, Father Rick is a strong supporter, both in terms of time and philanthropy, of the Seabase Project and other efforts to protect marine life. He serves as a trustee for the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation, the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, the Janet Q. Lawson Foundation and the Frederick Q. Lawson Foundation. In this position, he has played a remarkable role in supporting the growth and development of Utah State University. This philanthropic support has touched many areas of campus, including the College of Education and Human Services, the College of Natural Resources, the Eccles Science Learning Center, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art and the new Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall.
Cecelia Harrison Foxley: has dedicated her professional life to education both in Utah and the nation. She served for more than 10 years as Commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education and Chief Executive Officer of the State Board of Regents. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, she served as the Deputy Commissioner and as the Associate Commissioner for Academic Affairs for Utah. She received a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University and a master’s and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Her institutional experience includes faculty and administrative positions at Utah State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota. Dr. Foxley continues her service to education today as Regents Professor in the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Utah. She has been recognized nationally as one of the top state higher education leaders and served as the President of the organization that represents and speaks for state leaders, the State Higher Education Executive Officers national organization. She has played an active role in many key education organizations and is respected for her excellent judgment on issues faced by the American higher education community. Dr. Foxley has been a consultant to a variety of education, business, civic, religious and government organizations on many topics including behavioral science, management, organizational development, program evaluation and equal opportunity. She has authored or co-authored six books and numerous journal articles on topics such as educational management, non-sexist counseling, human relations education and equal opportunity. She has received a number of special awards for her life-long dedication to serving people in the state of Utah.
James D. Laub: has built his business, Cache Valley Electric, into one the premier electrical contractor businesses in the United States. In addition to his business success, he has also dedicated countless hours of service and philanthropy to the betterment of his community. The family-owned business has more than 600 employees with offices in Logan, Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix, South Carolina and Arkansas, to name just a few. Mr. Laub was named the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999 and one of the top 50 contractors for the past 10 years by Electrical News Record magazine. The magazine currently ranks Cache Valley Electric as the 43rd largest electrical contractor in the nation. Mr. Laub has a continuing legacy of giving to Utah State University. He has supported numerous major projects across campus. He has been a generous supporter of athletics at many levels, and he made a significant contribution to the Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Cai
ne Wanlass Performance Hall. His work in the community is equally generous and profound. He has served in various capacities at Sunshine Terrace, as Corporate Sponsorship Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as Honorary Board Member of the Ellen Eccles Ice Arena and on the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian Church. He received a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in Journalism and, more recently was awarded both the Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Spirit of Old Main Award from Utah State.
Young-Chul Hong: is an outstanding business and industrial leader in Korea who built and manages a world-class company, KISWIRE, that competes in global markets in Korea, the United States, Malaysia, Japan, China and affiliated companies in Europe. He is equally well known, however, in both Korea and among friends in the United States as a man completely dedicated to his community, his family and his friends. After earning an MBA from Utah State University, Mr. Hong returned to Korea to work for KISWIRE, a company his father founded in 1945. When he assumed the leadership role, he grew the company from $100 million in sales in 1988 to a projected total of $700 million in 2006. In 1995, Mr. Hong was awarded by the Korean president the Gold-Tower Industrial Contribution Decoration, the highest honor given by the Korean government for contributions to the economic welfare of the country. In addition to his business leadership, Mr. Hong’s deep and enduring commitment to higher education is reflected both in his engagement with Pohang University of Science and Technology In Korea and his ongoing involvement with and support of educational initiatives at Utah State. His generosity to USU programs and scholarship funds has enriched the educational experiences of students in the College of Business and in the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology. He has helped strengthen stronger ties between past and potential Korean students and USU programs, and he has facilitated professional interactions between USU faculty and faculty at a variety of Korean universities. He is widely admired and respected by peers, government officials, educators and employees for his kind and respectful demeanor and his principled management style.