HIGHER EDUCATION A KEY TO THE FREEDOM TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES A Letter from President Benson Like colleges and universities across our country, we gathered in May to conduct commencement ceremonies, conferring degrees upon a record number of EKU graduates. As I looked out upon the sea of our newest alumni, I couldn’t help but think of the words of George Plimpton, offered to the Class of 1978 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges: “We sense that you are all much brighter than we are. You speak a language that is almost foreign to us. You can read digital printouts ... and what is particularly disturbing is that you all come out at the same time — May or June — in hordes with your dark graduation cloaks darkening the earth.” Even in 2018, the vestiges of the Old World are never more readily seen than in the tradition-rich ceremonies of higher education with our Oxford-influenced mortar boards, dark robes, sheepskins and hoods of various colors and shapes. Notwithstanding these nods to the past, there is nothing more exhilarating than shaking the hand of each graduate and knowing that behind the awarding of every single diploma is a story: a story of sacrifices made so that opportunities could be afforded and chances given to pursue dreams heretofore unattainable. George Washington Carver called education “the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”
Freedom is such a beautiful word and fraught with so much meaning. The completed degree signifies freedom from coursework or study groups or exams or research papers. But it also signifies freedom to choose one’s own path, freedom from ignorance and misconceptions and fake news and freedom to come to one’s own decisions and draw one’s own conclusions. In America today, higher education is under a tremendous amount of scrutiny. What is it that we offer to society? Are we worth it? What is the return on investment? Is the cost of a college degree defensible? Three university presidents, when recently asked about the best way to measure the worth of a college degree, offered different responses, based on their experiences and backgrounds. Michael Drake, president of The Ohio State University and a physician, responded in a way one might expect of someone associated with the field of medicine: longer life expectancy and increased quality of life. Michael Schill, president of the University of Oregon, former dean of the University of Chicago Law School and the first in his family to graduate from college, said the best measurement is social mobility. Mark Schlissel, president of the University of Michigan and also a medical doctor, chose to summarize the best measurement of a degree thusly: “At its best, higher education gives us the freedom to make decisions based on our values, desires, human talents and willingness to work hard. We are free to choose our own path. Education takes freedom beyond its status as a legal right and elevates it into a lifetime of choices. It’s the trajectory of those lives, changed by the opportunities available through a college education, that I am most interested in measuring.” As long as we can make American higher education — still the envy of the world — affordable and accessible to all, nothing else provides the portal to more opportunity. College graduates are only limited by their own expectations, the extent to which they are willing to invest in themselves and the effort they are willing to expend in pursuit of goals. LEFT: Chelsey Hernandez and her daughter enjoy a moment together following the College of Justice & Safety commencement on December 16, 2016. OPPOSITE: President Benson processes with faculty following the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences commencement on May 12, 2018.
02 FALL 2018
