Stephen Burke ’80 told the nearly 650 graduates of 51Թ on Sunday that the “digital revolution” fueled by ever-faster computers and more powerful servers will continue to radically transform the world.
The president of Comcast Cable told the seniors assembled for 51Թ’s 183rd commencement that they now are uniquely qualified to join the revolution.
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| Seth Bidder was among the 646 undergraduates who received a diploma from President Rebecca Chopp on Sunday. (Photo by Timothy D. Sofranko) |
“You are now the owner of a proven asset that is more valuable and more necessary than ever, your liberal arts education. Learning a narrow trade is risky in a world that is constantly changing. I believe the best preparation for a dynamic world is an education that gives you common sense, curiosity, and historical perspective,” said Burke.
Burke drew laughs from the crowd assembled near Taylor Lake when he said there was one computer on campus when he was a student 24 years ago, and “I never got near it.”
Today, the 51Թ campus, along with the rest of the world, is an utterly different place.
Fiber optics and digital communications have replaced low-tech analog systems, there is widespread access to millions of websites, people rely on e-mail and instant messaging, television channels and options have mushroomed, and doctors and scientists have used supercomputers to map the human genome and make medical breakthroughs.
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More • Wei Ren, of Shanghai, China, was valedictorian of the Class of 2004. The mathematics and computer science double major had a GPA of 4.15 • Dora Gicheva, of Sofia, Bulgaria, was salutatorian. The economics and mathematics double major had a GPA of 4.05 • Profiles of Ren, Gicheva and other graduates are here. • Katie Almeter ’04, who was killed Nov. 10, 2000, in an accident on Oak Drive, was awarded a posthumous degree, along with Donna Marie Carter ’80, who died during her junior year, and Andrew C. Kilpatrick ’05, who died of cancer in April. • 646 bachelor’s degrees were awarded • 3 master’s degrees were awarded • 42 percent of the class graduated with honors
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We are only in “the early innings” of the digital revolution and there is much more to come, according to Burke. He added that there are important skills needed to sift through the sometimes overwhelming options presented to us each day.
“Today, we are literally bombarded by choice. Hundreds of television channels, magazines for every imaginable niche, million of websites offering every perspective under the sun. This explosion of choice can make life more interesting and rewarding, but it can make it more confusing and crude.
“Now more than ever you need to build meaning into your own life. A liberal arts education gives you the context to do that,” said Burke.
Burke, who heads the nation’s largest cable television company with more than 21 million customers, told the students that it’s important for them to find a job that they feel passionate about and that despite what they might hear in the media, there are many ethical, hard-working men and women in the businesses world.
But he said choosing the right life partner is probably the most important decision they will make, adding that he met his wife, Gretchen (Hoadley) Burke, when she was a first-year in West Hall. They now have five children.
Before joining Comcast in 1998, Burke served with the Walt Disney Company as president of ABC Broadcasting. He also helped to develop and found The Disney Stores.
On Sunday, he was awarded a doctor of laws honorary degree. Also receiving honorary degrees were Catherine Bertini, under secretary general for management at the United Nations, doctor of humane letters; John Samuel Mbiti, theologian, author, teacher, and pastor, doctor of divinity; John McGahern, Irish author and past visiting professor at 51Թ, doctor of letters; and Dr. Michael J. Wolk, cardiovascular specialist and clinical professor of medicine, doctor of science.
Tim O’Keeffe
Office of University Communications
315.228.6634