As overcast, drizzly skies gave way to bright sunshine, Judy Woodruff, chief Washington correspondent for the Cable News Network, warned graduates that they were about to enter a society fraught with challenges and faced with a crisis of family.
Woodruff, a University trustee, alumna and keynote speaker at commencement Sunday, began her speech by noting a key difference between herself and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the University's first choice for commencement speaker: "In Charlotte last month, I cheered for the right team," Woodruff said.
In her address to 3,318 graduates, 1,661 of whom received undergraduate degrees, Woodruff contrasted current graduates with their parents' generation.
"When I left Duke, women could only dream about a seat on the Supreme Court," Woodruff said. "Computers were so big they filled entire rooms and we wrote our papers on machines called typewriters."
Woodruff acknowledged that college graduates today are bombarded with images of a grim job market, but said that a strong love of career renders making money less of a concern.
"There is always room out there for hard-working, creative people who very much want to make a contributionÉAt the end of most days you will feel fulfilledÉand you won't be consumed with worry about how much more you wish you were earning. If, on the other hand, money is the driving force behind your ambition, you are setting yourself up for disappointment."
Woodruff also praised graduates' parents for their role in instilling morals and values in their children.
Today's children, however--the next generation of graduates--are not receiving the same parental guidance, she said, citing statistics indicating a rise in child abuse, children born out of wedlock, children living in poverty and children of divorced parents. Such trends lead to increased violent crime among young people and decreased educational performance, Woodruff said.
"There is a clear correlation between family structure and poverty, crime and academic successÉWhile America remains the envy of the world in economics, higher education and most other competitive barometers, we certainly are not the envy of the world in terms of family stability and a sense of individual responsibility."
To combat this decline in the quality of family life, mothers and fathers alike must have options for combining work with time at home to raise a family. Although the combination can be a struggle, Woodruff offered herself, a mother of three, as a personal example that such a combination can succeed.
"Almost every day I worry, like most other mothers who work outside the home, about whether I am striking the proper balance, and what the long-lasting effects of my choice will be on my childrenÉBut I believe I am a better mother and wife because I am fulfilled at work, and I know I'm a better journalist because of the joys of my family."
Woodruff urged graduates not to overlook their commitment to family and community in their quests for personal success. She also implored them to find time to spend with an underprivileged child. "You can tutor them, take them to a ball game, a movie, out to get a hamburger, or just talk. Make a difference in that child's life. Some of you may be able to do a lot more; all of you should be able to do at least this."
At the commencement ceremony, the University also awarded honorary degrees to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor and University alumnus Paul Hardin, award-winning author and University graduate Josephine Humphreys, United States Olympic Committee President and former chancellor of North Carolina Central University LeRoy Walker, and renowned ecologist George Woodwell.
In her opening remarks, University president Nan Keohane welcomed graduates and their friends and families to a "slightly soggy, slightly late commencement under Duke blue skies." Hardin corrected Keohane a few minutes later.
"The sky is Carolina blue, but my heart has a distinctly Duke blue hue today," Hardin said.
The commencement was not without its spontaneous and heartwarming moments. As the graduates filed into the stadium, a group of Medical School graduates carrying placards stopped in front of North Carolina resident Becky Brown, who was attending to see her boyfriend David Schoenfeld graduate. The students then held up magic-marker signs to spell, "Becky, will you marry me?" Brown immediately accepted Schoenfeld's proposal, and the two embraced after Schoenfeld's friends hoisted him up to the stadium stands to meet her.
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