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Carson
compared the challenges today’s graduates face to
those surmounted by their World War II-era predecessors.
“We’re no longer in the industrial age,”
he said. “We’re in the information age. We’re
in the technical age. And we must be able to do something
different now… Our future is in your hands.”
Rensselaer
President Shirley Ann Jackson honored Carson for “pioneering
new surgical techniques to improve the lives of patients,
especially children, and for dedicating his life to motivating
and enabling disadvantaged youth to reach for their dreams.”
Medical Miracles
Ten years later in 1997, Carson led a team of South African doctors in the first successful separation of twins joined at the top of the head. At 33, he became the youngest ever chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the U.S. His techniques have saved hundreds of children’s lives. Born into poverty, Carson knows what it takes to beat the odds. His father abandoned his family when he was 8, but his mother encouraged him to learn, and he was transformed from a fifth-grade “dummy” to a top scholar.
Honorary Degree Recipients Jackson noted that all of this year’s honorees “exemplify the ingenuity and imagination, and entrepreneurship and innovation that have been the hallmarks of [Rensselaer].”
Click here for more photos of Commencement. Photos by Thomas Griffin except where noted. |
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Carson
walked into the world spotlight in 1987 when he led a medical team that
successfully separated West German conjoined twins who were connected
at the cranium, the first time this kind of surgery was performed. Both
children survived. 
He
is the author of three best-selling books, Gifted Hands, Think
Big, and The Big Picture. All three incorporate his belief
that discipline and exhibiting good character are at the core of true
success. He earned a scholarship to Yale University, then graduated
from the University of Michigan Medical School. 
During
her 1993-2001 tenure as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Shalala expanded the Head Start educational program, boosted AIDS research,
sought universal immunizations for children, and reformed welfare. She
is now the president of the University of Miami. Silverman, a Troy native
and well-known local philanthropist, has helped transform New York’s
Capital Region into a pace-setter in law, science, medicine, and education
through the initiatives of his Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation.
Smalley, the Hackerman Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, is
one of three recipients of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the
discovery of carbon atoms bound in the form of a ball, commonly known
as fullerenes or “buckeyballs.” Solow, a world-leading economist,
received the Nobel Prize in 1987 for his seminal contributions to the
theory of capital and economic growth. Lastly, Bruno, New York State
Majority Leader, has worked tirelessly to bring the economic benefits
of biotechnology and technological innovation to his constituents.
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Rensselaer News |
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