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| Photos by Stanley Blanchard |
Commencement 2005: Honorees Participate in Colloquy
Rensselaer’s 2005 Commencement honorees — the Honorable Paul Volcker, Robert Coonrod, and Joé Juneau ’91 — joined President Shirley Ann Jackson in a colloquy on “Personal Achievement — Public Lives — Public Responsibility,” on Friday, May 20. The broad-ranging conversation touched on issues including economic policy, the environment, globalization, workforce development, and challenges of communicating complex issues in the current media environment — all discussed in an ethical framework.
“We have with us three very accomplished individuals, all of whom have taken different paths to success, all of whom have personally achieved in public life and in the public interest, and each of whom enjoys success in more than one chosen field,” President Jackson told the audience in the auditorium of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies that spilled over into the Bruggeman Center.
“Our Colloquy participants also share a common trait with Rensselaer graduates. As leaders in their respective domains, they have welcomed complex challenges that not everyone would take on. We celebrate their commitment and their achievements,” Jackson said.
Noting the challenge of getting a democracy to work on complex problems that do not appear to pose an imminent threat, but that pose long-term risks, former Federal Reserve Chairman Volcker warned of the growing debt in the U.S. He pointed out that the United States is “coasting along” spending 6 percent more than it is producing, and borrowing $600 to $700 billion a year. He asked how long Americans can go on continuing to build debts, and how long will others want to invest in the dollar? “We have a seeming comfortable situation but it cannot inherently last forever, and we’re not doing anything about it,” Chairman Volcker warned.
Coonrod, the longest serving president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), talking of the complexity of the media, said “the more information we have, the less we seem to understand what is happening. The challenge for broadcasting is to provide perspective and context.” Talking of the propensity for polarizing policy debates, he worried that discussions are too often about “winning and losing and taking sides,” and asked how communication can be improved to “help people develop a capacity for empathy” for other points of view in an effort to find common ground on global challenges.
Juneau, a former ice hockey standout, aeronautical engineering major, and currently a partner and vice president for external affairs and educational development with the engineering technology company Harfan Technologies, discussed the importance of protecting the environment and preserving natural resources in the midst of fast-paced growth. He urged students and others in the audience to consider options for sustainable economic development.
Throughout the 90-minute discussion, panel members spoke of the importance of leadership, integrity, and role models. Chairman Volcker spoke of the example of his father, Paul Volcker Sr., a 1911 graduate of Rensselaer and life-long public servant in New Jersey. “If you are leading an organization, there is no better way than doing it by example,” he said.
WMHT-TV will televise the Colloquy in a program scheduled to air June 2 at 9 p.m. |
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