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Features: May 20, 2002
Despite the Snow, Commmencement Goes
On
Tito Tells Grads: "Hope Boldly, Think Huge, and Pursue
Your Passion"
"Hope boldly, think huge, and pursue
your passion," civilian space traveler and Rensselaer
alumnus Dennis Tito '64 told about 2,090 graduates during
Rensselaer's 196th Commencement.
"Despite the headlines, despite the
reality of evil, despite all that you and your classmates
around the world have been through-this world is more democratic,
more free, more rich, and more safe than ever before,"
said Tito, who addressed Rensselaer's Class of 2002 during
the university's 196th Commencement at the Houston Field
House.
"Don't just pursue a career,"
he continued, "pursue your passion. From that moment
in 1957, when I first heard the seductive beeps of Russia's
Sputnik, my passion was space."
Because of the unexpected snow Saturday
morning, Rensselaer moved the ceremony from the Harkness
Field into the Houston Field House.
President Jackson praised the work of Rensselaer
employees, some working since 4 a.m. Before her welcoming
remarks, she asked for a round of applause for the staff
and volunteers who diligently worked together to move the
location indoors.
Rensselaer also conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Arts
and Humane Letters on Bobby Farrelly '81; an Honorary Doctorate
of Science on Claire Fraser '77; and an Honorary Doctorate
of Engineering on Ruth Simmons.
Commencement weekend began
with a ceremony to break ground for the new Center for Biotechnology
and Interdisciplinary Studies on Friday, May 17. The groundbreaking,
which took place in the parking lot for the George M. Low
Center, included remarks from Anthony Tether '64, director
of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
"We at DARPA do a lot of funding of
research in the bio area, research in the nano area, and
research in the IT area. But none of these will be successful
unless we know how to connect it together," Tether
said. "That is what this center is all about -- the
engineering that will take those technologies and make them
into a reality."
Commencement photos by Thomas Griffin; groundbreaking
photo by Steven Morris
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