June 2006

Faculty Salaries Reach and Exceed
80th Percentile Goal

More than 25,000 GW graduates, family members, and friends were treated to sunny skies, an historic location, and prominent speakers for the University’s Commencement held on Sunday, May 21, 2006, on the National Mall between 4th and 7th streets, NW. Honorary degree recipients former President George H.W. Bush, former First Lady Barbara Bush, and Viacom and CBS Chairman Sumner Redstone imparted pearls of wisdom interspersed among humorous anecdotes and quotes.

The former President and First Lady delivered a first-of-its-kind joint address to the graduates offering a series of “best of” commencement quotations and playful banter about a young girl once referring to Barbara Bush as George Washington’s mother.

On a more serious note, President Bush, who received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree, stressed the importance of public service to this year’s graduates. “The best place to invest our capital is in the very lives of our people,” said Bush. “We need this capital of yours. The world needs it. We need your time, your energy, and your enthusiasm. If you have an idea, you ought to act on it. If you want to build a better America, now is the time to start.”

Like her husband, Mrs. Bush also accepted an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree. During their joint address, Mrs. Bush spoke out for literacy and said, “I cannot imagine life without books. I feel like Benjamin Franklin who, when asked what condition of man deserves the most pity, replied: ‘A lonesome man on a rainy day who does not know how to read. Knowing how to read and write and comprehend is crucial to keeping our young people off the streets, out of jail, and in school.’”

Redstone, chairman of Viacom, CBS Corporation, and National Amusements, Inc., shared his thoughts on the importance of education in post-college years. “It’s the academic accomplishments of these young men and women that we celebrate today and the commencement of the broader life lessons they will no doubt soon learn,” Redstone remarked. “Education and family, these are the two priorities, pillars of a successful life in my estimation, whatever career you pursue.” Redstone, grandfather of 2006 GW graduate Brandon Korff, was presented with an honorary Doctor of Arts degree to recognize his decades as an entertainment industry giant.

GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg presided over his first Commencement since announcing his transition from University President to President Emeritus and University Professor of Public Service

in 2007. During his charge to the class of 2006, Trachtenberg discussed his level of commitment to GW and higher education.

“What I’ve tried to do for nearly 30 years as a university president is to make it possible for students to find what they were seeking,” said Trachtenberg. “That has been a passion for me and it will continue to be.”

In addition to the University Commencement, each school held celebration events Friday, May 19, through Sunday, May 21. On Saturday, May 20, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences students celebrated with Washington Nationals Manager Frank Robinson, who received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree and shared advice he received from his mother: “You can’t always be the best, but you can strive to try to do the best. It is not failure if you do not reach the heights. Because if you’ve given the effort, that’s all you can ask of yourself.” Robinson also encouraged graduates to look nearby and not afar for role models. He said, “Select someone who is a very special person in your life and live your life like that individual. Most of the time that individual is right in front of you or right along side of you—and that’s your parents.”

On Sunday afternoon, May 21, Dan Glickman, JD ’69, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, addressed GW’s Law School graduates and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. During the ceremony, Glickman said, “I believe your job is not only to do well and live well for yourself and your families, but as law graduates in the nation’s capital, to realize you have a real stake and shared responsibility in furthering the American dream.”

Also on Sunday, US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, MD, spoke to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences MD degree students, telling them, “Welcome to the fraternity of physicians, for upon acceptance of this degree you enter a sacred trust between you and the public. For now you have the privilege, obligation, and duty to serve and care for those fellow citizens we call patients. In our society, it is you and you alone who has the distinct privilege and utmost responsibility to enter the most protected sanctuary of our fellow citizens: To probe their hearts, their minds and their souls; to keep them healthy; or deliver them from disease or despair.”

On Saturday, May 20, Helene Gayle, MD, president and CEO of CARE, addressed the School of Public Health and Health Services graduates and guests. “I have always been interested in social justice,” said Dr. Gayle. “And there was an ‘a-ha’ moment for me when I realized that public health can be a tool for social change.”
During the Elliott School of International Affairs celebration on May 19, former
GW president Lloyd Elliott addressed those who were gathered. He told them, “To help others is to honor them, and when you do so, respecting those of the other culture, you honor yourself as well.”

In its 185-year history, GW has hosted other presidential families during commencement. In 1929, former President Calvin Coolidge addressed graduates of GW’s Law School. President Harry Truman was the Commencement speaker in 1946, the year his daughter Margaret received a bachelor’s degree in history from GW. President John F. Kennedy spoke during Commencement in 1961. And, in 1994, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was the Commencement keynote speaker.

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