jo williams, dean of the college of management & human services
Opening Remarks
Best wishes and congratulations on your graduation. You have worked hard to reach this goal and have earned the chance to celebrate your accomplishments. The current challenges facing us today have created new obstacles that have already re-shaped your lives, and we are excited to see how you will use these experiences to define your future. We believe in you. Be bold, live life to the fullest, and never stop learning. Congratulations.
Firooza Pavri, Director of the Muskie School
Congratulations Muskie graduates! Despite the unprecedented circumstances the globe faces with the pandemic, you have persevered and we delight in your success. You have demonstrated resilience by successfully navigating through graduation and this same steadfastness will carry you through future achievements. Be proud of what you have accomplished today and realize that you are now among that small group across the globe that has the distinction of a college degree. With your passage into this select group of individuals comes a responsibility to use what you have learned wisely and to apply your knowledge and skills to solve the issues that we will face through the 21st Century. Senator Edmund S. Muskie can provide a model here. He dedicated his life to the service of others – starting in the Maine House of Representatives, then as Governor of Maine, U.S. Senator, Democratic nominee for Vice President, and finally as U.S. Secretary of State. As graduates of a School with his name, I hope that you will carry that legacy of public service proudly forward. We will be cheering you on and will relish in all your successes!
Charlie micoleau, chair of the board of visitors
Greetings from the Muskie Board of Visitors.
There are no easy messages for these chaotic times.
Your lives have been upended abruptly.
Your jobs or job prospects are likely uncertain.
Your future is uncertain…even if we can see light ahead.
But we know from experience that commitment to a free society, pursued with energy, integrity and creativity, can bring positive results.
That is the core of Edmund S. Muskie’s legacy.
Senator Muskie was part of what has been called “the greatest generation.” This generation transformed our economy after World War Two, initiated the civil rights movement, undertook environmental protection and conservation efforts, crafted lasting global institutions, and shaped new understandings of government and society, inspiring public service and volunteerism.
But, as with the uncertain world you face today, none of that was apparent when Senator Muskie graduated from college in 1936. Or three years later in 1939 when he earned his law degree, He and his contemporaries entered an era of economic depression, a divided and poverty-stricken society, confronted by the threats of war with totalitarian leaders.
They graduated into a cataclysmic decade. But through their optimism, their knowledge, skills, values and commitment to each other, they achieved the reforms that were needed. They made a difference by seeking to build what Senator Muskie urged in his Earth Day speech fifty years ago, a “whole society,” inclusive and based on respect for our common values.
As we join you in celebrating your Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service degrees, we have confidence that you too have the knowledge, skills, values and determination to make our Maine community and the world at large a much better place — a whole society.
Congratulations.