LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2005) -- University of Kentucky graduates were warned during their commencement today that America will continue to face threats to its national security from abroad, but will likely also encounter internal threats because of an apathetic electorate and religious influences on state decisions.
The cautions about internal threats to American democracy came from Constantine W. “Deno” Curris, a UK graduate, former president of Murray State University and current president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU),
Speaking to a graduation crowd of about 5,200 friends and relatives of the 6,272 candidates for degrees honored at UK’s 138th commencement in Lexington’s Rupp Arena, Curris, the son of immigrants, said America’s greatness “in large measure results from the immeasurable contributions from millions of our fellow citizens who came to America seeking religious freedom and who were not made afraid though they were not in the majority.”
“While our country has and will continue to face threats to our national security from abroad,” Curris said, “no threat may be more potentially damaging to our future than the well-intentioned, but misguided efforts to eviscerate the First Amendment by seeking to bring religious influence upon the decisions of state.”
But an even greater challenge to democracy, added Curris who has both a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a doctorate in education from UK, “may be the apathy of our own citizens especially prevalent among the youngest, yet most educated.”
“Over the last half century, among the 172 nations holding democratic elections, the USA ranks 139th in voter participation,” Curris emphasized. “We are in the bottom 20 percent.”
“Remember on key fact,” Curris said, “In the last two national elections the percentage of college students and graduates age 25 and under who voted was less than the percentage of high school dropouts 65 and older.”
“You can do better,” he urged the graduates. “You must do better. High citizenship entails taking the time to understand the policy issues facing our citizens. It means discussing those issues—seeking to uncover greater truths and determining where wisdom leads.
“When apathy and indifference prevail, when high citizenship is enfeebled, the power of vested interests – especially moneyed vested interests – predominates, and the common good is sacrificed.”
The graduating class addressed by Curris had a record-breaking 6,272 candidates for degrees, 252 more than the number honored in 2004 and a record-breaking number of doctoral degree recipients.
Jeannine Blackwell, dean of the UK Graduate School noted during her introduction of doctoral degree recipients that UK’s Strategic Plan called for UK to award 250 doctoral degrees by 2006 and this year’s number is already up to 268.
The candidates for degrees include 3,960 students who completed their work this spring semester; 939 who completed their work in the summer session of 2004; and 1,373 who completed their degree requirements in December 2004.
Graduates also were addressed by one of their own at Commencement, Rachel Lee Watts of Shelbyville, a two-time Student Government president and a voting member of the UK Board of Trustees.
Watts majored in integrated strategic communications in the College of Communications and Information Studies and minored in sociology with a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0. She is a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, where she held numerous leadership positions and served as a mentor in UK’s Emerging Leaders Institute.
Among persons receiving special awards during the graduation ceremony were an honorary doctorate recipient, three Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion winners, the winner of the William B. Sturgill Award for graduate research, and the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize winner.
An honorary doctorate in science was presented to Stanley Platek, a pioneer in aluminum production and recycling. Platek is vice president of research and development for the Commonwealth Aluminum Corporation, a company that has profoundly changed aluminum production in partnership with UK.
Platek invented a continuous-casting process that reduced energy consumption and emissions in aluminum production while producing a more durable and quality-controlled product. He is a 1960 graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and holds seven U.S. patents for his aluminum processing ideas.
A citizen in the community and a male and a female graduating student each received Sullivan Medallions recognizing their outstanding community service. The 2005 Sullivan Medallion winners were:
-- Brandon Edward Leo Fenley of Frankfort, the graduating male student. Fenley was selected for his efforts to create community forums to address the issue of Lexington’s indigent population.
-- Megan Sonya Thomas of Lexington, the graduating female student. Thomas’ selection was based on her service to Lexington’s Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Relay for Life, and God’s Pantry.
-- Judy Harrison of Lexington is this year’s non-student Sullivan Medallion winner. An employee in UK’s Training Resource Center, Harrison has for more than 30 years provided foster care to children with severe and frequently life-threatening conditions, including nonfunctional organs and malformations. While several of her foster children have defied doctors’ prognoses and survived to adulthood, others have, as Harrison describes it, been “rocked into heaven” while in her home.
The William B. Sturgill Award, which carries a $2,000 cash prize, was presented to John Van Willigen, professor of anthropology and behavioral science in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, which carries a $5,000 prize, was given to Louis Barry Hersh, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and director of the Kentucky Center for Structural Biology.
Hersh’s research on human diseases at the molecular level is widely recognized and cited, bringing significant visibility and recognition to UK. Research funding for Hersh’s work includes $3 million in 2004 from the National Institute on Aging.
His recent work focuses on decreasing the brain’s accumulation of amyloid beta peptide, which is the neurotoxin widely believe to be the causative agent of Alzheimer’s disease.
The first graduates from one of UK’s most prestigious scholarship programs, the E.O. Robinson Scholars Program, were recognized during the Commencement. Twenty-five students in this program, which began in 1997 with the induction of 162 rising ninth-graders selected from 29 Eastern Kentucky counties, received UK degrees.
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