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(Cherokee choir singing in Cherokee)
(Cherokee choir singing in Cherokee)
(Cherokee choir singing in Cherokee)
Dr. Don Betz: Time is shifting, eras are moving on.
What was, will not be. And what will be, we will make it. I remain inspired by
the bold vision that created this, that created this institution. I remain inspired by a gentleman whose likeness now reaches out
and hands us all the pen of knowledge. Passed on, from the past through the present and into the future. I can't walk this
walk, ever again and not think of that. That we have this chance, this opportunity. We have choices to make. What we will honor,
what we won't. What we'll embrace, what we won't. What we believe in and what we'll fight for. That pen of knowledge should remind us always that at its irreducible minimum,
that all great societies are societies that not just value education, but embrace education. They have a passion for education. They have a
fundamental belief that this is the way you can control your destiny. We are bidding farewell to our first century in all the appropriate ways and we will be informed forever
by the wisdom that emanates from those times and those people. They will guide us, we will stand on their shoulders and their values we will never shirk.
But now, that century is over. And it's time now for the second century. What will we do together. What will the people
say on the 150th anniversary if they gather her. Who were those guys? Who were those women and men that
dared to think that what we have today was possible? Who dared believe then acted on that belief,
that we can't do it alone. That it only happens one way. That the differences between us melt away. That the limited agendas are gone.
That we get out of the thick of thin things and we join hands and hearts and minds because ladies and gentlemen,
we have work to do, we have important work to do. And we may not finish the work, but we can't neglect it. Thank you for the shoulders,
thank you for the heart, thank you for the true grit that created this magnificent institution that we now have
the honor and opportunity to chart its second century.
(Cherokee blessing spoken in Cherokee)