Spring commencement: Transcript of remarks by Chancellor John Wiley

Commencement Remarks
Delivered by Chancellor John Wiley
May 13-15, 2005
Kohl Center

Welcome to the 152nd commencement of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. I’m often asked to comment on the university’s contribution to economic development and technology transfer. Most people, I suspect, think I’ll tell them about patenting and licensing, about our research programs or the ways in which we try to help business and industry through consulting and other means, or about spin-off companies.

And, of course, we do all those things and they do make significant contributions to the economy. But our number one contribution to the economy and to technology transfer, both in magnitude and in value, is you, our graduates.

People are frequently surprised to hear that, but they shouldn’t be. In a knowledge-based economy, the incremental return on investment for education gets larger and real in percentage terms every year. And while lifetime earnings are, by no means, the only way to measure an individual’s value to society, it’s one reasonable measure used by economists of an individual’s value and contribution to the economy.

I referred to a knowledge-based economy. Needless to say, you’re leaving here with considerably more knowledge than you brought with you when you first arrived – not just factual knowledge, but more importantly knowledge and understanding of how to continue your own education for the rest of your life – enhanced analytic abilities and experience in testing those skills against real world problems. These are precisely the things that make post-secondary and post-graduate degrees increasingly valuable.

When most of us in this room were in school – and here I’m referring not to the graduates, but (to) all the rest of us — college was largely a matter of taking and passing lecture and lab courses in fairly narrowly defined curricula. Except at the advanced graduate level, there was relatively little opportunity for exploring other forms of learning. Looking back on it, I think there was some truth to the charges of ivory tower isolation.

Over the years, this has changed more dramatically than most people realize. We’ve greatly increased the emphasis on out-of-classroom learning, early involvement in research, study abroad programs, internships, service learning, independent study and group projects, to name only a few dynamic, interactive learning modes. And an increasing fraction of the curriculum is built not just around textbooks, but around engagement with real world problems and projects. The same core material is learned, but it’s learned in a more meaningful and effective context.

Let me give you some examples:

Last month, as part of a School of Business competition, graduate and undergraduate students working across campus and across disciplines formed new businesses and devised marketable products. Among them were an already-patented device that delivers large-molecule drugs to patients, a mechanism that aids firefighters in escaping from burning buildings, a cap for water wells that keeps out airborne pathogens, and an antibacterial treatment for fabrics used in specialized markets such as hotels and hospitals.

At the School of Engineering, another team of students, interested in creating a clean energy future, came up with a Zero Carbon Car, powered by high-tech batteries, a fuel cell and solar panels. Clean water is the car’s only exhaust byproduct.

This sort of resourcefulness will help Wisconsin, which has a mature slow-growth economy, build a stronger and more diversified economic base. Our students are constantly pushing the envelope, finding new and exciting ways to learn.

Just last month, 244 undergraduate students presented research projects during our annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. These aren’t the sorts of projects that are graded, returned to the students, and never heard of again. These are projects with enormous potential and practical use. Projects like these, in addition to serving as exciting learning environments, will ultimately create much-needed jobs and help raise Wisconsin’s per capita income.

During your time on campus, many of you have also helped strengthen communities by applying the Wisconsin Idea – the view that the boundaries of campus are the boundaries of the state and beyond. Through Wisconsin Idea fellowships, students have teamed with faculty to: enhance science education in rural Wisconsin; develop a local weekly radio show to engage young people in the American political system; tutor middle school students with an eye toward changing their attitudes toward mathematics; and improve a water distribution system in a small town in Rwanda.

About two weeks ago, the Wisconsin Innocence Project of the UW Law School, helped by the brainpower of 12 law students, succeeded in having charges dropped against a former police officer who had been wrongly convicted of first-degree murder. The dedicated work of these students and their mentors set the record straight.

The list goes on.

In the meantime, another significant change has occurred in the job market itself. When I was in school, many if not most students hoped to find jobs with established, stable companies and progress through those companies, eventually retiring without ever changing employers. If that was ever the norm, it most certainly is not true today. Most of you can anticipate multiple different careers, not just several jobs. And increasing numbers of graduates are going out and creating their own jobs as entrepreneurs.

Whatever path you choose, let me say on behalf of the faculty and staff of this university, we are totally confident that you are ready for the challenge.

While here, you’ve approached life at full throttle. You’ve embraced our ethic of discovery. You have already confronted challenges inherent in our future and made serious contributions to meeting those challenges. You’ve been a credit to this institution and to this state. We’re certain that you will take that energy, that ambition and that curiosity into your communities and use your skills to strengthen our economy and our world in the same way that you’ve strengthened this university.

I wish you all the best. Thank you, and “On, Wisconsin!”