Graduates, members of the Board of Regents, President Benson, members of the faculty and staff, parents, distinguished guests, family and friends; it is my pleasure and honor to have the opportunity to address you today as the chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder.
I know today's graduates join me in extending a special welcome to their family and friends, whose love and support have helped to make this day possible. Please join me in showing our appreciation.
With us today, are many members of the faculty who have guided and mentored these graduates. They have shared their time, knowledge and expertise to help each student reach this important milestone.
Graduates, congratulations! But, as an education professor, I have one more assignment for you … As you move onto the next chapter of your life, I am asking you to do one more thing — be curious.
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, famous for his work with black holes and the Big Bang, made his first post on Facebook about a year ago. In his post he wrote: “I have always wondered what makes the universe exist. Time and space may forever be a mystery … but that has not stopped my pursuit."
Dr. Hawking went on to write: “Our connections to one another have grown infinitely, and now that I have the chance, I'm eager to share this journey with you. Be curious, I know I will forever be.” His post quickly garnered a like from Mark Zuckerberg, whose own curiosity led to Facebook.
If universities are about anything, they are about stoking the fires of a deeper, boundless curiosity within each of us.
One of your predecessors on this campus was Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, for whom our fountain free-speech courtyard is named. He was blacklisted in the 1950s as a communist sympathizer. He had a deep and abiding curiosity about the human spirit and the will of human beings to transcend their difficulties.
CU's great fallen astronauts, Ellison Onizuka and Kalpana Chawla, had boundless curiosity about our universe and they died pursuing it.
For our Nobel laureates, working to solve the riddle of cancer, it begins with curiosity.
For our social scientists, trying to solve the mystery of how we accommodate our differences, at a time of societal dissension, it starts with curiosity.
For our graduates, wondering about the people and the cultures around them, and in the broader world … it begins with curiosity.
If we have taught you to be creative, to be innovative, and to be curious, we have done our job because those things will lead to success over a lifetime.
Thank you, and my sincere congratulations to each of you.
Introduction of commencement speaker Kelly Graziadei
Now, it is my great pleasure to introduce our commencement speaker, Facebook executive, and CU-Boulder graduate, Kelly Graziadei.
Ms. Graziadei graduated from CU-Boulder with a degree in advertising in 1997. She serves as the director of global marketing solutions at Facebook. Prior to her time at Facebook, she worked for a variety of companies, including Yahoo, 90-octane and Alta Vista.
The Senior Class Council selected Ms. Graziadei to deliver today’s commencement speech, and I am glad it did, because, like all of you, she is the epitome of student success.
Kelly grew up in Parker, Colo. She was a Boettcher Scholar and a member of the Presidents Leadership Class here at CU.
She is an exemplar for giving back to the university, dropping into advertising classes by Skype to offer her knowledge and perspective to our students. Today, we are thrilled to have her back home at CU-Boulder.
Please welcome Kelly Graziadei!