Excerpted remarks from UNE’s president at the University of New England’s 2007 College of Arts and Sciences and College of Health Professions Commencement:

President Danielle N. Ripich, Ph.D.

Graduating students, your families and all your supporters, members of the faculty, administration, staff, trustees and special guests...welcome to the University of New England’s 2007 Commencement Ceremonies.

Today’s ceremony celebrates the graduation of students from our College of Health Professions and College of Arts and Sciences. We also hold a separate ceremony for our College of Osteopathic Medicine.

As a new president, there are many milestones I’ve counted off over the past year. But today is particularly special as it marks my first time at a UNE Commencement. I am proud to share this day with each and every one of you. Though I have not been here long, I have discovered the passion, depth and drive of the students who choose to come to this institution. As I approach my first anniversary here, I am still just beginning - learning new things and meeting new people every day. Each of you is now moving on to new beginnings. You leave our university, this place that has taught you well and provided you with the education and experiences needed to be a success in a new place.

I am reminded of a quote that seems particularly fitting today. “The future is a place that is created. Created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.”

In my inaugural address last September, I challenged the University to come together and – in the words of Walt Whitman – “steer for the deep waters only.” To go act boldly and take up the issues and causes that were worth fighting for. To chart a new destiny for UNE.

All of us here at this ceremony today are in the process of “creating” our own futures – whether as graduates who will embark on new careers … as family members and friends inspired by their loved ones’ accomplishments … as UNE faculty or staff members taking stock of their work with these students.

In my role as president, I am helping to create the future for this University that we all deeply care for. Along with the help of the entire UNE community, I have begun work on a strategic plan that will spell out a vision for the institution ten years from now. Many extraordinary people have worked to make the institution what it is today – a University that provides unique and interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences, and that educates more and better-trained healthcare workers in the state of Maine than any other college or university. It is my goal to provide the foundation for the University’s future, by developing a plan for UNE that challenges us to create an even stronger institution.

So, now I challenge each of you to take your experiences, your hard-earned education, and go out and do something great. Set a course that will make a difference in your life and the lives of others. We wish you well on this adventure ahead.