[Photo] IU Seal design imbedded in the floor in the entrance to the IU Southeast Library.

May 9, 2011

Congratulations, Indiana University Southeast Class of 2011! You are the LARGEST graduating class in IU Southeast history. You have earned an Indiana University degree. You have sacrificed and worked hard, and today you should celebrate.

As we honor all of our graduates, we also pause to remember one who could not be here today. Senior Sandra Dawn Turpin passed away in March. Earlier today, President McRobbie and I had the privilege of presenting the Turpin family with a diploma in Sandy's memory.

Sandy was an excellent student, receiving many academic accolades as she pursued her bachelor's degree. She was equally well-known as an active, involved student: an officer in student government, a member of the Student Involvement Board, and a Student Ambassador.

Sandy and her entire family are very much in our thoughts today.

We are also joined today by many members of our distinguished faculty. These dedicated individuals have provided you, our graduating seniors, with great opportunities. They have inspired you to think creatively and prepared you for life beyond academia. They have shared their time, expertise, and broad knowledge to help you reachthis important day. Please join me in showing them your gratitude. Appreciation for the many people who help us succeed in life is one of the many lessons I hope you have learned during your time on campus.

I personally am forever indebted to our community for their unwavering support of IU Southeast. That support, especially in the form of scholarships, has provided great opportunities for many of today's graduates. In addition to our distinguished faculty, many of you owe a huge thank you to our generous donors. Collectively, the class of 2011 received more than $9.1 million in scholarships and grants.

I would also like to recognize our student veterans. These dedicated men and women pursued their education at IU Southeast after serving their country. Today, 22 student veterans are graduating. Please join me in showing these graduates, along with all of our service men and women, our sincere appreciation.

It is the historic mission of the University to provide opportunities to those who are willing to work hard. You, members of the class of 2011, are living proof that IU Southeast is fulfilling its mission. In the face of economic turmoil, you have chosen to devote your time, effort, and money in pursuit of your IU degree. You have taken advantage of a great opportunity and equipped yourself with the knowledge necessary to succeed… out there, in the real world.

This Fall, when the class of 2015 enters campus for the first time, IU Southeast will celebrate its 70th anniversary. Although today's graduating class is different than the classes before it, our campus's focus has never wavered. For seven decades, IU Southeast has been focused on student success. In fact, our vision statement puts it best: We transform good students into great leaders, one graduate at a time. And today, we are transforming an entire region as we graduate the largest class in IU Southeast history.

The Class of 2011 is also our most diverse. One hundred and twenty-two minority students aregraduating today.

International students like Pako Martin Munoz, our student speaker, make our campus a stronger, more diverse university. In just a moment, the President will say a bit more about Pako, just one of the outstanding members of the Class of 2011.

Let me share a bit more about this extraordinary group of graduates:

Collectively, they hail from 26 Indiana counties, 4 states, and 15 different countries. More than a third live in the Kentucky counties of Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham, Trimble, and Meade, the five counties that benefit from our reciprocity agreement.

• 221 have earned a master's degree
• 795 have earned a bachelor's degree
• 135 have earned an associate degree

For you non-math majors, that adds up to 1,151 graduates. One thousand, one hundred and four of these graduates have earned their IU degree, while 47 have earned a degree through our partnership with the Purdue University College of Technology. Members of the Class of 2011 range in age from 19 to 76. Forty-two of today's graduates are over the age of 50. Our oldest graduate, Dolly Wagoner, started taking classes at IU Southeast in 1952. She pursued her degree by taking one class per semester, and she has seven children and 19 grandchildren. At IU Southeast, it is indeed never too late to achieve your dreams.

This class also embodies persistence and hard work, and I'd like to congratulate the 78 percent of our undergraduates who completed their work in six years or less. This is especially impressive when you consider that the vast majority of today's graduates worked many, many hours while earning their college degree; some were raising families.

This graduating class also shows a high degree of satisfaction with our campus. Ninety-four percent agreed with the statement that "IU Southeast offers a high-quality academic program."

Now, as many of our faculty and distinguished guests know, I like to quote our graduating students. I believe they work hard to get to this point, and it is quite appropriate that we listen to their comments and suggestions. When asked what they liked best about their experience at IU Southeast, the students could not say enough about our faculty. Let me share what a few students had to say:

• "I felt like I really got to know my professors, and they got to know me. The relationship between student and teacher allowed me to enjoy the class and the material that much more."
• "I loved this school because of the faculty."
• "I went to three different colleges before I applied to IU Southeast. By far, IU Southeast was the best, and I wouldn't change anything about my time here. I really enjoyed the campus, because it wasn't too small or too overbearing. I felt the class sizes were great, and I never experienced a bad professor."

Other students commented on the beauty of our campus, the quality of our academic programs, and the friendliness of our staff. Here are a few of those comments:

• "I liked the small class sizes that really made me feel involved."
• "I liked the very nice, very pretty, very clean campus."
• "The new library is fantastic."
• "Personally, I was always proud to be here. Never mind driving almost 45 miles to attend. My money was used wisely by whoever managed the finances here. New technology and student resources are much better than other places."

And finally, this simple comment was one of my favorites:

• "IU Southeast has been the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Today's graduates and their families have made many sacrifices to be present at this ceremony. It is my pledge to each of you that we will continue to improve IU Southeast. In fact, we take particular note of suggested improvements.

In an exit survey of our graduates, we asked them what they would change at IU Southeast. I'm pleased to note that the vast majority of our students wanted MORE. Of course, many asked for more parking. But they also requested more graduate programs, more course offerings, more athletic events, more advisors, and more great faculty. Let me assure you that we have been working very hard to bring you MORE.

But, not everyone wants more. Some of our distinguished graduates asked us to do a little less. Of particular note, many asked that we offer fewer early-morning classes, many wanted to spend less money on required textbooks, and not surprisingly, a good number wanted a few LESS group projects. Sorry folks. Group projects aren't going anywhere. But IU is working hard to reduce the cost of textbooks for our students, and IU Southeast is developing new class scheduling options, like hybrid courses.

President McRobbie and members of the Board of Trustees, this is the IU Southeast Class of 2011. We are indeed proud of each of our graduates, and I am honored and pleased to present them to you today. I congratulate each of them on their significant achievements.

Now, to present the response for the class, it is my privilege to introduce Pako Martin Munoz.