DESC:  President Jonathan Kaplan introduces commencement speaker President Bill Clinton.

GOOD AFTERNOON. I WANT TO START BY THANKING PAULA SINGER, THE CHAIR OF OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS HERE AT WALDEN, WHOSE LEADERSHIP, CONSCIENCE, AND SHEER WILL PUSH THIS UNIVERSITY INEXORABLY FORWARD EVERY DAY. THANK YOU, PAULA.

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TODAY WE HONOR YOU, OUR NEWEST WALDEN GRADUATES. TOGETHER WITH YOUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS, WE CELEBRATE YOUR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AS WELL AS YOUR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESSES. AT WALDEN, WE PUT GREAT EMPHASIS ON THAT DUAL ROLE, ON OUR STUDENT, ON EACH OF YOU, AS BOTH SCHOLAR AND PRACTITIONER. WE CHALLENGE YOU TO INTEGRATE RESEARCH WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE AS PROFESSIONALS BECAUSE WE BELIEVE KNOWLEDGE IS MOST WORTHY WHEN IT CAN BE APPLIED TO SOLVE CRITICAL SOCIETAL CHALLENGES. THIS PHILOSOPHY, THIS VISION LIES AT THE VERY CORE OF WHO WE ARE AT WALDEN. I CANNOT THINK OF A HIGHER PURPOSE FOR A UNIVERSITY. APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS TO SOLVE CRITICAL SOCIETAL CHALLENGES IS ALSO AN APT WAY TO DESCRIBE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON.

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UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON’S LEADERSHIP, OUR COUNTRY ENJOYED THE GREATEST PROSPERITY IN GENERATIONS. AS A NATION, WE SAW ONE OF THE LARGEST INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION IN MORE THAN 30 YEARS. AN EXPANSION IN EARLY EDUCATION. A FOCUS ON MORE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE HIGHER EDUCATION. AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LEARNING IN OUR NATION’S CLASSROOMS. PRESIDENT CLINTON’S SECRETARY OF EDUCATION AND CLOSE FRIEND, RICHARD RILEY, WAS A KEY PARTNER IN THESE EFFORTS, AND WE ARE SO VERY PROUD THAT OUR COLLEGE OF EDUCATION IS NAMED IN HIS HONOR.

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PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS CONTINUED HIS REMARKABLE CAREER OF PUBLIC SERVICE SINCE LEAVING THE WHITE HOUSE. IN 2001, HE ESTABLISHED THE WILLIAM J. CLINTON FOUNDATION WITH THE MISSION TO STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITY OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE. IN JUST 10 YEARS, PRESIDENT CLINTON’S FOUNDATION HAS HELPED TO REDEFINE PHILANTHROPY AND THE WAY ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, AND GOVERNMENTS WORK TOGETHER TO EFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE.

PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN RALLYING UNPRECEDENTED SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITIES IN THE AFTERMATH OF DEVASTATING NATURAL DISASTERS. FROM THE 2004 TSUNAMI IN SOUTH ASIA, TO HURRICANE KATRINA, TO LAST YEAR’S EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI, HE HAS HELPED TO SPEARHEAD IMMEDIATE RELIEF EFFORTS AND TO DEVELOP A MORE EFFECTIVE RECOVERY MODEL FOR REBUILDING THESE REGIONS.

IN 2005, PRESIDENT CLINTON ESTABLISHED THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE, WHICH HAS SECURED MORE THAN $63 BILLION FOR IMPROVING THE LIVES OF AN ESTIMATED 300 MILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. WHETHER IT’S EXPANDING ACCESS TO BETTER EDUCATION, ADVANCING HEALTHCARE DELIVERY, INVESTING IN NEW MEDICAL RESEARCH, OR PROTECTING FORESTS AND FRESH WATER SOURCES, THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE STRIVES TO ENSURE THAT THE NEXT GENERATION INHERITS A FUTURE FULL OF POTENTIAL. THE FOUNDATION IS TRULY ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST LIGHTS IN THE WORLD, AND ITS IMPACT IS PROFOUND.

WE ARE INDEED FORTUNATE TO HAVE PRESIDENT CLINTON SERVE AS THE HONORARY CHANCELLOR OF LAUREATE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES, A GLOBAL NETWORK OF LEADING UNIVERSITIES OF WHICH WALDEN IS A PART. HE INSPIRES ALL OF US AT LAUREATE AND WALDEN TO FOLLOW HIS LEAD AND TURN OUR GOOD INTENTIONS INTO TRULY MEASUREABLE RESULTS. ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I WAS HONORED TO BE ABLE TO SERVE ON PRESIDENT CLINTON’S WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC POLICY STAFF. I LEARNED THERE THAT IDEAS AND IDEALS ARE MOST WORTHY WHEN THEY ARE APPLIED TO SOLVE OUR NATION’S, AND OUR WORLD’S, GREATEST CHALLENGES. AT THIS TIME, I ASK PRESIDENT CLINTON TO JOIN ME AT THE PODIUM.

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

PRESIDENT CLINTON, IN HONOR OF YOUR TIRELESS COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL CHANGE AROUND THE WORLD, AND YOUR UNWAVERING BELIEF IN THE POWER THAT EACH OF US HOLDS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WALDEN UNIVERSITY PROUDLY CONFERS UPON YOU THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS, HONORIS CAUSA. PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON.