Good afternoon. And what a wonderful afternoon it is, as we convene to honor one of our nation's most dedicated and articulate advocates of the importance of community service and civic engagement. Joining with us today in this celebration are several individuals whom I would like to recognize at this time:

• Patricia Kirk and Lynn Bopp of the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism
• Dr. James Cotton, Mayor of the City of Frostburg
• Regent Tom Finan
  

Each year during our Fall Convocation, we reflect on some of the major developments and challenges facing our institution, and we reaffirm the values that define us as an institution of higher education. Frequently, that affirmation includes a rededication to community service and civic engagement, both as an integral part of the education that we provide for our students and as a commitment to the larger community of which we are a part.

For many years, the University provided the services of faculty, staff, and students in response to needs identified at its annual fall Volunteer Fair. By the early 1990's, we recognized the need to provide support for those activities through the establishment of a formal office of community service to serve as a clearinghouse. Then in 1994, with the attainment of our first AmeriCorps grant, funds became available to institutionalize and broaden our efforts, laying the foundation for what in the past eight years has been an incredible expansion of our outreach into the wider community. Led by an energetic, creative, tenacious staff, we have rendered support to individuals and social agencies throughout Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties: tutoring young people and illiterate adults to discover the wonders of reading; helping to construct playgrounds and parklands; assisting elderly residents of nursing homes; working in a sanctuary for wounded animals; and providing countless other services to those in need.

On the heels of the first AmeriCorps grant have come numerous other grants to support our community service projects, including AmeriCorps grants for our AllenHallstars and student leadership programs; VISTA America Reads and Summer Associates programs; Learn and Serve America and the Institute for Service Learning.

Within the past two weeks, we received the wonderful news that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a highly competitive, highly prestigious grant of $383,709 to the University to establish two community outreach centers in the cities of Frostburg and Cumberland. Through the centers, our students and faculty will partner with forty grassroots neighborhood organizations and numerous agencies from the business and non-profit sectors to address urgent community needs. Special kudos go to professors Kathy Powell of our Social Work department and Peggy Dalton of our Economics department and to Cheri Krug and Lori Senese of our Center for Volunteerism and National Service for spearheading the effort to secure this grant. An editorial published last week in the Cumberland Times-News commended the University for its efforts in these words:

"FSU is one of Western Maryland's most prominent assets. It is encouraging to see university officials reaching beyond Frostburg to help other communities in the region that can benefit greatly from the school's experience and extensive volunteer force of students and faculty."

We are honored to receive this recognition of our efforts.

Observing the increasing commitment of our students to community service, one of our administrators remarked to me a few years ago that, whereas the college students of his generation expressed themselves through marches and sit-ins and other forms of political activism, our students were demonstrating with their hands and hearts. A recent publication entitled "The New Student Politics," based on a national summit on student engagement (the 2001 Wingspread Summit), describes the mantra of many of today's students. Those who participated in the summit described their position in these words: "Through community service, we can build relationships and connect with others in concerted action. Starting small, we build a movement one person at a time. We characterize these movements as decentralized and less hierarchical than many historical social movements. Although they are informal, these social networks are reflective of collective action." (p.3) In sum the students proclaimed, "While many have argued that this generation is neither politically active nor civically engaged, we . . . think time may prove that ours is one of the most politically active generations in recent history." (p.18) Agreeing with them, one scholar has observed that (E.J. Dionne) " . . . the great reforming generations are the ones that marry the aspirations of service to the possibilities of politics and harness the good work done in local communities to transform a nation." (cited on p. 20, ibid)

There can be little doubt that one individual who, through a life-long commitment to community service and public engagement, has helped to shape the values of our nation is today's honoree, former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford. Before we proceed with our ceremony, let me take a moment to recount how our association with him began. The major person responsible for that association is former Senator Joseph Tydings, who, shortly after his appointment to the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland, made a visit to our University so that he might come to know us. During his visit, we acquainted him with the exciting work going on through what is now our Center for Volunteerism and National Service. Convinced that our efforts were deserving of national attention, Senator Tydings arranged a meeting in Senator Wofford's office at the Center for National Service in Washington, D.C., of which Senator Wofford was then the Chief Executive Officer. Attending the meeting were Senator Tydings; Cheri Krug (our dynamic director); a staff member in Senator Wofford's office; and myself. That meeting eventually led to the bestowing by the Corporation for National Service in December 2000 of its first-ever Service Leadership Award in Higher Education to our University. We are deeply indebted to Senator Tydings for his encouragement and support, and regret that he cannot be here with us today to participate in these ceremonies honoring his long-time friend and colleague.

I would now like to call upon our Provost, Dr. Steve Simpson, and our Vice President for Advancement, Dr. Gary Horowitz, to assist in the presentation of the candidate for the awarding of the degree.

CRG/mg
10/17/02