For someone who never attended his own university graduations, it’s ironic that I’ve ended up in a profession where I spend upwards of 10 to 12 hours a year on convocation stages. Such is the somewhat charmed life of an academic that we have the opportunity to join a platform party and watch the excitement—sometimes the outright terror—of our students as they reach a critical milestone that is shared with family, friends and the community at large.

As a university and college president, I have had the honour of delivering dozens of convocation speeches—to my own institution or as a commencement speaker for others—and I am always impressed and sometimes humbled by the energy and passion of the teams that put these events together. And standing in front of sometimes hundreds of nervous graduands, it is easy to see that few, if any, take the momentousness of the occasion for granted. 

Advertisement

I always begin my speeches by quoting one critic who observed that convocations are strange events ‘where a speaker tells hundreds of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success’. While that’s certainly a playful truth, it’s also always evident how unique all students are as they move toward you to shake your hand, to shyly or boldly wave to the crowd, or even to deliver a student address that moves you to the core.

This year’s St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi College Convocation was bittersweet. Sweet because the largest graduating class in our history marked St. Mark’s 70th anniversary, and Corpus Christi’s 25th anniversary, as Catholic post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. Bitter because we bade farewell to our longtime Chancellor, Archbishop Miller, spiritual head of the Archdiocese of Vancouver for nearly 19 years. 

In a typically powerful closing address, Archbishop Miller — himself a former university president — reminded us of the value of education generally, and of the special quality of a faith-based post-secondary experience. 

Advertisement

“The education you’ve received here entails more than a diploma. It is a calling to lead with the integrity of truth, to serve with compassion armed with the church’s social doctrine, and to walk humbly with the Lord. Let faith be your compass, knowledge your guide, and love be the virtue imbuing your future,” he said. 

He also noted that, “You are receiving diplomas at the beginning of a new Pope’s term, a Pope who has taken the name of the symbol of St. Mark’s College, the lion, which in Latin is ‘leo.’ I want to suggest that this might have particular significance for you.”

Our student address, delivered by actor, boxer and newly ordained deacon Zak Santiago, spoke with equal passion: “It is about equipping yourself for professional ministry … to approach any vocation through a life-lens of service, grounded in the Gospel.”

The affirmation comes as both faith-based and post-secondary education writ large are under siege as never before. Secularization has created an environment where it is fashionable to critique and attack communities of faith. Yet it’s also a time when social understanding and compassion are needed more than ever. With a similarly lethal impact, governments are making broadscale changes to international enrolment with little time for institutions to pivot, are changing tuition and funding levels to historically low levels, or are attacking the independence of institutional research and teaching models. While these changes are impacting secular universities (the Harvards, McGills, etc.), they are also leading to the closure of Catholic institutions in Canada (USudbury, Brescia), and abroad (Magdalen, Cabrini).

Were the colleges at fault, and the mission of these institutions unneeded or problematic, one could watch it unfold with concerned resignation. The opposite, however, is clearly the case. Our wounded planet is polarized and divided, with communities separated from each other by toxic social media and an invidious virtual atmosphere that has us more disconnected and discouraged than ever. Our world cries out for graduates who bring care for the environment, for their community, for the margins, back into the world. 

Advertisement

Catholic colleges and universities, through commitment to social justice and informed by Catholic social teaching, remind our students their degrees are not just about themselves. Their journey in our colleges celebrates the need for social engagement and the dignity of each and every human being. 

We remind our students that it is not unrealistic but essential for them to cross our stage and go on to change the world for the better. You couldn’t earn a better degree than that!