As I stood at the podium during Commencement in May, surveying 540 black-robed, eager-eyed, and joy-filled members of the Class of 2008, I felt confident that the education these men and women experienced at Denison prepared them well for productive, fulfilled lives in a rapidly changing world. Here, they cultivated the tools that will help them adapt and reshape themselves and, at the same time, recognize and retain their most important personal values as their lives unfold. But, of course, I also found myself unable to predict exactly the paths that their lives will take or how they will use what they have learned. And that’s when I remembered that for all we carefully plan and attend to, education is inherently a risky business.
In fact, when I greeted our graduates one by one as they crossed the stage, I found myself quietly reflecting on the risks each had taken in college. Many took advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow. They were not satisfied with meeting the minimum requirements of their major—or majors—but stretched themselves intellectually in courses outside their comfort zones. They cultivated new skills in artistic performance, in community service, in athletic or recreational activity, or in organizational leadership. Not surprisingly, these were the graduates I knew best. There were others, of course, who sought fewer risks and were, perhaps, not so changed from the persons they had been when they first arrived on the Denison campus. As an educator, I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can encourage as many of our students as possible to be among the former, the risk-takers.
The Class of 2008 had no sooner become alumni than the newest Denisonians, members of the Class of 2012, began arriving for June Orientation. We’re glad to see them. In many cases, Denison has been corresponding with them and their families since their early years of high school, and a fair portion began visiting Granville as part of their college search at least a couple of years ago. We have experienced admissions officials and time-tested processes for evaluating applicants. Good thing, too, because there were more than 5,300 of them this year. We try to make good choices, however difficult they may be, in seeking the women and men who are likely not only to get the most out of Denison but also to contribute the most to the learning and growing experiences of all. Still, college admissions is a risky enterprise. We don’t really know how newly enrolled students will fare at Denison. We’ll try to establish the conditions for all of the members of the Class of 2012 to succeed and find fulfillment in college. But it is a kind of bet on the future.
Running a college has its risks, too. At its spring meeting in late April, the Denison Board of Trustees approved the operating budget for this academic year. Once again, with eyes wide open, we’ve taken some risks. We have to. We’ve set aside $35 million for student financial aid and scholarships. In other words, we’ve agreed to come up short $35 million in operating revenue in order to make it possible and attractive for the men and women we’ve admitted to enroll and complete their degrees in four years. Each summer, I think, “How would anyone like to run an enterprise starting each year with revenues from operations projected at just two-thirds of the necessary expense budget?” But it is essential that we make Denison accessible to the wide range of outstanding students that we enroll. Of course, I’ve acquired a confidence that there is less risk here than meets the eye. The support of generations of Denisonians—contributors to the Annual Fund or donors of gifts that, over the years, have gone to make up the Denison endowment—assures that we can invest in the young people who make up the future of Denison. The Higher Ground comprehensive campaign for Denison, which reached its successful conclusion in June, will have added more than $20 million to the college’s scholarship endowments alone. Maybe that’s what fits with the second part of this issue’s theme, which features “risk and responsibility.” Denison graduates have a record of responsibility for giving back in tribute to the opportunities they have enjoyed.
Are all the risks in higher education worth it? I didn’t have to wait any longer than three weeks after Commencement for the answer. Alumni Reunion Weekend brought hundreds and hundreds of Denisonians back to Granville. Just like every other year, I heard new life stories. I learned from the young fifth reunion crowd about graduate degrees newly earned and promising careers begun. I rejoiced with graduates gone from campus for 20 years in the growth of families and the self-assurance of young middle age. I heard from the large contingent back for their 50th reunion about lives of accomplishment and fulfillment. These, especially, talked about how important it has been that, in college, regardless of major, they acquired an interest in art or music, history or literature, languages or the language of mathematics. Their liberal education shines through. And, each year, the special graduates whom we recognize with the Denison Alumni Citation remind us of the opportunity we individually have to affect our community, our nation, and our world.
College education: a risky business. But, oh, what rewards.