UMUC - Asian Division - Mason G Daly - Greetings - March 26 1961 - Tokyo

Asia;Hoffmann, RosemaryDr. Daly -U of Md, FED Director Commencement Ceremony Tokyo, Japan 26 March ‘61 GREETINGS Because our campus authorities have other Maryland convocations to attend in early June, the traditional American time of graduation, this Far East Division ceremony is held two months early and happens to coincide with commencement in this part of the world. At the time of the equinox, of the vernal spring, of the start of a new flood of life in the cycle of the year, Japan has picked the best time for the symbolic business of commencing , the best time to graduate the new generation into life. We are pleased that there is both logic and tradition involved in our time of sending forth this new academic generation. To refer to this 1961 Maryland Far East class as a new generation produces surprise on some very well lined faces down there. A group that averages more than 38 years of age is not quite a fresh generation in the full flush of youthful idealism. Those of us who have dealt with these graduates know there is little about them that is naive, know that their idealism is very well tempered with realism, know that their dreams are rather more solid goals than undefined enthusiasm. The families of these men and women, sitting right here, know the years of sacrifice which have gone into the realization of those goals. But here in the Kudan, and all round this city and nation in commencement convocations this afternoon, this American university and those Japanese universities hope that the seal of learning conferred today, the diploma which climaxes this affair, symbolizes significant progress for the graduates (regardless of age) and for humanity as a whole. Although the University of Maryland began graduating new generations of scholars as far back as 1810, this is only the fifth time that degrees have been conferred by this university in the Far East. We mark with pride this fifth anniversary. Speaking for our staff and entire faculty, I urge the military commands and commanders to join with us in this sense of pride. I especially invite the civilian corps of education directors and advisors, those base and post specialists in education, without whom no one of these graduations could have happened, to take joint pride in this landmark. And I include with them the military personnel, officer and enlisted, who have been charged with education responsibilities. I also wish to include the librarians of the immense complex of Armed Forces libraries who have, cooperating with us, compiled, coordinated, and purchased into being a library system capable of supporting the collateral academic needs of this, now large, student and faculty body. The despair of the academic statistician is to measure the acquisition or dispensation of learning. The sum total of knowledge we may have lodged with these graduates, and with the four classes before them, will never be known. But because it is a kind of anniversary, I have given in to the temptation to compute something. More than 36,000 different individuals have so far taken course work with us in the five years. The size of our graduating classes is hardly dramatic when related to that total. But our graduates in Tokyo each year cannot include those several hundred students whom the military returned to the home campus to finish the degree; and it does not include those thousands who have, since study with Maryland out house, completed degrees in other universities, or are now in that process. And no statistician would dare to chart Maryland's contribution to the happiness, livelihood, and enlarged knowledge, whether through one course or a completed curriculum, of each of the 36,000 who have entered our Far East classrooms. That illustrates, I believe, the frustration of trying to document, define, or delimit academic accomplishment. But if statistics fail me, I can lay full claim for this class, and for this faculty, to the most important fact of academic life - the fact that we have been, as free individuals, on an unconditional search for truth. This search for truth - this educational process - can be formalized and vigorously pursued anywhere in the world, even on remote military enclaves. Our five years have glowingly proved that, and that is our crowning achievement. We invite all of you here to mark with us this five year anniversary to join us in congratulating these scholars who have completed the baccalaureate, and to take pleasure in the reception which follows the ceremony