Fight for education, Garber urges grads

In his second Baccalaureate address, Harvard President Alan Garber stressed to the Class of 2025 the importance of education, and those who impart it, for advancing knowledge.

“The best way to acknowledge Harvard — and what this time has meant to you — is to advocate for education,” Garber told students gathered at Tercentenary Theatre on Tuesday afternoon. “Everything we might achieve — morally, scientifically, technologically, and even economically — is grounded in knowledge. Where else are you more likely to find a path to knowledge and all that it unlocks for humanity than in education?”

Garber’s address capped this year’s interfaith ceremony celebrating undergraduates, a tradition dating back to Harvard’s first Commencement in 1642. The president’s plea to stand up for education comes amid funding cuts to the University by the federal government that will affect research across disciplines, including medicine and Garber’s area of expertise — economics.

In his speech, Garber — who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1976 — took a moment to thank the educators in his life who led him to his career path, and he urged the soon-to-be graduates to do the same. In particular, he made note of his resident tutor in Dunster House, Jerome Culp, who told him to switch his concentration from biochemistry to economics.

“That conversation with him changed my life. I still think about it all these years later. Who inspired you? Who gave you the attention and gentle nudging you needed exactly when you needed it? Who kindled your true ambition? Send that note that you have been meaning to send to a mentor who meant more to you than they might realize.”

Throughout the ceremony, faith leaders from across the University congratulated the Class of 2025, and blessed their future endeavors. And, like Garber, a few of the speakers chose to honor the past.

“If you are here today, it’s because you are descended from people from around this globe who have survived deprivations and immigrations and persecutions and liberations, just so you could sit here on this Yard today,” said the Rev. Matthew Ichihashi Potts, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church.

He continued, “You are the answer to your ancestors’ hopes and prayers. You are their dreams come true. It’s not just the past that lives in you — the future does too, because you have your own hopes and dreams and wishes and visions of all that you might be and all that you will become from this point forward.”

The Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, a retired physician and the current Swartz Resident Practitioner in Ministry Studies at Harvard Divinity School, also reflected on the influence of generations previous, noting marked differences from her own graduation from Harvard College in 1972.

“The relative diversity of your class compared to ours is a compelling indicator that we have been faithful to our callings,” she said. “And because the struggle continues, I want you to know that we are not here to pass our torches to you. Yes, we are old, but no, we are not dead. We are here to stoke the fire of your torch.”

Garber closed out by wishing one final good luck to students before Commencement on Thursday.

“May these final 44 hours, give or take some minutes, be filled with opportunities to celebrate how far you have traveled since your arrival. You have done so much. Rest on your laurels, but not for too long. The world, with its countless magnificent destinations, awaits you.”