President Obama: ASU Commencement Address

 

Last night my daughter graduated from Arizona State University (ASU). President Obama gave the commencement address. Since he had only been in office 100 days, ASU did not grant him an honorary degree — igniting much controversy. President Obama addressed the controversy directly in his speech — nothing that it was "much ado about nothing" and that titles, honorary or earned, mean little. Even the title President of the United States means little. Millard Fillmore and Abraham Lincoln both had the same title. Which do you remember? It is the deeds that comprise one's body of work that matter. He encouraged the graduates to go out and make their mark in the world through their actions — not through their pursuit of titles.

Pomp and circumstance are alive in the lab.