550 in DePauw's Class of 1992 Enter a World of "Unfathomable Possibilities"

May 23, 1992

May 23, 1992, Greencastle, Ind. - Daniel J. Boorstin, librarian of Congress emeritus, today called upon the 550 members of DePauw University's Class of 1992 to avoid the "temptation to think that professions exist for the professional." In a speech titled"The Lineage of Leaders," he stressed, "lt ìs wrong to believe that law is for lawyers, that hìstory is pursued for the sake of historians, libraries for librarians ... when the purpose of all professionals should be to serve the community."

The 153rd commencement ceremonies took place outdoors on East College lawn despite the threat of rain.

Boorstin, who received a Doctor of Humane Letters from DePauw, told the future leaders in the class of 1992, "The leader must be someone who can imagine that things can be otherwise. ... The leader must work for the love of it. Good leaders keep our minds open to the unfathomable possibilities in all of us."

Boorstin says the leaders of tomorrow must be willing to challenge the status quo. He urged graduates to look beyond the headlines and dig deeper than mainstream news accounts to understand the increasingly complex world. Also essential, he argeued are books "from other times and places that don't reinforce the present but lead to thinking of the otherwise and a wider sense of history."

Mindy C. Montgomery told classmates that they had attended college during a period of momentous change, with the fall of both the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall. The political science major said the Class of 1992 "didn't simply watch an era change, but we reacted to that change. As a community, we have come to appreciate differences and come to common decisions."

The recipient of the Walker Cup, which is awarded to the senior who has done the most for DePauw, Montgomery declared, "We have made things happen, we can make things happen and we will make things happen. The how, when and where will be left up to each individual graduate."

Four DePauw alumni joined Boorstin in receiving honorary degrees: Industrialist Lee G. Hall '37 was honored posthumously; attorney John D. Hughes '36; businessman Robert C. McDermond '31; and Guernsey Van Riper Jr. '30, an lndianapolis advertising executive were recognized during today's ceremony. Civic leader Martha C. Rieth, the mother of 1980 DePauw graduate Blair A. Rieth Jr., also received an honorary doctorate.

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