University of Rhode Island - Renaissance / Grist Yearbook (Kingston, RI)

Page 19 text:

Class Advisor Dr. Nancy A. Potter Board of Trustees

Page 18 text:

The Governor John H. Cliafee 14

Page 20 text:

You leave URI with degree in hand and with lasting friendships and fond memories of the years you have spent here. You take with you also my congratulations and best wishes for success and happiness in the future. Beyond these sentiments, however, lies the hope that you recognize that education is not terminal but is rather a pursuit that should drive and motivate you for the rest of your days. In an earlier time, when St. Augustine could say that his formal education had equipped him for just about every- thing, life was simpler and knowledge pretty much within grasp. To- day, such a viewpoint could be fatal for human knowledge is so vast that no man can even describe its bounds or subdivisions, let alone comprehend what lies within them. Knowledge is expanding at an explosive rate and new knowledge will make exi sting knowledge and specialized skills inadequate and obsolete. Anyone who stops learning will soon find himself on the intellectual scrap heap. These cautionary observations are not intended to dull the enjoyment of your Commencement. Rather, they are a reminder that your graduation from URI should signify a commitment to a life of the mind, to a determi- nation to exercise your learning powers by vigorous and determined use. You will never learn all there is to be known but in the continued pursuit of knowledge you will find life ' s greatest rewards and among the finest of these will be the extension of the frontiers of your thoughts and aspirations. Ours is a world quivering with change and yet brimming with op- portunity. We at URI have tried to prepare you to deal with both. We hope that your education is well begun. Francis H. Horn President University of Rhode Island 16