About SPEA < Boards < John Clark's remarks

SPEA Winter Grads Hear Board of Visitor's John Clark at Commencement

Mr. Clark's Remarks:

Congratulations upon both your graduation from one of the world’s finest public affairs schools and for your career decision to be of service to a world much in need of it.

A much more distinguished commencement speaker, the late comedian Bob Hope, when dispensing advice to new graduates said: “My advice as you prepare to leave this ivory tower on this beautiful campus to go into the cold, cruel world is . . . don’t go!”

As much as I love this campus, that’s not my advice. However, you should fasten your seatbelts for the exciting but often bumpy ride that awaits you. So how should you make the “world of difference” the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) has trained you to do?

First, you should always have the courage of your own convictions—show us the way versus just finding out where we’re going so you can lead us there. You should always take your work seriously without always taking yourself seriously. This will help you avoid the “insolence of office” we’ve all seen in self-important public officials. The Italians tell such bloated bureaucrats to “ma gavta la nata”—which means “take out the cork”!

Facts should always be your friends as you choose between various policy options. Former US Senator Stephen Young (D-OH) was famous for sending pre-printed notes to people unable to defend the positions they were asking him to take that said “Thought you should know some idiot was writing me and using your name.” Tact should never trump fact.

You should continue to “Question Authority”—as you are encouraged to do here on campus—especially when you become the authority. The impertinent question has been one of history’s greatest engines of civilization. “Why not?” and “Says who?” are hallowed words in the pantheon of progress.

Hold tight to the fearlessness and idealism you have right now. Youthful clarity tends to fade with age but, to paraphrase Dylan Thomas, you should “rage, rage against the dying of [that] light” as long as you can.

You should always insist upon solid credentials for leadership positions in public service. Candidates for public office, elected or appointed, who brandish their lack of credentials for the post they seek should not get it. I’m thinking about those who run on a platform of “send me to Washington because I’ve never been there and know nothing about it!” They wouldn’t get the job in any other profession and they shouldn’t in ours.

Focus upon making good policy more than making good money. Doing well while doing good is possible, but the greatest rewards of public service are typically psychic, not financial. However, I always found making history more exciting than making money.

Don’t confuse public service with just the public sector. You may find your best contribution can be made working with government instead of for it. Most people move back and forth between the public and private sectors during their careers. I mixed government service with the Congress, EPA, DOE, and the state of Indiana with nonprofit representation and positions with several multinational corporations. Each job made me more effective at the next one. And marshalling the far-greater resources of the private sector for public purposes is important work. You can seek the “greatest good for the greatest number” in many places—not just government.

And this “moving around” will make you more sensitive to the perspectives of the various constituencies that will look to you for leadership. Our last presidential election perfectly reflected the partisan and polarized state of our current public discourse. The leaders you’ve trained to be can better bring people together behind common goals the better you understand their concerns and how to respond to them.

But you should also understand that civil service is not always civil. The public interest is defined differently by different interest groups and the ends often justify whatever means necessary to “true believers.” Have no illusions about how tough the high-stakes game of “who gets what” can be. Advocates both in and out of government can be as hard as the marble—or, here in Indiana, the limestone—in public monuments when pushing their policy agendas. And always remember that where people stand on issues usually depends upon where they sit at work as you navigate this process.

Most importantly, you should work to rekindle the passion for public service and civic engagement that John Kennedy instilled in Bloomington’s favorite decade, the 1960s. We cannot inspire the world to choose democracy when only half of us choose to vote in national elections. Public service is among the noblest of professions. We need the best and brightest of us—like you—continuing to choose it.

You’re off to a wonderful start. SPEA has been a unique and very special place since its creation. Marrying natural and social sciences in a single public service curriculum was an inspired notion. Your place alongside Harvard’s generously funded Kennedy School and Syracuse’s long-established Maxwell program in US News & World Report’s ranking of public affairs schools is especially impressive given SPEA’s short history. This recognition is due to the extraordinary leadership of its deans, the caliber of its faculty, and strong support from IU presidents with SPEA roots from John Ryan to Adam Herbert. SPEA is a source of great pride to all of us who love IU and a great public policy resource to our state and nation. The School’s commitment to building sustainable communities—among nations, states, cities, and neighborhoods—has never been more important and no new graduates are better prepared to help make this happen than you are. Again, congratulations and good luck!

December 19, 2003