Greetings, everyone. I am Jim Dean, president of the University of New Hampshire. It is my great honor and privilege to welcome you to celebrate these outstanding scholars.
Congratulations, graduates!
Your accomplishments exemplify the highest qualities of graduate education. Your success brings honor to our entire university community and to the state of New Hampshire. Today, we celebrate the remarkable talent, knowledge and promise that you bring to the world.
We are so proud of you.
I would like to take a moment to thank those who have supported you along the way.
At the top of the list are your families, loved ones and friends. Let’s give them a hand. Thank you for supporting our graduates.
I would also like to recognize those who have served our community, our state and our nation. This includes active members of our military and veterans, as well as our police, our firefighters and our first responders. Thank you for your service.
And let us thank those who have helped insure the health and wellness of our campus community: Our dedicated workers in food service, housing, transportation and facilities. We would not be able to host this celebration without them.
Today, we also celebrate the outstanding members of our faculty and staff who have dedicated themselves to your success. They are why UNH is growing its national and global reputation in research and scholarship. Thank you, faculty and staff.
Our graduates give us so many reasons to be grateful and to celebrate today.
As students, you persevered through a pandemic that required your uncommon dedication. Despite myriad challenges, you were undaunted in your pursuit of excellence.
In turn, you taught our community so much during your time at UNH.
You showed an uncanny ability to adapt to dramatic changes in your academic and research activities. You also watched out for the health and wellbeing of our community, which allowed our campus to remain a vital and vibrant oasis of learning and collaboration.
Together, you showed us how close, caring and really special our UNH community is.
You developed great working relationships with your faculty advisers. You pursued innovative research and ideas that address real-world problems. You challenged yourselves, and each other.
You inspired new initiatives at UNH to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, and to address sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence. Thank you for bringing our community together, and forward on these very important issues.
Among you are those who won prestigious awards for research, public service, leadership, entrepreneurship and, of course, for outstanding scholarship.
Today, you are uniquely prepared to thrive in a world that will bring new challenges and unimaginable opportunities. You have proven yourselves as talented, intelligent, innovative team members. You are community builders. Friends for life. And you will always be proud members of the Wildcat family.
Congratulations, graduates. Thank you for bringing your absolute best to UNH.
We are excited to hear about the great futures that await you. So, stay touch. And please, know that you are always welcome to come back. And I hope that you will mentor and support new generations of Wildcats.
Congratulations!
This is a great day for all of you, and everyone at UNH! Thank you.
