1975 Fredericton Convocation
Graduation Address
Delivered by: Deutsch, John James
Content
"Don’t Discount Education Values" Telegraph Journal (16 October 1975): 3. (UA Case 69, Box 2)
The graduating students at the University of New Brunswick were told by Convocation speaker John J. Deutsch that the challenge of this generation is to come up with solution s to the complex problems created by his generation.
Speaking at the university’s 23rd Convocation graduation ceremonies Dr. Deutsch said the goals of his generation, particularly that of rapid material growth, have resulted in pollution, over-crowding violence, near-exhaustion of scarce resources and many of the economic problems we face today.
Another offshoot, he said, has been "bigness" in government and industry which makes it harder for an individual to influence the direction of events.
"There is always a contention between the ideal and what it. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to define what ought to be," he stated.
In spite of this bleak outlook on the current world situation Dr. Deutsch, one of Canada’s leading economists and a former vice-chancellor and president of Queens’ University, is optimistic that the present generation will be able to formulate new values and remedies for society’s increasingly complex condition.
He strongly disagrees with what he called the "fashion in some quarters today to discount the value of education."
Dr. Deutsch believes education plays a vital role in preparing people to deal with the world’s problems and said that "as university graduates you and society have made a heavy investment in the future."
And the future, he believes, still belongs to Canada, which he called "the land of tomorrow." He said it provides many opportunities to meet the challenges of the future as there are bountiful resources, a functional democratic government and a healthy psychological atmosphere which is not marred by cynicism.
He called UNB "one of the great universities in Canada," and added that a quick survey of Canadian literature, science and the arts shows there are many "powerful figures who have their roots in this university."
The graduating students at the University of New Brunswick were told by Convocation speaker John J. Deutsch that the challenge of this generation is to come up with solution s to the complex problems created by his generation.
Speaking at the university’s 23rd Convocation graduation ceremonies Dr. Deutsch said the goals of his generation, particularly that of rapid material growth, have resulted in pollution, over-crowding violence, near-exhaustion of scarce resources and many of the economic problems we face today.
Another offshoot, he said, has been "bigness" in government and industry which makes it harder for an individual to influence the direction of events.
"There is always a contention between the ideal and what it. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to define what ought to be," he stated.
In spite of this bleak outlook on the current world situation Dr. Deutsch, one of Canada’s leading economists and a former vice-chancellor and president of Queens’ University, is optimistic that the present generation will be able to formulate new values and remedies for society’s increasingly complex condition.
He strongly disagrees with what he called the "fashion in some quarters today to discount the value of education."
Dr. Deutsch believes education plays a vital role in preparing people to deal with the world’s problems and said that "as university graduates you and society have made a heavy investment in the future."
And the future, he believes, still belongs to Canada, which he called "the land of tomorrow." He said it provides many opportunities to meet the challenges of the future as there are bountiful resources, a functional democratic government and a healthy psychological atmosphere which is not marred by cynicism.
He called UNB "one of the great universities in Canada," and added that a quick survey of Canadian literature, science and the arts shows there are many "powerful figures who have their roots in this university."
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