1988 Fredericton Encaenia

Graduation Address

Delivered by: McKenna, Frank

Content
"UNB Graduation Filled With Flair" Daily Gleaner (27 May 1988): 1, 4. (UA Case 67, Box 2)

Premier Frank McKenna, a graduate of UNB’s law school, and collector yesterday of an honorary doctorate in law from his old alma mater, recalled his own graduation almost 14 years ago to the day.

Premier Speaks

"Just as you are all here today, full of hopes and dreams and all sorts of other emotions, I was graduating at that time. Sitting there with the thousands and thousands of people throughout that long afternoon. I made a vow to myself, it wasn’t a vow that I would run an election campaign and become the premier of New Brunswick, and it wasn’t a vow that I would ever try to win all 58 seats in the legislative assembly. It wasn’t a vow that I would try to be a good lawyer or even a good family-man, it was a vow that if I was ever given a chance to address the graduation at UNB, I’d give the shortest speech in the history of the university."

"Today I’m going to deliver on that promise," said Mr. McKenna, wrapping up his homily in under 10 minutes.

Referring to a government commissioned poll done for the tourism department on New Brunswickers’ attitudes toward their own province, Mr. McKenna said the poll revealed that New Brunswickers are insecure about their own economic status, feeling like second class citizens.

Explodes Myth

"I want to take a moment here today to explode that myth," said Premier McKenna. "You’re first class students, graduating from a first class university, living in a first class province, and I believe that your future is only limited by your ambition and your imagination."

He also urged students to try to find work here. "We need you at home. We need your expertise, your imagination, your vision, your energy, your enthusiasm in the development of this province."

"There has never been a point in the history of mankind when there has been a closer link between institutes of higher learning and genuine progress in the community and in the economy," pointed out Mr. McKenna.

High Standard

Statistically high standards of living correlate to the quality of higher education in a community and in the United States, the communities which are economic winners are those with "high caliber institutes of higher learning," Mr. McKenna indicated.

"The university represents our hope for the future; our chance to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps," prophesized Mr. McKenna, adding he looks forward to closer government-university ties in the future.

On a self-congratulatory notes, Mr. McKenna suggested his government has already demonstrated a commitment to higher education by revising student loan guidelines and allocating university grants as generous as financial circumstances would permit.


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