1953 Fredericton Encaenia
Graduation Address
Delivered by: MacKenzie, Chalmers Jack
Content
"Young People Lucky Living in Freedom Here in Canada" [Daily Gleaner] (May 1953). (UA Case 67, Box 2)
"Your danger lies not in material circumstances, but in the disillusionment that university men and women are liable to suffer temporarily in the years immediately following graduation," Dr. C.J. Mackenzie warned the 189 members of U.N.B. graduating class here today.
The president of Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., and former National Research Council chief, explained "the rough-and-tumble of practical life can, on the surface at least, seem very different from the university atmosphere where learning is respected, objectivity is understood, and one’s intellectual powers are challenged to the limit."
Chief speaker at the Encaenial exercises, he also warned the graduate "you will almost certainly feel frustrated because you are not given immediate tasks and responsibilities comparable to your capabilities and training."
Perhaps more than at any other time, Dr. Mackenzie said, the world needs matured wisdom, tolerance and honesty of mind. He described honesty of mind as the essential and perfect fruit of education, but pointed out that loyalty and faith are indispensable ingredients of greatness.
Loyalists
The University of New Brunswick, he said, was founded by Loyalists who put their ideals before material things, and whose faith turned a barren wilderness into a cultured and prosperous Province. Continuing, he added, "we learn loyalty in our college days, and that has sustained more universities than one in days of adversity. Loyalty to institutions and ideals, coupled with faith, is perhaps he greatest need of the people today, both young and old. Economic security and financial success are not evil aspirations, but neither are they alone a rewarding goal in life. The happiest people are those who have founded their lives in service to their family, their community and their country, and when that is coupled with person achievement, the highest aspiration of mortal life has been attained."
He traced the strides made by Canada in science, engineering and industrial fields in the past generation, pointing out that today no young Canadian need leave his native land for lack of opportunity to take part in intellectual, industrial and scientific activities of compelling interest.
In closing he states that the young Canadian people of today are fortunate because they are citizens of a country where freedom still exists: a country with an admirable past and great future that offers alluring opportunities for those who have ambition.
"Your danger lies not in material circumstances, but in the disillusionment that university men and women are liable to suffer temporarily in the years immediately following graduation," Dr. C.J. Mackenzie warned the 189 members of U.N.B. graduating class here today.
The president of Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., and former National Research Council chief, explained "the rough-and-tumble of practical life can, on the surface at least, seem very different from the university atmosphere where learning is respected, objectivity is understood, and one’s intellectual powers are challenged to the limit."
Chief speaker at the Encaenial exercises, he also warned the graduate "you will almost certainly feel frustrated because you are not given immediate tasks and responsibilities comparable to your capabilities and training."
Perhaps more than at any other time, Dr. Mackenzie said, the world needs matured wisdom, tolerance and honesty of mind. He described honesty of mind as the essential and perfect fruit of education, but pointed out that loyalty and faith are indispensable ingredients of greatness.
Loyalists
The University of New Brunswick, he said, was founded by Loyalists who put their ideals before material things, and whose faith turned a barren wilderness into a cultured and prosperous Province. Continuing, he added, "we learn loyalty in our college days, and that has sustained more universities than one in days of adversity. Loyalty to institutions and ideals, coupled with faith, is perhaps he greatest need of the people today, both young and old. Economic security and financial success are not evil aspirations, but neither are they alone a rewarding goal in life. The happiest people are those who have founded their lives in service to their family, their community and their country, and when that is coupled with person achievement, the highest aspiration of mortal life has been attained."
He traced the strides made by Canada in science, engineering and industrial fields in the past generation, pointing out that today no young Canadian need leave his native land for lack of opportunity to take part in intellectual, industrial and scientific activities of compelling interest.
In closing he states that the young Canadian people of today are fortunate because they are citizens of a country where freedom still exists: a country with an admirable past and great future that offers alluring opportunities for those who have ambition.
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