Valedictory Address

“Valedictory for Class of 1950 U.N.B. by Gregory I. Hurley” The Daily Gleaner (18 May 1950): 3, 13. (UA Case 68, Box 1)

The day which four years ago seemed a far-off one has arrived, and as we look back remembering, as always in retrospect, all of the pleasant days and few of the not-so-pleasant ones. One phase of our lives is over, another begins, and it is with mixed emotions, pleasure and nostalgia that we take our leave of the University of New Brunswick.

It is a great disappointment for us on this our graduation day not to have with us a man who has given unstintingly of his time, his efforts and his material wealth to this university. Due in no small measure to his association with this university, it has achieved a prominence far beyond that which its size would seem to warrant, and particularly so since he accepted an office in the Senate. I refer, of course, to our Chancellor, The Right Honorable Lord Beaverbrook.

This is the 150th anniversary of the University of New Brunswick, an outstanding year in the history of the University, not only because of the birthday celebration, but because it affords us an opportunity to take stock of the important developments that have taken place since the inception of the University. You are already aware of how the University has grown and developed from its humble beginnings to its present state. I will, therefore, touch only on a few important changes at U. N. B. since our arrival here. Through the generosity of our Chancellor we have added a new wing to our library. We have seen a modern floor added to the Forestry Building. There has been a great increase in graduate work, for the quality of which, this university is winning national acclaim. The development of the Alumni office and work deserves special praise, in particular the work of publicity which has been handled by John C. Murray and recently by Robert S. MacGowan. The increased financial support of the New Brunswick government which has enabled the university to met the increasing costs of education, speaks well for the people of New Brunswick, who through their government, make concrete their [d]esires to further education, and finally the fact that U. N. B. has increased by one year the length of the applied science courses and raised the passing mark by 10% to bring U. N. B. into line with other Canadian Universities, is indicative of the leading position which U.N. B. is taking in Canadian education.

The degree which we have received today, is the product of four years of effort, not only by the students but by a great number of persons, for whose assistance, guidance and encouragement we are deeply grateful. I know that members of the graduating class would wish me to express their thanks.

When first we came here, baffled by the strange environment, we were astonished to find that the man whom we had imagined would be unapproachable, was the first to take us under his guidance. During the brief time that we had the privilege of knowing him, his positive personality, his affable manner, and, above all, his humanness, etched themselves deeply on the hearts of us all. We were, indeed, fortunate to have had as our President, the Honorable Dr. Milton F. Gregg, V.C.
Dr. Gregg left us at the end of our freshman year to assume a Cabinet post in the Federal Government, and we discussed with foreboding the probable tyrannical qualities of the man who would take over from him. When that gentleman arrived, we surveyed him with a critical eye to discern some part of his makeup that would confirm our original fears, but we soon grew tired of looking in vain. Dr. Trueman has proven an able administrator, a man with the rare gift of natural tact who weighs carefully his decisions lest they be unfair to anyone, a friend and counselor to the student and an “all round good fellow”.

To you, the Faculty, our debt is great. You have been considerately patient with our limitations and have always been willing to give the extra assistance which is responsible for many of us being here today.

A great deal is certainly due to our parents, wives, and relatives. Most of us were away from home, so to the parents and relatives, the most obvious indication of our presence here was their constantly dwindling bank account. Aside from this, however, without their encouragement, many of us undoubtedly would have left the university. But it is to the wives of the married veterans that the greatest credit must be given.

Our four years here were made pleasant, in no small measure, by the setting of the university: Fredericton is a beautiful city. At times we must have taxed the patience of Frederictonians, but they took our occasional outbursts of exuberance in good part with the attitude that “boys will be boys”. To them also we extend our grateful thanks.

A large percentage of this graduating class would not be here today were it not for the assistance of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. To the people of Canada who, through your own government, made this assistance available to us, may we say that you have given us a priceless gift, and we are grateful.

When we entered the university we found two age groups—the younger students freshly out of high school and the veterans who preceded us here. We had the feeling that we were back in high school but I feel sure that the younger students must have felt that they had entered a home for the aged. We dispensed with the traditional initiations. The success that we have achieved together in all the phases of athletic and non athletic activities tells its own story. The association of the older and younger students was beneficial to both, and the harmony which exists between them speaks well for all concerned. Up to this point I feel sure that I have expresses the opinion of each member of the graduating class.

It is customary for the Valedictorian to inform the members of the graduating class that today they leave the comforting confines of the campus and launch out tomorrow to meet the cruel reality that is Life. My fellow graduates have seen service in all of the major theatres of war; they have returned to civilian life as normal, happy individuals, many of them shouldering the responsibilities of a wife and family. Surely there is little in the way of advice to offer them. There are, however, new forces in the world today which it would be well to consider. The world which we are entering tomorrow is different in many ways from the world of our parents. Theirs was a world of definite beliefs and clear-cut distinctions between right and wrong. A man was judged by his desire and ability to work, the respectability of himself and his family, and the homage which he paid to his God. We never quite knew that kind of world. With the arrival of the machine age, it disappeared. We can only surmise what it has been like from the stories of our elders, the family album, and the writers of the times. Our world today is not the stable, traditional world of our parents but it is rather a world at the crossroads, a crossroads of conflicting ideologies.

In very sphere of life we are being asked to march with one group to the exclusion of all others. How we are to judge intelligently the merits of these various groups. It is obvious that one cannot choose between any two issues without a knowledge of the merits of each. A man who proclaims loyalty to one side of any issue without an adequate knowledge of what the alternative entails is talking propaganda. He has defeated the purpose of education, which is the search for truth through orderly discipline of the mind.

Let us so equip ourselves by careful study and thought on the problems of our time that when the decision is to be made we can make it without fear, secure in the knowledge that we have done our best to reach the truth. Perhaps you labour under the delusion that your opinions and decisions are of no importance to the world. Do not be deceived. We have read in the newspapers a great deal of late, regarding certain individuals who have given what is termed “vital information” to persons deemed unfriendly to the Democracies. We are inclined, justly I think, to criticize them vehemently, and to tell ourselves that we would never do such a thing, and we feel virtuous. Yet among us there are many, many persons who through a lack of knowledge of the consequences, a misguided sense of values, or through greed participate in an act which collectively is as dangerous as giving away the atom bomb. They sell their sacred heritage, they sell their vote. Only slightly less guilty are those who do not exercise their vote through negligence or indifference. Ladies and gentlemen, some 39,000 Canadians lie buried in far-off land that we might choose our own way of life and that we might have freedom from want and fear. Let us not cast lightly aside the results of their supreme sacrifice.

But privileges carry with them responsibilities. Each person must be fully aware of the issue at stake. They must too, have at their disposal able men, to teach them the truth and to implement their desires. That is good education, and good government, which is an outgrowth of it.

As little as 150 years ago, when U. N. B. was first incorporated it was possible to obtain an all-embracing education in a relatively short time. Arts course were naturally accented for little was known of the sciences in those days. More facts have been accumulated in the past 150 years than in all the proceeding time. Indeed, it is difficult to keep abreast of the developments in one small section of any one field; specialization has become a necessity.

Our universities are turning out two types of individuals, each of which has a misguided, though partially truthful, concept of the other. Of the non-technical man, the technical man says “impractical, dreamer, idealist,” and sometimes, it must be confessed he adds, “useless”. While that type says of the technical man, “completely lacking in culture, a human adding machine” and may add under his breath of course, for these technical men are often the athletic type, “stupid.” Why this attitude by supposedly educated people towards another fact of education? What is the purpose of education? In the words of Milton: “I call, therefore, a complete and generous education, that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully and magnanimously all the offices, both private and public.” What does this imply? It implies a balanced education. We must have no educational misfits in our society. It is imperative that men of all levels of education associate freely and intimately together so that we have a fusion of idealism and factual necessity. It is well to bear in mind, that all men have their place in society, the great reforms were born first in the mind of the idealist, set down by the pen of the poet, made possible by the scientific advances of technical men and implemented with the sweat of the common man.

It is a tribute to Canadians that they are contributing vast sums for a long-range educational policy that will, I am sure, make Milton’s dream someday a reality.