Commencement – May 19, 2007 
Faculty Address
Jeffrey Colman Salloway, Ph.D.
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
A warm welcome on behalf of the UNH Faculty to our distinguished guests
and most especially, the graduates of the class of 2007.
Class of 2007: Are you ready to Rock and Roll?
This is the last lecture from your UNH faculty. There are two special relationships in the lives of members of this class. The Talmud, that two thousand year old compendium of Jewish philosophy, tells usthat you have two sets of precious mentors: Your parents who gave you the gift of life and your teachers who have prepared you for the life to live. Both parents and professors have watched over you for the last fouryears -- or five years - or six years. We remember you as freshmen. As freshmen you thought that your parents were clueless. Your parents thought that Nine Inch nails were at the hardware store. And that Matisyahu was a page on the Yahoo internet service. Clueless!
Today, facing your future , you turn to these same parents for advice and support and you find in them wellsprings of wisdom. It is remarkable how much they have learned while you were away at college.
As freshmen, you were convinced that your professors knew the answer to any question. They spoke without doubt, and with confidence.
As seniors you raised questions to which faculty answered, I don't know; we don t know; but together we must ask. They have taught you that truth has legs! It is amazing how much less your faculty know now than when you were freshmen!
These are your lessons: Your parents generation has a great deal to teach. If you have learned that one who is wise is one who knows how much they do not know, then you have succeeded at UNH and you have acquired a heart of wisdom.
A last lesson: Recall your parents words to you growing up. Be careful
crossing the street! You responded, I m twenty one years old! You don't
have to tell me be careful crossing the street! That's not what your parents
were saying to you. Sometimes
it's hard, even for parents, to say to you, I love you. So they say instead,
Be careful crossing the street. What they mean is: I love you.
We your faculty have come to know you well. And we have come to care about you as individuals. And so we have one more message: When this ceremony ends there will be a lot of traffic on Main St. On behalf of your UNH faculty, please be careful crossing the street.