Text: William T. Bogart’s commencement address to the MC Class of 2020
Maryville College President Emeritus Dr. William T. Bogart, who is currently president of Columbia College in Columbia, S.C., delivered the commencement address to the Maryville College Class of 2020 on May 8, 2021. Here is the full text of his address, titled “A Long-Expected Party.”
Chairman Piper, President Coker, members of the Board of Directors, faculty, staff, friends, family, and especially members of the graduating class of 2020, hello. I am very happy to be back on the campus of Maryville College, and honored to have the opportunity to speak on this auspicious occasion.
Earlier in my career, one of my colleagues (Vic Taylor at YCP) gave me a succinct description of what college is about. In college, he said, we read books and then we talk about them. As you know, there’s a little bit more to the experience than that, but I’ve always found his words to be a useful starting point.
The best graduation address I know of is one by C. S. Lewis, titled “The Inner Ring.” Feel free to google it if you find what I’m saying to not be interesting. In addition to the message that Lewis presents, I was inspired by his lecture to read War and Peace in order to better understand an example he gives.
I don’t expect that my address today will be as inspiring as Lewis’s, but I will be talking about a long book. Not War and Peace though, but instead a trilogy written by Lewis’s friend and fellow Oxford professor, J. R. R. Tolkien. If you haven’t (yet) read Lord of the Rings or seen the movies, well, I’m sorry and spoiler alert.
My training is as an economist, but I’m married to an English teacher and have acquired a liberal arts education. Of course, one of the hallmarks of a liberal arts education is that we can keep adding to it, so if you think graduating from Maryville College is the end of your education, be assured that it’s not. It is regularly noted that while there are countless stories, there are only a small number of categories into which those stories fall. My favorite is the assertion that there are, in fact, only two types of story. The first is “a hero embarks on a journey” and the second is “a stranger comes to town.”
Your matriculation at Maryville College, even for those of you from nearby or who grew up knowing about the school, is an example of “a stranger comes to town.” I hope that you took full advantage of the opportunity here. As the “M” Book, a Maryville College student handbook from 1929-30, p. 22, said under the heading Some “Don’ts” 10. [the last one] ‘Don’t think you are preparing for life. You are LIVING. This is the place to practice all your good theories of democracy and internationalism.’ That was true of MC students 90 years ago, I know it was true of you during your time here, and I am confident it will be true as you leave here.
Your graduation, naturally, is “a hero embarks on a journey.”
Lord of the Rings does involve a hero setting out on a journey. But that’s not how the book begins. The first chapter of the book is titled “A Long-Expected Party.” That seemed so appropriate to our situation today – as we celebrate your graduation a year after the pandemic caused our celebration to be postponed – that I made it the title of my talk.
The party in question is a birthday party for Bilbo Baggins, who is not the hero of this book. While there are events at the party that are important for the plot, my favorite part of the party is his speech, in which he provides a confusing compliment to his neighbors, and which I will now present with all sincerity to you. “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
Unbeknownst to almost everyone in the audience, the birthday party is also a farewell party for Bilbo. Graduation, too, is both a celebration for the graduates and a farewell party. But Bilbo’s farewell party is just the opening chapter in a very long book. And today’s commencement celebration is not only the end of the story of your time as a student here, but more importantly the beginning of the rest of the exciting adventure of the book of your life.
Each person is the protagonist in the story of their life. Today, thanks to social media, we can read the story as it happens including illustrations (selfies) and videos. Sometimes we’re merely in small supporting roles from their perspective, and appropriate humility is in order. In addition, whether we are the stranger coming to town or a resident in the town in which a stranger is arriving, let’s remember wise words from another long book, Dune (by Frank Herbert, 1965 [1987], NY: Ace, p. 144). “When strangers meet, great allowance should be made for differences in custom and training.”
Not only does every person have their own story, but they also perceive their own story and your story differently than you do. George Orwell gives one view – “[A]ny life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats.” I don’t subscribe to that dark vision, but it is a reminder to be gracious to others, as we don’t know what struggles they are going through.
One wonderful feature of books is that we can return to them again. Sometimes rereading a book is a pleasant opportunity to engage with familiar characters and events, sometimes it is a source of embarrassment (I can’t believe I really liked that book?!), and sometimes rereading is a chance to reflect on how changes in our lives influence how we read other stories.
In Lord of the Rings, an important character is named Elrond. When I first read the book as a teenager, I found Elrond to be baffling, even a little boring. Although he was extremely powerful, two of his main concerns are to try to maintain peace in a difficult environment and to help his daughter make the right choice about her future. When I reread the book as a middle-aged man who held a leadership position and was raising a daughter, I found him a much more sympathetic figure.
In making choices about our own stories and about how we relate to others, the key is to discern wisely. The scripture passage emphasizes this possibility of choice, as it reminds us that we have options in what we think about and whether or not to worry. Discernment is part of what led you to Maryville College, and enhanced ability to discern the right path is an important part of what you gain from your time here.
Our shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic lends added emphasis to this point. Think back to March, April, and May 2020. Are we going to tell a story of a semester ruined, or a story of resilience and accomplishment in the face of difficult circumstances? Are we going to be annoyed at improvised solutions to the impossibility of getting together in person, or are we going to be grateful to the faculty, staff, and students who worked so hard to help everyone make the best of this time? I know my choice, especially on a day like today when Maryville College has given us the chance to gather in person one more time.
I began this talk, as Tolkien began Lord of the Rings, with a farewell party as a launching point. I will conclude, as he did, by thinking past the day of celebration to what comes next. There are two observations, in particular, that relate the end of his book to our time here today. First, going home might not be what you expected it to be. Second, the end of the story is not necessarily the end.
The climax of Lord of the Rings is a series of heroic acts that lead to great celebration. Many people stop telling stories at that moment. Tolkien, in a move of genius, continues beyond that celebration to look at what happens next. Our hero returns home, to find that in his absence bad things have happened and bad people are in charge. Because of the changes that he has undergone, people don’t even recognize him. A “hero departed on a journey” but on his return, “a stranger came to town.” If I were giving this commencement address immediately upon your graduation, this would be a word of warning. A year later, I suspect it reflects some of your experience.
So the work so heroically accomplished in one setting only serves to prepare us for different work that needs to be done in another setting. And after that work is done, there are still further challenges to face. The good news is that we won’t be bored. The challenge is that we will never finish the work.
Here is how one person put it in a prayer[1] [this isn’t the full prayer, it’s an excerpt]. It describes how I tried to serve as your president, and I hope it provides a way to think about your own story.
Prophets of a Future Not Our Own
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Maryville College graduates of the class of 2020, congratulations! You are the latest in a long and distinguished line of alumni who have been prepared for lives of citizenship and leadership as they have been challenged to search for truth, grow in wisdom, work for justice, and dedicate a life of creativity and service to the peoples of the world.
Today is not the end of that process. Rather I ask you to continue to take on a challenge best summarized by Paul’s words to the church at Rome (Romans 12:2): “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
An important chapter of my story at Maryville College ended in 2020, as did yours. And our journey beyond Maryville College has begun. Rejoice in the Lord always, and don’t worry. As we tell the story of our time here, let us focus on what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. I am happy that there is so much to tell, and hope that is always the case here and wherever you go.