PENN BACCALAUREATE 2014 In her opening remarks, President Amy Gutmann said, “This baccalaureate ceremony we celebrate today, is intended to refine the spirit and uplift the soul. It derives from the medieval custom of honoring Bach- elor degree candidates prior to the awarding of their degrees. This is a quieter and more intimate oppor- tunity to reflect. Our students—this remarkable Class of 2014—have learned and grown and advanced in so many ways in the past four years. They are an enormous and potent force for good that we are about to release on the world. This is our opportunity to give thoughtful attention to all they are capable of achiev- ing—and our heartfelt thanks for all they have meant to us in the years leading up to this moment. Members of the Class of 2014: an ending is in sight, but so too is a glorious beginning.” Baccalaureate Address given Sunday, May 18, 2014 by The Reverend Kirbyjon Caldwell, WG’77, senior pastor, Windsor Village United Methodist Church Three Simple Concepts: Character, Courage and Creativity Well I’ll tell you, Dr. Price can make any- unmitigated, unparalleled fool who sucks all the air out of the room when body sound good, can’t he? That’s very gra- he or she walks into it, such that other folks suffocate because there’s no cious of you. First of all, congratulations to the air left. They find ways to get rid of them. We now realize that hiring for 2014 graduates! I want to thank Chaz (Charles character is just as important as hiring for competency. So I want to say Howard) for being instrumental in inviting me; to the graduates, as brilliant as you are, make certain you have character. I appreciate it very much. I want to thank Dr. I know of several instances where a person—in this case a male—had Gutmann for allowing me to come. And will the the capital to buy a major league franchise—baseball, football, whatever gentleman who is in charge of the lights bring —and had the competency to run the major league franchise if he were the house lights up just a smidgen please? Let’s to get it. But in several cases, call no names, bear no blames, they did not recognize the parents and the members of the get the team, not because they couldn’t buy it, not because they couldn’t Photograph by Stuart Watson extended family who have helped to pay for, run it, but because of character issues or even the perception of character pray for, pull for and whatever for, to make issues. They had relational skills that were in the toilet or their reputations this day a reality. Won’t you please stand? You were such that the other owners simply did not want to have anything to deserve some recognition—to all the parents do with him. I hope your colleagues would never be able to say, “I don’t and members of the extended family—as I say want to mess with him or her because of their reputation.” As a matter of in my business, show them some love! fact, you know you have a smooth reputation when you own a parrot, and Kirbyjon Caldwell As a father of 16, 14 and 12-year-old chil- you don’t mind selling the parrot to the biggest blabbermouth in the com- dren, I look forward to this day, but not too munity. Even Albert Einstein said, “What makes a great scientist great is quickly. Well Spencer, you mentioned experience. T.S. Elliott one day sug- not his intellect, but his character.” gested that we have had the experience, but we are missing the meaning. We David is knocking on the door, come on in David. David is saying yes, are having the experience, but don’t miss the meaning. Let’s be clear about yes, yes, this guy named Goliath sold wolf tickets for 40 days in a row, and this, and I want to salute the graduates again. Number one—you got into I decided to step up, the character in me propelled me to challenge him. the University of Pennsylvania. That’s no small feat. Number two—after I am going to move quickly now, from character to courage. You know, having been admitted, you stayed in. I mean not everyone can say that. In while preparing this message, it dawned on me. Some folks may have some cases there were circumstances beyond other folks’ control that meant character, but they are unable to espouse or manifest character because that they just had to leave. So you got in, you stayed in and now you’ve they lack courage. Do you know it takes courage to manifest character? It graduated. What an experience! But the question is—what does it mean? takes courage to say that’s right when everyone else says that’s wrong. It I want to offer three simple concepts here this afternoon that will help takes courage to stand up when everyone else wants to sit down. In the case you to maximize the meaning of this experience. This is a heart-to-heart, of David, David’s daddy did not step up, David’s brothers did not step up, a very relational talk that I want to share with you. King Saul did not even step up, the leader of the army Abner did not step Three simple concepts and I have a friend whose going to help me up, every day for 40 days, a member of the Israelite community turned tail with these concepts. His name is David. He is straight from the Broadway and ran when Goliath challenged them at the top of the hill, except David. play entitled David and Goliath, found in the First Book of Samuel, in the David says I’ll have the courage to face the Goliath. 17th chapter. Nelson Mandela said in essence, courage is not the absence of fear, Concept number one is character. Character—you can have the IQ of courage is doing what you know is the right thing to do in spite of the fear. a zip code. Or in today’s parlance, the IQ of your ID password. You can You can have all the character in the world but if you don’t have the courage have an IQ that’s the length of your ID password, but if your character is to back it up, you are a great potential that never achieved. in the toilet, no matter how expensive the toilet may be, you are a train Character, courage and lastly, I love this one—creativity. Now Caldwell, wreck waiting to happen. Carnage is on the way. Let me put it to you this how in the world does creativity fit into the David and Goliath paradigm? way. If your competency is here, but your character is there, if your intel- I’m glad you asked. Here’s Goliath, somewhere between six-feet-nine-inches ligence is here, but your integrity is there, then this is how far you have to and eight-feet, depending upon whose account you believe. Here’s David, fall. And the wider that gap is—did you just hear that thud? That thud is described as a little runty guy, who was literally on a cheese mission. He was the noise you will make if your integrity doesn’t rise to the level of your simply there to deliver cheese to his brothers. He was sent by his dad, but intelligence and your character to the level of your competency. Your com- while there, his courage and his character rose to the challenge. How does munity—this country—is full of folks who had tremendous potential. They a little runty guy knock off the giant? David knew that the Goliath walked had competencies but they lacked character. I want to encourage you today slowly. He was not very nimble, not very mobile. David knew that Goliath to have character and not be a character. As my grandmother used to say, did not see very well. So David took his strength and matched them against have character but don’t act like a character. Goliath’s weaknesses. You know the story. David takes the slingshot because I’ve been blessed to serve on a lot of boards, from grassroots 501(c)(3) he was a slinger and bam, he hit him right there where the armor was not. Who boards for which I got paid nothing, to Fortune 500 boards for which I’m could have come up with something that creative—a stone and a slingshot? very thankful. And one common theme, which exists in all those boards is Now you might be thinking, wait a minute, I’ve read about David, and David the following: when you hire good people, the probability of good output pulled up five stones for one Goliath, he must not have had that much courage. is increased. I don’t care how excellent your procedure or your practices I’m here to tell you, not only did he have courage, he had knowledge. David is. I don’t care how excellent your structure is or your systems may be, if knew that Goliath had four brothers. So after he wacked Goliath, he said to the folks you hire suck eggs, then you are cruising for a bruising. American the brothers, this is off the Bible, but I’ll tell you, if you brothers want some corporations are doing a better job of this now then they were back then.