A selection of photos are available on the School of Education's Facebook fan page

Stanford University School of Education celebrated its 119th Commencement at the West Oval Grove on Sunday, June 13. Dean Emeritus Richard Shavelson, the Margaret Jacks Professor of Education (Emeritus), gave the commencement address.

Shavelson, an internationally renowned expert on the assessment of individual and group performance and the assessment of science achievement, implored School of Education graduates to follow a simple dictum: "Together, we need to go out and do good."

He shared with the graduates key lessons learned throughout the course of his career, including sticking to one's principles; seeking exciting work; staying flexible, creative and willing to compromise; seizing opportunities even at inopportune times; mentoring others; and striving for work/life balance, among others.

Shavelson, who retired in January, also reflected on his own student experience at Stanford and described the impact of his advisors and mentors Lee Cronbach and Dick Snow on his career. "They modeled high principles, excitement, and commitment to their teaching and research. They were creative and rigorous, diligent mentors—sometimes too diligent!—and truly leaders in the school and in their careers," he told the graduates. "I believe you have had the same experience as I had; you’ll be listening to your mentor, as I do with Cronbach and Snow, throughout your career even though they're there in spirit only."

Shavelson concluded by urging the graduates to excel and lead for the larger good of society. "We are at a point in time when John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s dictum—'Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country'—has been terribly warped into something that goes like this: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for yourself,'" said Shavelson. "It seems to me that the public good must once again trump the selfishness and pursuit of personal good that has gone unfettered in the U.S. for too long now. By choosing education, you've already voted with your feet for the public good."

Prior to Shavelson' address, Dean Deborah Stipek encouraged graduates not to be deterred by occasional setbacks they may encounter in their careers. Pointing to the faculty members seated behind her, she said, "What I admire most in my colleagues is their clear sense of purpose and their persistence. Whether their goal is to improve science instruction, or to make college more accessible, or understand how social and cultural forces shape institutions, they are not deterred by occasional failure disappointments. They rebound quickly. What I wish for you is that kind of purposefulness and resilience as you work toward whatever contribution to society you set as your goal."

On behalf of School of Education students, School of Education Student Guild representatives Alicia Grunow and Sarah Rutherford Quach presented Professors Guadalupe Valdés and Ray McDermott with the Teaching Excellence and Advising Excellence awards, respectively. A total of 22 students received doctorates and 164 received master's degrees at the ceremony.  

 photo: Professor and Dean Emeritus Richard Shavelson addresses the graduates.

Photo credit: Chris Wesselman
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The text of Richard Shavelson's commencement address follows:

Go Out And Do Good!
Rich Shavelson
SUSE Commencement Speech
June 13, 2010

The Stanford University School of Education--known with some affection as SUSE to its denizens—-has a tradition of inviting its retirees to give the Commencement Speech. I have the good fortune, opportunity and responsibility of sending you, the graduates, off... to do good!

Before turning to my remarks, I have a confession to make. I always wondered why graduation was called commencement. Isn’t graduation good enough? And wasn't commencement when I started my degree program, not when I finished it? Isn't it enough to graduate? My reaction to graduation was, "Thank God!" Now I have to commence something else?

Well, I now have come to understand why this is called commencement. You are about to commence into the future; indeed every new day is a commencement. But this is just a very special day because of what you have accomplished and what you are going to contribute to the betterment of our society and world. And I am commencing with you. Just as you are entering the next phase of your lives, I too as a retiree am entering the next phase of my life. Together we need to go out and do good.

This celebratory occasion provides me an opportunity to reflect back on my career and ask: What have I learned and done that is worth drawing lessons from and telling the graduates? I suspect my colleagues behind me have a ready answer. They'll let me know after the formal ceremonies are over! But I doubt their answer is not the one I have to tell you about today.

I've set these lessons learned down as a series of key words or ideas or maybe principles. I promise to be brief.

Be Principled — It seems to me that life is complicated and that we all need to keep focused in our work and, more generally, on our lives. We need a beacon to focus on and head for even when the seas are rough. I've found fairness and honesty to be pretty good principles to guide my way. Find your principles and stick to them.

Be Excited —I can't imagine living a life without excitement -— excitement for the work I'm doing and excitement more generally with living life. Seek that excitement. Don’t compromise. In particular, seek the kind of work that excites you; anything less and it'll be a real slog. As the saying goes, follow your passion!

Be Committed — The work you are about to take up is important; any work in education is. You need to be committed to that work... it's more than just a "job." It's a commitment to doing good... that is, it's a commitment to doing good for others. It goes way beyond personal self-interest.

Have a Sense of humor — This notion might seem a bit strange. Where does a sense of humor fit in? To be sure, educating is serious business. However, in my experience, lightening up a tense moment with humor, or seeing the funny or ironic side of life when the going gets tough often provides just the needed elixir to move on and do good. So take your work seriously; take life seriously; but not too seriously! Most importantly, however, don't take yourself too seriously. Focus on doing good for others and you'll end up doing good for yourself.

Be Self-effacing — By virtue of our educational opportunities you'll find yourself in positions to advise and lead others. This, I have observed in academia, can sometimes lead to what is known, medically, as a "swollen head," or psychoanalytically an "enlarged ego." Strive to recognize that you’re not as important as you might think you are. If you have any questions about this, try the following experiment: As you leave a swimming pool, look back and gauge how big a hole you've left in the water. That'll provide some perspective.

Be Flexible, Creative, and Willing to Compromise — All too often I've watched and seen friends and colleagues miss remarkable opportunities because some flexibility, compromise and creativity were needed to see their way through. For example, I've often heard colleagues say they refused to write a research grant because the constraints posed by the funding agency hobbled their creativity and too restrictive to allow for their insights. I always saw it differently -- I typically asked, how can I fulfill the wishes of the funder while pursuing the kinds of work that I believe is important. And very often there was a meeting of the minds that produced more than either side expected. So, compromise, be flexible and be creative—just as long as you maintain your core principles. This will get you a long way in life and in your career.

Be Opportunistic — I mean this in the good sense. Opportunity is not predictable. Opportunity doesn't raise its head when you're looking for it. Opportunity is serendipitous. Be ready to seize opportunity when it presents itself even when it's darn inconvenient. Throughout my career I've fortunate to have had many opportunities and even into retirement I'm still seizing them. So much for retirement!

Seek to Understand Another's Perspective — The capacity to understand another's perspective is essential to doing good. Put another way, remember that yours is not the only perspective—even if you know it's the "right" perspective (!). Strive to understand others. Strive to put yourself in their shoes—or better yet into their minds -— to see the world through their eyes. It seems that this capacity underlies so much in life: social and intercultural relations, moral judgments, civic engagement, and just plain doing good according to a set of core principles.

Mentor Others When the Opportunity Arises -— I believe that in spite of its foibles, the education you've received at Stanford is special. Whether you know it or not, you are all very special people and have the capacity and moral imperative to give back to others. One way I have found to be a very important and rewarding way to give back is by mentoring others as they pursue their dreams. Help others —- your students, colleagues, friends, family -— as you undoubtedly have been helped by others who have made a significant impact on your life, including being at Stanford pursuing your dream.

Take on Leadership — Your talents and education will also inevitably place you in positions where you have to decide whether or not to take leadership. Some seek leadership, some reluctantly accept it as a form of giving back, some do both and some miss the opportunity. Regardless, you have a responsibility to lead and an obligation to take on that responsibility when opportunity knocks. So go out and lead, but remember to do so in a principled, self-effacing, creative, flexible way with humor and perspective.

Seek Balance — This is my last principle, and perhaps the most important and difficult one. To be effective and to do good, you must strive to balance work, family, social relations, and physical activity. You can never optimize all four... but you can satisfice, to borrow a term from Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon —- reach a reasonable balance among competing goals. But don't sacrifice any one of these goals in reaching a balance; just weight them differently… and over time those weights will change.

One last reflection... on the impact of SUSE on my own career. When I studied for my doctorate at SUSE, I had two outstanding advisors and mentors: Lee Cronbach and Dick Snow. They modeled the ideas I just described to you. People like Cronbach and Snow were what made SUSE a very special place then, and the tradition continues today. They set the standard and challenged and encouraged me to meet it. They modeled high principles, excitement and commitment to their teaching and research, they were creative and rigorous, diligent mentors -— sometimes too diligent! —- and truly leaders in the school and in their careers. I believe you have had the same experience as I had; you'll be listening to your mentor, as I do with Cronbach and Snow, throughout your career even though they're there in spirit only.

To conclude, let me give you your charge. You are the hope of the future. And today the future needs all of the hope it can get. You have a moral imperative: go out and do good -- excel and lead. We are at a point in time when John Fitzgerald Kennedy's dictum —- ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country —- has been terribly warped into something that goes like this: ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for yourself.

It seems to me that the public good must once again trump the selfishness and pursuit of personal good that has gone unfettered in the U.S. for too long now. By your choosing education you've already voted with your feet for the public good.

Now go out and do good!!! Thank You.