STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. president told Mississippi State graduates Saturday that personal integrity and "the will and courage to speak up" in the face of wrongdoing are essential if the American way of life is to be preserved.
Donald E. Powell was morning commencement speaker for the second part of the university's new two-ceremony graduation program in Humphrey Coliseum. U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige addressed other graduates Friday night.
Some 1,300 MSU students were candidates for degrees at the conclusion of the fall semester. A continuing series of record graduations during fall and spring semesters have caused the university to now hold two separate ceremonies. The change also was made to accommodate a desire to announce each graduate's name--a departure from the longstanding tradition of only announcing those receiving doctoral degrees.
"Tomorrow or next week, as you go into the public marketplace as a public school teacher, research scientist, corporation employee, public servant, or whatever you will do, you need to be prepared to distinguish between what is right and wrong," Powell told his audience.
Distinguishing between the two "will not take place in your mind. The battle between good and evil, right and wrong will be conducted in your heart. So, above all else, guard your heart, for therein lies the wellspring of life."
Powell, a former Amarillo, Texas, bank executive, said a breakdown in public integrity throughout many bedrock American institutions has caused the free enterprise system that made the United States a world leader to be "on trial" and "under question" today.
Scandals in business, media, education, and government "have unsettled the very nature of this nation's soul," he observed.
Powell said "making money, making profit, is not evil, because without it there is not much public good that you and I can enjoy. It's the abuse of money and the love of money that we need to distinguish.
"It's very important," he added, "that you defend the capitalistic way of life and also the rule of law."
Powell was appointed by President and fellow Texan George W. Bush in 2001 as the 18th chairman of the government-backed bank insurance agency. Before entering federal service, he had amassed more than three decades as a leader in the Texas financial industry. He is a graduate of West Texas A&M University in Canyon and the Southwestern School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.
The Friday night audience included graduates of the Bagley College of Engineering, including the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering; College of Veterinary Medicine; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including the School of Human Sciences; College of Forest Resources; and College of Education.
The Saturday program involved the College of Arts and Sciences; College of Architecture, Art and Design; and the College of Business and Industry, including the School of Accountancy.