John McGrane ’73: Opening Convocation Speech

John McGrane ’73 spoke to the campus community as we started our first day of class for fall 2019. 

He reminded us all about the importance of diversity and inclusion to make the most of our work and to become our best selves. And if we are our best selves, honoring diversity in our world and our lives, that we should support free speech and actively engage in civil discourse with respect for those with different views, while not allowing ourselves to be distracted by derogatory speech, name-calling, and disrespect for one another. Here’s his full speech:

Reach Out

Good morning, and welcome to the start of the Cornell College academic year, for some of you for the first time.

It has been 50 years since I arrived at Cornell as a first-generation college student. A lot has changed, but I think some things still ring true. This morning I would like to spend a few minutes on the need to reach out and embrace diversity and inclusion, and end with a few thoughts on free speech.

For me, being a student at Cornell was a defining experience, one that has come into sharper focus as I have looked back on it over the years, and particularly as a Trustee. At Cornell, I learned to work much harder than I ever had before and to think and write more clearly—traditional academic progress, for which I will always be grateful.

(And a personal shout out to Philosophy Professor Emeritus Paul Gray, who just retired this Spring. One of my majors was philosophy, and more than anyone, Dr. Gray helped me learn to think and write clearly!)

But Cornell provided more than just academics. Coming from a small town in Iowa, where everyone was pretty much the same, Cornell also offered my first real opportunities to meet people from other cultures and backgrounds—people very different from me—and to engage and communicate with them and understand their different perspectives and experiences. These opportunities came in classrooms, in residence halls, in social groups and in on and off-campus programs.

In my junior year I spent a semester abroad. This was before the block plan, so it was a full semester. It was also the first time I had ever been in an airplane or out of the Midwest. In those days traveling abroad was very different than it is now – no cell phones, Internet or other means of quick communication with family and friends back in the States. I was completely out of my Iowa/Cornell bubble and for much of the time out of even my U.S. bubble. I traveled through Europe with friends I met on the trip, sharing experiences, beliefs, and thoughts. Upon my return to Cornell, I reached out to others who had also made trips abroad, sharing our mutual experiences. All of our worlds and interests had expanded dramatically.

After graduation, I went to a larger, more diverse city, Washington DC. In law school and as a practicing attorney there, I had opportunities to participate in pro bono activities, assisting under served, low income and minority communities in Washington. Although I had grown up in a very low-income household, these people faced many obstacles my family had never encountered, including a distrust of legal and other systems that historically often had not been faithful to them.

As part of a large law firm, I worked with clients and colleagues to make sure that our firm and its legal teams were diverse and inclusive. Many of our clients, including very large corporations, were doing the same, because embracing diversity is not just the right thing to do, it improves outcomes. Staying in our comfort zones – limiting personal and professional interactions only to those like us—prevents us from getting the information, viewpoints, and perspectives that lead to better outcomes and experiences.

Through these last 50 years, an important truth has come through for me. There are many opportunities, at Cornell and in the broader world, to engage with diverse groups of people, probably more so today than ever before.

But unfortunately, there is still a tendency for each of us to stay in our comfort zones, with people like us, with similar backgrounds, views, and perspectives. It is only if we reach out and embrace the opportunities for interaction and communication that we gain the real benefits from diversity. And that means not just trying to overcome barriers that may separate us, but to affirmatively reach out, include, and listen and try to understand the backgrounds, views, and experiences of others. We cannot set up diverse working groups just to check a diversity box—we must make sure diverse voices on the team are sought out and heard.

Be part of the welcoming community of Cornell. Reach out to others. Many in this room will turn out to be your life-long friends. You can and will learn a lot from them.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the current election season and the increasingly divisive political climate in the country. My generation also experienced a time of intense political upheaval, with deep division in the country due to the Vietnam war and the Watergate scandal involving the 1972 presidential election. The news media was attacked by politicians, and the term “silent majority” came into being. Although the term “fake news” had not yet arrived, the concept then was the same—distrust the media.

There were many demonstrations, and sometimes violent clashes. In response to the 1970 Kent State shooting of students by National Guardsmen, there were demonstrations on college campuses across the country, including here at Cornell. Ours was more limited, since we were in the middle of Spring finals at the time. But it was no less emotional, with one student bringing his hunting rifle to one of the demonstrations. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.

In the coming months, be prepared for an unrelenting flood of political messages and events. It may become intensely emotional. Be prepared for speech you may not agree with, even speech you may find deeply offensive.

Be tolerant of the right of free speech. As a community of higher education, Cornell must and does value free speech, and also the need to counter wrongful speech with more speech, in a civil and respectful manner. Stand up for your values, but as a part of a community that respects every person and communicates with a desire to understand and learn and not to denigrate others.

Reach out and engage in substantive communication on the issues. Stay away from the derogatory nicknames; claims of fake news and rigged outcomes; painting political opponents as evil or disloyal; denigrating racial and other groups with words, slogans or symbols. These are not the marks of substantive argument and discussion, but rather are intentional distractions designed to play on biases and emotions, not minds. Valid arguments and policies can stand on their own without these distractions.

One of the goals of Cornell is making all of you critical thinkers, able to clearly discern substance from distraction, to recognize false and misleading narratives. You first-years may need a crash course for this political season, but you can also rely on the rest of the Cornell community to help you.

And that last point is the one I want to leave you with. Cornell is a welcoming community in which all individuals are respected and valued. That is part of our mission.
The diversity around you and the block plan provide many opportunities to get out of your bubbles. But opportunity is not enough—reach out and embrace the opportunities offered here and engage with your fellow Cornellians.

Thank you and have a great year!