‘Universities Are the Training Grounds for Our Democracy’
By Mike Kotlikoff
Welcome families, welcome friends, and congratulations graduates! It’s a great joy and a tremendous honor to be here with you celebrating the amazing Class of 2026, their many achievements, and this terrific milestone in the lives of 9,000 remarkable Cornellians, from 86 different countries, across all of our Cornell campuses and Commencement ceremonies.
And as I congratulate our graduates for completing their degrees, we recognize that nobody makes it to Cornell alone, and nobody makes it through Cornell alone.
So I also want to congratulate everyone who is also “graduating,” even though they aren’t wearing a cap and gown: the parents and grandparents, siblings and cousins, mentors and friends, here in Schoellkopf and joining us by livestream, who have been part of each graduate’s journey to, and through, Cornell.
Their achievement is also your achievement—and today you are all Cornellians.
Cornell’s founders, in their wisdom, established this university in a place with unparalleled natural beauty; nine months a year of perfect weather for staying indoors and studying; and no easy access by plane, train, or automobile.
It has gotten somewhat better since 1865. I am pleased to report that all of our roads are now paved. But as I think Homer said: Ithaca is worth the Odyssey.
"As I think Homer said: Ithaca is worth the Odyssey."