MEADVILLE, Pa. – May 12, 2008 – As he concluded the final Commencement ceremony of his tenure at Allegheny College, President Richard Cook's closing remarks to the graduating class highlighted the unique moment he shared with them.
“We are commencing together,” said Cook, who is retiring after 12 years at the college.
The Commencement ceremony honored 554 graduates – thought to be the largest class in the college's 193-year history – and featured an address by Cook, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
In presenting Cook for the degree, Professor of Political Science Robert Seddig spoke of Cook's integrity, honesty, fairness, humility and hard work.
“Allegheny College today pays tribute to a truly remarkable, now departing, president – a president whose human qualities, the intangibles, we laud, in addition to his many accomplishments,” Seddig said.
In his Commencement address, Cook not only reminded the graduates of the tools that their education has provided – learning to learn, build relationships and make themselves and the world better – but he used the opportunity to caution them against approaches to life that would prevent them from reaching their full potential.
He called on the graduates to avoid the temptation to surround themselves with comfortable ideas, settings and experiences, which he said can limit learning. He also advised them not to focus on getting the things they want rather than on becoming the person each wants to be, not to lose their idealism, not to defer living fully until they reached a pre-conceived set of circumstances or goals, and never to compromise their integrity.
Cook — an honors graduate of the University of Michigan who holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University — was appointed as the 20th president of Allegheny College in 1996. Prior to coming to Allegheny, Cook served as provost of Kalamazoo College, where he began his career as a chemistry professor.
Cook chaired the board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania and has served on the boards of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Great Lakes Colleges Association. He is a member of the presidential advisory committees of the Bonner Foundation and Project Pericles and chairs the presidential advisory committee of the CIC–New York Times Partnership. He held appointments on the Michigan Toxic Substance Control Commission and the Michigan Environmental Science Board.
Cook is a member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa. He was awarded the Lucasse Fellowship for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship at Kalamazoo College and received Certificates of Merit from two Michigan Governors. In Meadville, he was given the Shafer Award for Outstanding Community Service. Cook was awarded honorary alumnus status and the Alumni Medal for distinguished service at Allegheny College in 2006, and he was granted the title president emeritus by the Allegheny Board of Trustees, effective upon his retirement at the end of this academic year.
The 32nd oldest college in the nation, Allegheny will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2015.
