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Trustee emeritus Gerald
Marxman, a pioneer in the field of rocket engineering and an
entrepreneur devoted to environmental and social issues, was
awarded an honorary degree and was the featured speaker at
Monmouth's 150th Commencement exercises. |
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(Citation read by Dean Jane Jakoubek prior to the
awarding of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree,
Monmouth College, May 20, 2007):
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Dean Jane Jakoubek reads a
citation of Marxman's accomplishments prior to the awarding of his
honorary degree. |
Gerald
A. Marxman, after graduating magna cum laude from Monmouth College in 1956, you earned degrees at
Case Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from California
Institute of Technology. In the early 1960s, with the
Cold War and space race in full swing, you entered the
promising field of hybrid rocket propulsion. As a
scientist for United Technologies Corporation, you
devised a combustion model and mathematical theory that
revolutionized rocket propulsion. Today you are
recognized not only as a pioneer in the field, but your
work remains the foundation for hybrid rockets built
today.
By the
1970s, you moved from engineering to the business. At
companies such as Environdyne, Digideck, and CommTech,
you demonstrated that environmental concern, creative
science, and thriving business could work hand in hand. Among the innovations that came from this work was an
important new technology for the Internet, known to us
today as DSL.
Twenty-five years ago, your concern about social issues
led you to devise a unique incubator program. By
providing personal mentoring and support for bright,
young Stanford MBA students, you enabled their work to
blossom into thriving enterprises. One such company, Kiva, allows individuals to invest through the Internet
in small businesses in developing countries around the
globe. Another company, Care2 Inc, combines Internet
technology and sound business principles to inform
people how they can have a positive impact on the planet
and society.
For
more than half a century, you have merged the hard work
of science with the practical applications of business. At every step, you demonstrated the social and
environmental benefits that such partnerships can
bestow. You provide inspiration for each of today’s
graduates and serve as a model for the values we at Monmouth College strive to instill in our students.
Gerald
Marxman, President Ditzler will now present you with the
degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
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Address by Dr. Marxman
President Ditzler, trustees and faculty of the college,
proud and probably somewhat relieved parents and
grandparents, friends of the graduates and members of
the graduating class of 2007, thank you for the honor of
sharing this wonderful occasion with you.
I’ll
bet you graduates wonder why we insist on including a
commencement speech on what otherwise would be a joyful
event. Some people think we just can’t resist trying to
bend your mind one more time before we let you go. For
example, several of my friends who have heard me speak
at length about environmental issues believe that by the
end of my talk, any doubters among you sitting here in
the sun in academic robes will become true believers
that global warming is real. But Doonesbury cartoonist
Garry Trudeau had the real answer. He said,
“Commencement speeches were invented largely in the
belief that outgoing college students should never be
released into the world until they have been properly
sedated.”
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“Like previous generations of Monmouth students, you 2007 graduates are going to find that your work on this campus has prepared you to compete with the best of the rest.” |
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―
Gerald Marxman |
The
last time I was an active participant in a commencement
at Monmouth was at my own graduation five decades ago.
After three years at Monmouth I had gone to what is now Case Western Reserve
University in
Cleveland to
pursue engineering on the 3-2 program, which was then
new at Monmouth. So I had been at Case for two years and
returned to this campus to get my liberal arts degree at
Monmouth’s commencement, and an engineering degree from
Case was scheduled to be granted about a week later.
Everything seemed to be going well; the classmates ahead
of me were marching up here to receive their degrees
from Dr. Gibson, who was then president of the college.
Finally, my turn came. As I approached Dr. Gibson, he
just stood there, no diploma in hand. It crossed my mind
that maybe he just found I was a credit short for
graduation. Fortunately, he only wanted to tell me and
the audience that he’d received a call that morning from
T. Keith Glennon, the president of Case. Glennon had
informed him that Monmouth’s 3-2 students had done very
well at Case; that I had graduated first in my class,
which was news to me.
The
Case president had expressed surprise that students
transferring from a small liberal arts college could
compete so well against four-year students at one of the
nation’s best engineering schools, and he congratulated
Dr. Gibson on Monmouth’s good work. Apparently, Dr.
Gibson remembered some of my antics at Monmouth, because
he was surprised, too. His first words to me were “Can
this be really true?” He finally gave me my diploma
after I started to look a bit menacing.
Well,
today no one would be surprised. Like previous generations of Monmouth students, you 2007 graduates are going to find that your work on this campus has prepared you to compete with the best of the rest.
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