Remarks by Frederick G. Slabach, Dean and Professor of Law, University of Mississippi
Congratulations to all of you on your induction into Phi Kappa Phi.
This is an extraordinary achievement of which you are rightly proud.
The University of Mississippi changed my life.
I grew up in rural Mississippi and attended a severely under-resourced public high school as one of eight children of factory workers. I am a first-generation college student – my parents did not have the opportunity to finish high school let alone go to college. But they recognized the economic challenges they faced as a result and pushed all eight of their children to go to college.
And we all did. My siblings and I became lawyers, educators, academic researchers, business, and financial professionals with a total of eleven graduate degrees among us.
My parents have now passed away. And if you looked at their lives solely as a financial ledger, you would not see much to distinguish them. But, to me, they are the most successful human beings ever to walk the earth. They were people of deep faith who sacrificed financially to help us go to college because they knew the power of higher education.
So, it is no surprise that I believe higher education is the greatest socioeconomic elevator ever devised by humankind. The mission of this university – the mission of higher education, I believe, is to transform the world by transforming lives — one student at a time. You are a part of that stream of transformation. The University of Mississippi has accepted the children of farmers, factory workers, and service employees, many of whom are first generation college students. Students whose parents, like mine, did not have the opportunity to attend college. Students of modest means who are given an opportunity to learn, and grow, and make a better life for themselves because of this beautiful campus and the dedication of the faculty and staff.
What is the essence of that transformative power? The disciplines within higher education are diverse, of course. But regardless of discipline, and throughout history, the essence of higher education has remained the same.
The need to think. To learn to think — critical thinking and analytical reasoning. These higher order thinking skills are more important now than they ever have been in the past. These are the essential competencies needed for students to thrive in their chosen careers.
In my parent’s generation, a high school diploma was thought to be necessary to get ahead in life. In my generation, a bachelor’s degree was necessary. Today, economists tell us students will need a graduate degree to take advantage of economic opportunities presented to them.
Fortunately, the University of Mississippi is committed to developing these skills to help our undergraduate students gain admission to graduate school and our graduate students to thrive in their chosen professions.
That is how the University of Mississippi changed my life. It taught me critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and creative problem solving. In so doing, it set me on a successful and surprising journey.
Before I entered law school, I thought I was going to be the next Perry Mason, the TV show criminal defense lawyer of the 1960s who was not only able to gain acquittal of all his clients but was also able to get the real murderer to confess on the stand in open court — all in thirty minutes on TV. I know. I am old – Google it.
The education I received, and the academic success achieved at the University of Mississippi broadened my horizons, leading me to a prestigious federal judicial clerkship and on to practice with a big corporate law firm in Washington, D.C.
But then something surprising happened.
Unexpected opportunities in government and public service presented themselves and I jumped at the chance to serve as Legislative Counsel to the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, assistant to a governor, and a member of the subcabinet of a U.S. Presidential administration. From there another spin – the opportunity to enter higher education as a faculty member and academic administrator first in legal education, next as CEO of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, then as president of a university, and now full circle – home to the law school, the university, and the state I love.
If you had asked me while I was a student, I could not have imagined the twists and turns and the opportunities that presented themselves. Only now, looking back, does the progression make sense. Every unlikely step built upon itself to make the next surprising prospect possible. The academic experience provided to me here at the University of Mississippi was the foundation for every opportunity presented.
That is what your induction into Phi Kappa Phi really signifies – academic achievement – an elevated platform that will place opportunities within reach for the rest of your life.
My religious tradition teaches that the purpose of life is to learn, to love, and to serve. That is also the purpose of the faculty and staff here at the University of Mississippi. We love our students. We focus all our attention on serving you, and we help you learn. That purpose has achieved great success in the lives of individual students for generations. When I talk to alumni, they tell me the caring of the faculty, the staff and other students made a difference in their lives.
The University of Mississippi changed my life. And whether you realize it now or not, it is changing yours. I cannot wait to see the surprising places it takes you.
Hotty Toddy!