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Following an invocation by Professor Emeritus Raymond Williams H’68, President Pat White offered a toast to the three men receiving honorary degrees on Sunday—Bob Charles ’59, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, and Dr. Walter Massey.
"Gentlemen, Wabash is proud to honor you today," White said. "From a broad array of careers and walks of life you each in your own way have lived lives committed to the liberal arts ideals of critical thinking, reflection, and engagement in service. All three of you have distinguished yourselves in the life of the mind, heart, and spirit we foster at Wabash.
"You have taken your commitments and your thinking into a complex world where men and women take action for the common good. For the courage and the indefatigable dedication to the work of leadership in all its complexity, for your commitment to the liberal arts, for your achievements, and for your lives well lived as models for our students, we salute you with gratitude and joy."
 
 

Introducing Bob Charles ’59, President White said: 
"Your life and career exemplify the great possibilities that arise in a life well lived when the power of a Wabash liberal arts education comes together with Wabash grit, chutzpah, and entrepreneurial spirit.



"After graduating from Wabash in 1959 you began graduate school at the University of Arizona in horticulture, but you found your predictable academic path ambushed by opportunity. With courage you jumped into this new start up called McDonald’s and entered the restaurant business. More businesses and opportunities followed and in every one you practiced innovation, creativity, and leadership.



"In your philanthropy and in your business, you demonstrate a life awake to possibilities…
"Wabash is proud to honor you as an innovative thinker, leader, and entrepreneur, whose life has been lived in bringing together constant and passionate learning and thoughtful action."



 
 

"I’m greatly honored as a graduate of Wabash to be recognized today. This is more than a little bit humbling," Charles said. "So much happened here to me as a student that significantly shaped my life, and I wanted to mention a few of these.
"I had faculty that I thought really cared about me as a person. If I had issues or concerns I could always meet with them—they were always there, and they could always help me.
"I learned how to think and how to solve problems, and that’s helped me well in my career. Wabash helped me develop a lot of confidence, taught me to be prepared, and to anticipate the unexpected.
"Going to graduate school was a walk in the park after going to school here."
Charles continued: "People sometimes ask me, 'Why did you take such a risk?' I try to explain to them that, 'where you see risk, I see opportunity.' That's just the way i look at things, probably because of that confidence I picked up here and from what I learned from my dad.
"Today there are so many opportunities for young people, but you have to be able to take risks. Students come to me today and ask, 'What should I do?' I ask, 'What do you want to do?'"






 

Governor Daniels enjoys one of several ancecdotes Charles told during his remarks. 
Introducing Governor Daniels as the next speaker, President White said:
"It has been said that politics is the art of the possible. In your life in business and politics you have practiced that art with a solid dose of the pragmatic and a commitment to getting things done. Your actions have endeared you to some, infuriated others, and at times surprised and confused both friends and foes. That’s part of the nature of the work of politics, the practice of leadership, and the price of action.
"But you have handled both praise and blame with an admirable equanimity, a wry humor, and an eye on the prize of what, in your judgment, is best for the people of the state. For your leadership is not mere pragmatism.
"You have grounded your politics in your understanding of the Constitution and the founding principles of American culture and your vision of a free society. In this linking of the practical and high ideals, action to responsibility, your life resonates with the demands of the Wabash mission to educate young men to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely.
"Wabash honors you today for your work and service as governor of the state of Indiana through difficult years, for your steadfast commitment to the possible and the principled in getting things done, and for your life of high achievement in business, public service, and the noble and messy vocation of politics."

"I make it my business to interrogate young men wherever i go—this practice began as being the father of four daughters," Governor Daniels said. "I run into a fair number of Wabash students, and when I ask them about their education, every single time they say, "It is tough—tougher than anything I’d ever faced.' And when I hear that  I just want to clap and jump for joy, because that’s what it ought to be, that’s what they need it to be. Because that is the kind of institution it is.
"I am a major admirer of this institution. If I’d not chosen to go out of state to see a little more of the world for my schooling, I’m just certain I would have chosen Wabash. In fact, I chose an all male institution, and my choice seemed right for me at the time. 
"So my admiration for this institution has grown over the years as you have thoughtfully chosen to maintain that tradition and that option for young men. We ought to offer the broadest range of educational options for our citizens."

 "One could not imagine a finer education available, and there’s no place I’d rather be associated with than Wabash," Daniels said. "The education of our young men is a matter of real concern for me. I think your particular mission is more important now than ever in your history."

Introducing Dr. Walter Massey, President White said:
"We welcome you to Wabash today, your first time on our campus, as already a brother in spirit and tradition, for you are a 1958 graduate of Morehouse College, a liberal arts college for men that all of America and Wabash especially respects for its distinguished history of graduating men who become leaders in the world.
"Your career continues to be one of the brightest in the history of the men of Morehouse, including your leadership as a physicist after receiving your Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, as a business executive serving on numerous corporate boards, and especially for your leadership for over 12 years as President of Morehouse.
"You exemplify a life lived in the active engagement in the central problems of your time. As a scientist, as Director of the National Science Foundation, as Director of the Argonne National Laboratory, and an academic leader, you have guided the nation to see that our greatness depends on bringing all the best minds of the country to opportunities in physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology.
"As you take on yet another challenge as President of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a whole new realm of endeavor, Wabash honors you for your life of leadership and action in public service and your commitment to the highest ambitions of American higher education." 

 "I am a graduate of Morehouse College, and we call ourselves Morehouse Men," Dr. Massey said. "And I’m very pleased to realize that in a few hours I will be a Wabash man."

"This really is a special institution," Dr. Massey said. "It's one of only three all-male institutions continuing in higher education.
"There is a special place for these kinds of institutions. In 2002, I convened a conference and invited then Wabash President Andy Ford, the president of Hampden Sydney, and the president of St. John's to look at what all-male institutions can share with the rest of society about how to be successful in educating young men today so they can be leaders in society.
"Wabash does that so welll, and at Morehouse we’ve tried to learn from your institution over the years and to share experiences with you. So for so many reasons, both personally and professionally, this is such an honor for me."

Governor Daniels and Dr. Massey share their thoughts after the luncheon.

Bob Charles and classmate Robert Wedgeworth ’59 enjoy a conversation after the luncheon with Dr. Massey.

Dean and Professor Emeritus Vic Powell H’55 was among the guests at the Honorary Degree Luncheon.