10 May 1985 1985 Graduation Address - Professor Bruce Ross

Attached is a copy of the address given at the Lincoln College graduation ceremony today (Friday May 10) by the Principal, Professor Bruce Ross, when degrees and post-graduate diplomas were presented.

Degrees were presented at a ceremony at noon. Diplomas were presented at a second ceremony at 3 p.m.

Mr Chairman, Mr Chancellor, Officers of the University of Canterbury, Graduands, Ladies and Gentlemen.

One of the constantly recurring themes in discussion about the state of the world today is that the rate of change is greater than it has ever been before. This rate of change is likely to accelerate. The experience of living for the last two years in Western Europe, where the rate of change has been considerable - though less than in the United States or in Japan - has helped to reinforce my own appreciation of just how rapidly the outside world is changing. On the local scene, any one who has lived through the last twelve months in New Zealand, and has appreciated the full significance of the decisions made by the present Government since it came into power last July, will be aware that profound changes are taking place here as well.

These world-wide changes have their origins in technological and economic changes, but they have major social implications. If the recent past is any guide, then those nations which can adapt to change, and can incorporate it to their advantage, are going to benefit greatly in the years ahead. On the other hand those countries which are fearful of change, and try to deny it or prevent it, will suffer a relative and possibly even an absolute economic decline by comparison with their more adaptable neighbours. Economic decline of this sort is likely to lead to social disruption.

With this strong feeling for the significance of change in our society, it has been a source of considerable satisfaction to me to return to Lincoln College and find that it is still a lively institution, continually assessing its role in the light of changes which have occurred or which are foreseen. For example a very comprehensive review of our commerce degrees has recently been completed, and substantial changes aimed at making the degrees more flexible and adaptable to the needs of individuals are now awaiting final University Grants Committee approval before being introduced next year. A similar review of our agricultural and horticultural science degrees is underway with the same general objective
of producing degrees which are more flexible. The net result of this review is likely to be a situation in which the variation within our basic degrees is increased, and the scope for specialisation is also increased. Although we hope to produce graduates who are even more attuned to the needs of the scientific and commercial world which they will enter after leaving Lincoln, the overriding objective of any university course must be to produce people who have been trained to think for themselves, and to analyse carefully the arguments of others. New Zealand faces testing times and all our universities share the responsibility for producing people who can lead public opinion to call for the types of policies which are most likely to be in the best interests of our society, even if the short term costs seem to be high and the policies seem difficult to sell to the public.

I hope that those of you who are graduating today will go forth with enough confidence in your own ability to reason and analyse to allow you to listen to the arguments of others and consider them carefully, rather than arrogantly trying to ram your ideas down your listeners' throats. It is only by being receptive to the ideas of others that you make available to yourself the widest possible selection of ideas for adaptation and development. As I said earlier it is those nations which adapt to change most successfully which are succeeding in the world today, because change is the keynote of the modern world. You have a major contribution to make to the way in which your country reacts to change, whether that country be New Zealand or one of the many other countries represented among your ranks. I hope you get great satisfaction out of using the particular skills and knowledge you have acquired at Lincoln College, but I also hope that you remain receptive to the possibility of change,
even if it threatens your particular skills and knowledge. Change for the sake of change is not something to be sought, but on the other hand new ideas must not be rejected simply because they involve change to our accepted ways of thinking.

Lincoln College has a proud record of producing people who are able to make a substantial contribution to the community. The employment opportunities open to our graduates demonstrate that employers see them as being able to make an immediate contribution. On the other hand, the tremendously wide range of occupations in which we find those who graduated ten or twenty years ago demonstrates a high degree of adaptability among our graduates. I am sure that this year's graduates are in every way the equals of their predecessors. I wish them well in their careers.

I hope that in the next few years I can make a personal contribution towards the task of ensuring that Lincoln continues to produce well trained highly motivated and thinking graduates. I like to think that the last two years have given me a wider perspective and a dearer view of the challenges that face us. Not the least of these challenges is the increasing strain being placed on staff as the growth in student numbers is not matched by an equivalent increase in our lecturing staff. I hope the current review of the Universities, which is being undertaken by the Government, will highlight the need for additional resources. We are currently losing staff both through retirement and to the private sector, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit people of the desired calibre.

In mentioning staff who are retiring I would like to pay particular tribute to Professor R.H.M. Langer, who retired last month after 26 years of most productive and distinguished work at the College. He made a major contribution both in the field of plant science and in general college administration, culminating in a period of l 5 months as Acting Principal. He will be particularly difficult to replace, but he has certainly earned the long and happy retirement which we wish for him and for Mrs Langer.

Despite any minor problems we might have, Mr Chancellor, I can assure you that Lincoln College is in good heart, and as we congratulate this year's graduates, we look forward to the task of training their successors.