Lafayette College Commencement

May 22, 2010

(Introduction by Alan R. Griffith, Chair of the Board of Trustees:)

"The decision of leading citizens of Easton to establish a college was admirable and visionary. But it was the name which they chose for the new institution that was their true inspiration.

(Citation presented by President Daniel Weiss:)

"MARIE JOSEPH PAUL YVES ROCH GILBERT du MOTIER, THE MARQUIS de LAFAYETTE, as we prepare to confer degrees upon the members of the 175th class to graduate from Lafayette, we celebrate with renewed gratitude the foresight of our founders in associating your name with our college. By doing so, they underscored their belief in the fundamental connection between an educated citizenry and the free society on whose behalf you had fought so valiantly.

"On June 30, 1832, not long after the first class was held at Lafayette College, five of those early students wrote to inform you of the high regard in which they held your name, noting that it was "inscribed upon every leaf of the tree of Liberty, whether cultivated in the eastern or western hemisphere." They concluded their letter by saying, "We remain with such feelings of love and veneration as young Americans shall always cherish for LaFayette."

"This college has remained steadfast in its commitment to instill in young Americans - and in the young men and women who enroll here from other countries - an appreciation for the ideals which guided your thoughts and your actions. We are both honored and humbled to bear your name. Vive Lafayette!

"THEREFORE, by the authority granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the Trustees of Lafayette College and by them delegated to me, I award you the honorary and posthumous degree of DOCTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE, honoris causa, with all the rights, honors, and privileges thereto appertaining, in token whereof I present your descendant, Count Gilbert de Pusy La Fayette, with this diploma as an expression of our enduring love, veneration, and pride."

May twenty-second Two thousand and ten
Daniel H. Weiss, President