Given the presence of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Annie Proulx on the speakers' platform, a less confident person than Nina Totenberg might have had second thoughts about starting her speech at the University of Vermont’s 2015 commencement Sunday morning with two extended pieces of creative writing. 

But courage, mixed with intelligence, verve and humor, has been the hallmark of Totenberg’s 40-year career covering legal affairs for National Public Radio, so she launched quite happily into two rhyming odes to graduates she had composed, one for the women and one for the men in the audience. Both were variations, in multiple stanzas, on the commencement-appropriate theme of wanting to have it all.    

Proulx, a UVM alum who received an honorary degree at the ceremony along with Totenberg, wasn’t visible to the audience, but one can imagine her smiling at lines like:

I want to be Loretta Lynch and Loretta Lynn

Lock 'em up and sing a hymn

for the women or, for the men,

I want to fight the crooks, write like David Brooks,

Negotiate deals and eat five-star meals

Poetry dispensed with, Totenberg, whose husband attended the UVM College of Medicine and completed his residency at the university, making her a "Vermonter by marriage," settled into more familiar territory: offering graduates advice on how to be informed citizens in the crazy quilt world of contemporary media. 

During the Depression and World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt held 30 fireside chats broadcast over the radio that virtually everyone in the nation listened to, Totenberg said. 

“If you walked down the street in Chicago, for instance, you would hear FDR's voice coming from the open windows of apartments, from the taxis, from the radios in stores,” she said. “And then people would talk about what they heard, agreeing, disagreeing, but they talked.”

In the current media environment, Totenberg said, media are fractured and opinion-oriented journalism attracts large audiences. 

“Now, there's nothing wrong with reading, listening to, or watching any of this,” she said. “But being informed means actually knowing something that you can rely on, that has a genuine element of truth to it. That means reading a well-edited newspaper or magazine, or forgive me, listening to NPR, where we spend millions and millions of dollars on reporting and editing.”

A steady diet of opinion journalism has a second ill effect: keeping readers stuck in their own world views without being challenged.

“For god's sake, don't just read or listen to things you agree with,” she urged the audience. “If you are a liberal, read the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal. If you are a conservative, read the editorial page of the New York Times. It might make your blood boil, but every now and again, you will learn something, or even better, you'll be forced to think.”

Those at either political pole are also more likely to be interested in public policy and drive political decisions, she said. Moderates need to become more engaged.

“If you hate gridlock, and you find yourself in the mushy middle, you just have to get in there and rumble.”

Totenberg ended her remarks on a personal note.

When her first husband injured himself in a fall 20 years ago and needed extended medical care, including three brain operations and seven months in an intensive care unit, Totenberg wondered if she was capable of doing all the things that needed to be done for him.

“I managed in large part because of my family, friends and colleagues,” she said. “They wined me and dined me to keep my spirits up. They sat with me in hospital rooms, they went to doctor’s meetings with me. They took notes at meetings with social workers and then read them the riot act if promised services were not delivered. And let me tell you, you do not want to have Cokie Roberts reading back to you from her notes.”

The experience taught her something, Totenberg said.  

“It is a lesson that involves a rather old-fashioned word: duty,” she said. “When you come to a crisis in life, I think you will find that doing your duty will serve you rather well, whether it is your crisis or someone else's crisis. The path is clear, the choices are few and there are no regrets afterwards. Indeed, there are rewards. You are a better person, for want of a better expression. You're a deeper person, and able to accept life's blessings, too.” 

At this year’s commencement, approximately 2,975 graduates received diplomas, including 2,385 bachelor's, 362 master's, 112 doctoral, and 116 M.D. degree recipients. Recipients included students from 42 states and 85 international students from 16 countries. Approximately 1,158 graduates are from Vermont. The graduating class included 286 African, Latino/a, Asian and Native American (ALANA) and bi/multi-racial students.

In addition to Totenberg and Proulx, five others received honorary degrees at the ceremony: David H. Barlow, Ian D. Boyce, Dr. C. Norman Coleman, Soovin Kim, and Holly and Bob Miller. Learn more about these recipients.

During the ceremony, the UVM Alumni Association presented the annual George F. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award for excellence in teaching to Barry Guitar, a professor in the departments of  Communications Sciences and Disorders and Psychological Sciences.

Emily Howe won the Mary Jean Simpson Award, honoring the senior woman who exhibits the highest qualities of leadership, academic competence and character; Benjamin Teasdale won the F.T. Kidder Medal, honoring the senior man ranking first in character, leadership and scholarship; Catherine Alexander and Joseph Oteng won the Class of 1967 Award, presented to seniors who best exhibit leadership, academic competence and character, and who have earned the respect of faculty and fellow students; Aya Al-Namee and Patrick Maguire won the Keith M. Miser Leadership Award, recognizing outstanding service to the university; and Bianca Rizzio and Connor Luong won the Elmer Nicholson Achievement Prize, recognizing the greatness of the students' UVM experiences and the expectation that they will make major contributions in their fields of interest.

See hundreds of photos, good wishes and shout-outs to graduates from the day on social media.

PUBLISHED

05-17-2015
Jeffrey R. Wakefield
Hear Nina Totenberg's address to graduates.