Hard Work Makes the Difference
“A governor needs to know how to work seriously hard.”
When first graders listed their ideas about what Gov. Phil Bredesen should do, hard work was near the top of their list. Bredesen told graduates at UT’s spring commencement the youngsters were right on target.
“It is really true that hard work makes the difference. In the world of business and entrepreneurship, for every hundred people who have a good idea, there is maybe one who actually makes something happen, and that one is not the person who is smartest or got the best grades. It is almost always the person who rolls up their sleeves, who focuses, and who does the hard work that it takes to make something happen,” he said.
More than 3,000 students earned degrees spring semester. Commencement was held May 12 at Thompson Boling arena in Knoxville. Each college of the university had its own commencement exercises—a change that allows more personal attention for each graduate—in addition to the general ceremony.
A Commitment to Nurture the University
Bredesen, who has recommended key strategic investments in the university, reiterated his support for UT.
“One of my dreams as governor is to help nurture this university as it continues its growth as a first-rate teaching and research university,” he said. “Today’s private universities are becoming more dependent on the public sector each year, and today's great public universities, like this one, increasingly depend on the private sector for support and growth. I'll do my part as governor to support the University of Tennessee for the few years that I am here in this job.”
Bredesen, a Harvard-trained physicist and health care entrepreneur, has recommended state funds for the joint UT-Oak Ridge Governor’s Chair professorships and supported the joint UT-Oak Ridge research institutes.
The governor said some of the first graders’ suggestions were less serious. It was also important, they said, for a governor to “know how to tie his shoes” and “how to be cool for the girls.”