Still Life
Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012
Spring commencement 2012 under way
Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together
Finals Week Spring Semester 2012
Children explore career options at University Park
Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium
Did They Get It Right? - RedTails
Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012
We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)
Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal
Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone
Annual Lycoming County Brotherhood Banquet
Graham Spanier
April 29, 2002
It's a great pleasure to be in Williamsport this evening to honor three individuals who are making a difference in our communities and to share with you my thoughts on education and its critical role in the future of our nation and the world. (more)
Graham B. Spanier
January 15, 2001
Welcome to this wonderful celebration of unity.
We come together this evening to not only honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision for racial harmony, but to celebrate and continue his great legacy of peace, justice and freedom. Today, January 15, marks what would have been Reverend King's 72nd birthday. Although he only lived to the age of 39, he had a tremendous impact upon the American consciousness and began a social revolution that continues today. For it was less than 40 years ago that the color of your skin in America determined where you could live, where you would shop, drink water, eat or sit on a bus. We have traveled a long road to freedom in those four decades, but there is still much to do -- as a nation, as a community and as individuals -- to realize Dr. King's dream that we be judged by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin. (more)
An Open Letter from President Graham Spanier
to the Penn State Community about Bigotry and Intolerance
February 23, 2005
Several years ago the University adopted a statement known as "The Penn State Principles" to convey to students and other members of the University community the values that Penn State embraces. Chief among them is an expectation of respectful and responsible behavior. We want this campus to be a safe and welcoming community for all students, regardless of their race, religion, nationality or sexual preference. (more)
Graham B. Spanier
October 19, 2000
I want to thank the sponsors of this series on Hate Crimes and Hate Groups for allowing me a few moments prior to today's session to speak about hate crimes and the campus community. This series of public discussions is very timely. In the past few weeks we have witnessed a number of events on campus and in the local community that are rooted in hatred, violence, prejudice and discrimination. They include sexual assaults, hate mail, the harassment of African American students, and the harassment of gay and lesbian students. I am personally disheartened and saddened that any member of our community would be the target of such hateful acts. (more)
Graham B. Spanier
January 17, 2000
It is truly an honor to share with you in the commemoration of the life and legacy of one of America's most inspirational and insightful men. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man devoted to equality and justice, who recognized the dignity and worth of every individual. (more)
Graham B. Spanier
November 12, 1999
I join you today in condemning the threatening e-mail messages that have been sent to students of color in our community as well as other acts of hate and harassment. Messages of hate and insensitivity are totally abhorrent. I am very sorry that our students have been subjected to these communications. Threats to any of us represent threats to all of us. No one is our community should allow such actions to go unnoticed. (more)
Graham B. Spanier
January 15, 1997
This is the desire that has brought us together today. In just a few moments, we will make a resounding noise with our bell-ringing to proclaim the fundamental importance of freedom in our own lives, in our university, our nation, and our world. And we will ring out to call attention to the insensitivity, injustice, and inequality that curtail freedom and happiness throughout society. (more)
Graham B. Spanier
May 02, 1996
Last month I had the honor of speaking at the annual Holocaust Commemoration Ceremony held at the Jewish Community Center. Like the National Day of Prayer Breakfast, it is a solemn event full of emotion and special meaning. Such events also provide an opportunity for all of us to reflect on our societal responsibilities that might transcend the narrow confines of our salaried positions. Today I wish to expand on some thoughts I shared on Yom Hashoah, the holiday that commemorates what has come to be known as the Holocaust. Such discussion is nicely facilitated by the accessibility in 1994 of the powerful movie Schindler's List. This movie helps us understand that one individual can make a difference, that a collective good can derive from individual leadership, individual heroism, and individual conscience. What I wish to argue here is that civic, educational, and corporate administrators must provide moral leadership in addition to their other responsibilities. (more)
Holocaust Commemoration, 1996
Graham B. Spanier
April 12, 1996
Precisely two years ago, through a combination of circumstances, I was drawn to Warsaw, Poland, where I attended the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and, nearby, the 50th anniversary of the Treblinka uprising. (more)
