Graduation address: Tuesday 28 June morning ceremony

Graduation address by Professor Frank Lorenz Müller, Assistant Vice-Principal (Dean of Learning and Teaching)

Vice-Chancellor, colleagues, honoured guests and, above all, dear graduates of the University of St Andrews!

Graduation addresses usually begin with congratulations to those who have just received their degrees. Today, however, I want to start with a heartfelt expression of gratitude to our former students, to their families and friends. On behalf of everyone who works for this fine university, I would like to thank you all for making the effort to return here to celebrate your years at St Andrews with us.

We are not kidding ourselves about how easy it is to get here. There is effectively one road into St Andrews and that one road routinely clogs up at Guardbridge; the rail network gave up on us in 1969; and as for docking your cruise ship down in the harbour – forget it. So, we do not get a lot of passing trade. If you are in St Andrews, that is because you wanted to come here and were not put off by the journey. That makes the compliment you are paying the University by being here today very special.

Your happiness, your just pride in your achievements, your conspicuous talents, your ability to cross the stage without causing structural damage to this refurbished hall and your impeccable dress sense: all of this adds lustre to the occasion and reminds all of us on this side of the stage and the many helpers behind the scenes what our work is really about.

It is about supporting generation after generation of remarkable young individuals to grow in confidence, maturity, knowledge, skilfulness and scholarly acumen. It is our sincere wish that we can make this process as happy and fulfilling as possible for our students. We also hope that, in the course of their time in St Andrews, they will succeed in becoming active parts of a community whose members support and learn from each other.

Your role in today’s ceremony amounts to more, though, than just a welcome indication that your time at St Andrews has left you connected to the University, to the town and to each other. It also forms part of an ongoing building process. More than a century ago, the great French thinker Emile Durkheim, the father of the academic discipline of Sociology, pointed out how important rituals were for giving cohesion to social groups. He observed that rituals generate a “shared ecstasy” that was needed to affirm collectively held beliefs. Now, I guess this is all a bit tame for “ecstasy” but this does not take away from the fact, though, that we are here to affirm – joyously, if not (yet) ecstatically – some of our most important shared beliefs:

That learning and academic achievement should be celebrated;
That such moments of celebration should be shared with those to whom we are indebted for their love, support and trust: our families and friends;
And that we acknowledge and respect the work and learning of those who have come before us; and hope to pass on to the current and to future generations a world in which untrammelled learning for the benefit of all will be possible and will continue to be cherished.

The splendid ritual serves to make these messages more enchanting and unforgettable. But if it does not serve to tie us all into more of a community by inviting us to reflect on and affirm the beliefs that are important to us, then this wonderful event would be somewhat less special.

In this summer of 2022, we have more reason than ever to reflect on the value of community and on how we express our communal living. For two years, the Covid pandemic put a stop to events like this. It made us fearful of each other’s breath and touch; it banished us into our individual rooms and chained us to our laptops. Musicians fell silent, people stared nervously at carbon dioxide monitors and the greeting “Hello” was largely replaced by a weary “You’re on mute!”

We soon realised that this lack of direct human contact dulled our lives. Across the University we noticed that many students struggled with the sudden isolation, with being cut off from their friendship groups and with having to study by themselves.

Students had to forego those all-important community-affirming rituals: not just old favourites like snoozing together through an early morning lecture or packing into cafés at lunchtime, but also practising presentations in front of each other or meeting up in-person for revision or support groups.

Let me add that it was not just students who suffered these privations but the whole University community: we have all gone through tough times. We have worried about sick loved-ones we were not allowed to visit or about our bored kids resenting the home schooling inflicted on them. And let us not forget that many families that belong to this large University community were touched by serious illness and even loss.

It is not meant to belittle this pain when I say that there is some consolation to be drawn from looking back over these two years of Covid misery from the glittering vantage point of this ceremony.

First, we should note with some pride that we have come through this together. All of us remained committed to our scholarly mission – even when facing adversity. The University tried its hardest to offer you the best teaching available, and you generously repaid our efforts and rewarded yourselves with the great achievement we are here to celebrate today. You gained your degrees – academic degrees from one of the finest universities in the world – fair and square. You demonstrated flexibility, ingenuity, forbearance and tenacity. You did yourself proud – but also your teachers and those here in this hall whose support and care has enabled you to grow into successful, resilient individuals. For this, I offer you and them my wholehearted congratulations!

When contemplating our journey through the Covid years, we can draw some further solace from a famous dictum by the Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper, who declared that “All life is problem solving.” Following this line of thought, the difficulties and challenges we had to confront and overcome did not diminish our lives. Rather, they presented us with an opportunity to respond to its call even more intensively. It is important, though, not to lose sight of two realisations that absolutely belong here: first, that we must be sensitive when appreciating others’ problems and be ready to admire how everyone seeks to resolve them in their own fashion. And secondly, that we need to be able to offer and accept kindness and help to and from others in our problem-solving lives. We did well because we live in and draw strength from communities formed by many different connections.

I am sure, thus equipped and prepared, you will live well and solve many more problems. To be honest – looking at the world right now – we urgently need some great problem solvers, and you are the extraordinary individuals who will step up to the challenge. No pressure, but – we are counting on you!

For that, graduates of 2021, on behalf of the University of St Andrews I once again offer you our gratitude, our heartfelt congratulations and every good wish for the future!