The Ambassador
Acmt Commencement Speech
June 3, 2007
Madam Mayor, President Hudspeth, Distinguished Guests, and most importantly Members of the 2007 Graduating Class of the American College of Management and Technology, I'm pleased to be here today, as one of many to wish you well as you move on to the marketplace. You will take with you credentials that you have earned from two of the finest schools on either side of the Atlantic, Croatia's ACMT and America's Rochester Institute of Technology.Earning a degree like this is more than learning to write a business plan, or to maximize profits, or to provide good customer service. During your time here, you also learned about the responsibilities that accompany the privileges of a world-class business education. You learned that integrity in the classroom has implications for the way you conduct your business affairs outside the classroom. For though it is entrepreneurship and technology that drive the world economy, it is individuals such as yourselves who bring about progress through thousands of decisions affecting the welfare of millions of people. I have no doubt that with the education you have received here you will be leaders in your chosen field. But whether you can also be leaders in society is the real test of your American education.Let me give you a small example. This year, we created a new educational exchange to the United States, a two-year Master's degree program in Public Policy funded entirely by private business. Cisco Systems, Barr Laboratories, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Proficio, Emerson, Merck, and Diners Club stepped forward with sizeable contributions. Thanks to the leadership within these companies, we now have funding to send two of Croatia's future leaders to American universities for two years. The business men and women in these companies supported our initiative not because it is clever marketing - the funding we're talking about could have been spent on advertising. Instead they recognize the importance of giving back to society. They realize, as I hope you do today, that education is the future and each of us has a duty to support it. And they understand that for companies to benefit from good governance, they must also contribute to it. So as you go forward and upward in your careers, remember that an honest and hard-earned education is itself a lesson about business. For the truly successful companies are not just highly competitive, smart and fast. Their leaders also make decisions with respect for the rules of the game, with belief in higher principles, and with a desire to promote the common good. They contribute not only to a better bottom line for their companies, but to the future of their community and country as well. That to me is the meaning of your ACMT education. I commend you on the hard work that has brought you this far, and wish you all the best for the challenges that lie ahead.
