Special Olympics Chair Addresses Springfield College Commencement

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College hosted its 130th undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 15 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, delivered the commencement address to graduating students.

“Thank you on behalf of almost 5 million Special Olympic athletes around the world who compete in roughly 90,000 games each year run mostly by volunteers,” said Shriver, who was joined by Special Olympics of Greater Springfield athletes and coaches at the ceremony. “And thank you on behalf of all the Special Olympics athletes in this great state of Massachusetts.”

Springfield College has a long-standing relationship with the Special Olympics, hosting its Massachusetts Qualifying Volleyball Tournament the previous five years at Blake Arena. Students in the college’s Sport Management and Recreation Department run the event.

“We continue to strive at the Special Olympics in large part because the students at Springfield College continue to live the Humanics philosophy,” said Shriver. “We saw it before this ceremony when the students of Springfield College made sure they stopped to take photos with the Special Olympic athletes who are in attendance today. You can tell, the students truly live the Humanics philosophy.”

Shriver has served as an advocate at the national and international levels to accumulate support for issues of concern to the Special Olympics community. He has done the same thing in the film world, co-producing Disney Studios’ The Loretta Claiborne Story, and serving as executive producer of the films The Ringer and Front of the Class. In this pursuit, Shriver also wrote a book detailing his experiences working with individuals with intellectual disabilities and how they have inspired him, titled Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most.

Prior to becoming part of the Special Olympics team, Shriver co-founded, and still serves as chair for, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, a leading research organization dedicated to the field of social and emotional learning.

“Graduates, the curriculum now shifts,” added Shriver. “The subject is not what you need to know, but why you are here. Don’t wait to take the course of why you are here. You will not pass it with the obvious answers. Your purpose isn’t money or toys, or beauty or power. They all help, but they will not answer your why. That’s the big question: why are you here? For unity or division?”

Shriver has earned numerous awards for his labor, including the Medal of the City of Athens, Greece; the U.S. Surgeon General’s Medallion; the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award; and the Children’s Hospital Health System’s Friend of Children Award. He also was recognized in 2011, by the Huffington Post as one of the top 100 Game Changers.

“The syllabus is now your life,” said Shriver. “Every sunrise is a quiz. Every person you meet is a new reading. Please try not to judge that reading by the cover. Every moment of sadness is the opportunity to go back and talk to the professor. I ask you again, as you take this course, choose unity. When in doubt, think back to the Special Olympics athlete. Remember the message, winning is not about who you beat in that race, but how you run.”

Joining Shriver on stage was long-time Springfield College trustee Douglass Coupe, who received an honorary doctor of humanics degree from the college. Clark Baker, retired president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Houston, received the 2016 Springfield College Humanics Achievement Award. Jacqueline Ortiz Miller, a student in the college’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies, was the student speaker at the undergraduate ceremony.