KNOXVILLE – The retiring editor of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Harry Moskos, delivered the keynote address at the University of Tennessee-s final summer commencement ceremony Friday, August 10.
Around 1400 undergraduate and graduate students were awarded degrees during the ceremony held at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Moskos urged the graduates to continue learning and giving back to the community.
“Today marks a significant milestone in your life, but it is only one step in your life, and certainly must not be your last step forward,” Moskos said. “And as you move forward in life, think of what you can do for others.”
Moskos told the assembly that in years to come, they may not remember his speech, but hoped they remember that they overcame adversity to achieve their goal.
“Both you and your university are at a crossroads,” Moskos said. “You are embarking on a new path in your life, after spending several years of turmoil working on your degree. And the past few months have been a very difficult time for our university, as it works its way through financial woes which are ignored by state legislators.”
Moskos, News-Sentinel editor since 1984, will retire Jan. 31, 2002, after 50 years in journalism.
The summer graduation ceremony started during World War II, to allow 130 members of UT-s Reserve Officer Training Corps to graduate and join the war effort.
The university will now offer spring and fall commencement ceremonies.