{"id":591,"date":"2018-07-10T18:23:57","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T18:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/?p=591"},"modified":"2018-07-16T10:13:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T14:13:18","slug":"former-u-n-human-rights-ambassador-touts-constructive-fear-american-unity-at-lssu-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/former-u-n-human-rights-ambassador-touts-constructive-fear-american-unity-at-lssu-commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"Former U.N. human rights ambassador touts constructive fear, American unity at LSSU commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"custom-dropcap\">Nearly 500 undergraduates received diplomas during Lake Superior State University\u2019s 56th commencement exercise, held May 5 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony featured Keith M. Harper, noted Native American attorney and former ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council, as keynote speaker. A posthumous honorary doctorate was given to LSSU professor of history emeritus James Moody, and student respondent Jennifer Wickens provided words of wisdom and encouragement to her fellow graduates.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ls_embed_1531238249\" src=\"https:\/\/livestream.com\/accounts\/1492426\/events\/8140747\/videos\/174400837\/player?width=960&amp;height=540&amp;enableInfo=false&amp;defaultDrawer=feed&amp;autoPlay=false&amp;mute=false\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"> <\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The ceremony included <a href=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/geology-professor-paul-kelso-receives-distinguished-teaching-award\/\">announcement of this year\u2019s recipient of the LSSU Distinguished Teaching Award<\/a>, Dr. Paul Kelso.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_579\" style=\"width: 692px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-579\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-579 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-682x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Keith M. Harper\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-768x1154.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-864x1298.jpg 864w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/HarperSpeak4387-1200x1803.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keith M. Harper<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Commencement speaker Keith M. Harper was appointed by President Obama as the U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2007, the first Native American appointed as U.S. ambassador to such a post. He spoke to graduates of the importance of mastering fear to achieve accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I was preparing for this address I felt the presence of an old friend, fear,\u201d Harper said. \u201cIf you want to be successful you will have to get to know fear, especially fear of failure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harper is best known in legal circles for his work in Cobell v. Salazar, a class-action lawsuit \u2013 the largest against the United States in history \u2013 brought by individual Native Americans against federal agencies that mismanaged billions of dollars of income and assets held in trust, dating back to the 1800s. Harper served as class counsel on behalf of upwards of 500,000 individual American Indians and successfully settled the case in 2009 for $3.4 billion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter law school I wanted to represent Indian tribes, and went to work for Native American Rights Fund,\u201d Harper said. \u201cA couple of years into practice, an incredibly brave Blackfoot woman, Eloise Cobell, approached me to take this case. Fear of disappointing thousands for justice made us strong. Because of her bottomless courage, I faced my fear well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harper also touted what he described as American exceptionalism as something graduates and their families should continue to embrace.<\/p>\n<hr  class=\"x-hr\" >\n<div  class=\"x-feature-box center-text top-text cf\" style=\" max-width: none;\" data-x-element=\"feature_box\" data-x-params=\"{&quot;child&quot;:false,&quot;graphicAnimation&quot;:&quot;tada&quot;,&quot;graphicAnimationOffset&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;graphicAnimationDelay&quot;:&quot;20&quot;}\" ><div class=\"x-feature-box-graphic square \"><div class=\"x-feature-box-graphic-outer square\" style=\"\"><div class=\"x-feature-box-graphic-inner square\" style=\"font-size: 200px;\"><img class=\"square\" src=\"\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/01\/alumni_association_logo.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0 auto;\" alt=\"Alumni Association\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"x-feature-box-content \"><h4 class=\"x-feature-box-title\">Make the connection!<\/h4><p class=\"x-feature-box-text\">We are proud of our alumni and want you to remain a part of your alma mater. Stay connected through your membership in the LSSU Alumni Association. <a href=\"https:\/\/alumni.lssu.edu\/join\/\" target=\"_blank\">Join Today!<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<hr  class=\"x-hr\" >\n<p>\u201cI am not a person who sees perfection in our history or foreign policy,\u201d Harper said. \u201cBut we can claim the inheritance of a people who strived towards a more perfect union. American values include sensibility that all people should be treated fairly, free to talk their minds, and a nation of laws not men.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harper said that in his travels around the world he has seen many places where these simple understandings do not exist. \u201cThese values have allowed the American experiment to transcend challenges and come out stronger,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Harper closed his remarks with an appeal for American unity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDivisions sap our strength and undermines our faith in democracy,\u201d he said. \u201cBe an engine of unity . . . give those you politically disagree with the benefit of the doubt that they do not harbor ill motives. Build bridges across communities and perceive differences.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_582\" style=\"width: 874px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-582\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-582 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-1024x769.jpg\" alt=\"James Moody - family accepting\" width=\"864\" height=\"649\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-864x649.jpg 864w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/MoodyDoctorate4373-1200x902.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-582\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">James Money<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Lake Superior State University bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters during the ceremony to History Professor Emeritus James W.T. Moody, who passed away in Dec. 2017. Moody taught history and the humanities to thousands of LSSU students over the years since his hiring in 1971. He continued to teach well beyond his official retirement in May 2010, continuing to serve as an instructor through the fall 2017 semester.<\/p>\n<p>Accepting the honor was family friend James Money, a former student and son of Moody\u2019s colleague, Prof. Robert Money.<\/p>\n<p>Known for his black suits, bow ties, and straw hats, his larger-than-life persona cut a well-known and beloved figure on campus and around town.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose of you who knew James may have thought of him as a country squire plucked from a leather reading chair out of Oxford, but he wasn\u2019t,\u201d said Money. He was born during the Depression on a rural family farm . . .the first in his family to attend college, going on to become a Fulbright Scholar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to thank every student that James ever taught, or had a conversation with, or influenced in any way,\u201d Money said in closing. \u201cThat\u2019s what James lived for; you don\u2019t do something for 26 years unless you love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_583\" style=\"width: 874px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-583\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-583 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-882x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Jennifer Wickens\" width=\"864\" height=\"1003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-882x1024.jpg 882w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-258x300.jpg 258w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-768x891.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-100x116.jpg 100w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-864x1003.jpg 864w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389-1200x1393.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/07\/Wickens4389.jpg 1906w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-583\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jennifer Wickens<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Student respondent Jennifer Wickens has wanted to be a doctor since she was 16. She begins medical school this fall to pursue a career as a family or emergency physician. She officially graduated last December with a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry, summa cum laude.<\/p>\n<p>She shared with her fellow grads some observations during her years Lake State.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDreams are worth pursuing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all earned our place to be here today because our dreams are worth fighting for. Helping others is energy well spent. I have seen through your actions the importance of caring for others. You have constantly showed me that life is lived well when we live for something greater than ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wickens also learned that what one does now does not define who you are and what you will be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Lake State, I have seen people slip and fall, but then get back up with grace and confidence,\u201d Wickens said. \u201cAs our commencement speaker said today, trying and failing doesn\u2019t make you failure. Winning doesn\u2019t make you a winner. Tomorrow you will still be you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>LSSU faculty and students will continue to build on Wickens\u2019 work in cloning and protein research. Many undergraduate research projects in the natural and applied sciences carry on for years and launch yet others in sometimes unexpected directions.<\/p>\n<div id=\"x-content-band-1\" class=\"x-content-band border-top border-left border-right border-bottom\" style=\"background-color: transparent; border:1px #d1d1d1 solid;\"><div class=\"x-container\"> <div  class=\"x-container max width\" > <h4  class=\"h-custom-headline h5 accent\" style=\"margin: 0;margin-bottom: 20px;\"><span>About the Author<\/span><\/h4><img src=\"\/summer2018lite\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/03\/jshibley-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"John Shibley\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-410\" \/><span style=\"margin-top:10px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lssu.edu\/employee-directory\/?smid=8590\" target=\"new\">John Shibley<\/a><br>Photographer\/Staff Writer<\/span><p style=\"font-size: .9em; margin-top:15px;\">Shibley has been a writer, editor, photographer, and videographer in the public relations office since 1991, except for a five-year stint as hobby and planetary science editor at Astronomy magazine in the mid-90s, where he was a finalist for the American Astronomical Society\u2019s Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award.<\/p>\r\n<\/div> <\/div><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly 500 undergraduates received diplomas during Lake Superior State University\u2019s 56th commencement exercise, held May 5 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The ceremony featured Keith M. Harper, noted Native American &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakerlog.lssu.edu\/summer2018lite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}