{"id":2277,"date":"2014-05-02T01:21:18","date_gmt":"2014-05-02T05:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2014\/05\/02\/carl-kohrt-commencement-address-2014\/"},"modified":"2022-11-07T19:17:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:17:07","slug":"carl-kohrt-commencement-address-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/carl-kohrt-commencement-address-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Carl Kohrt Commencement Address (2014)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carl Kohrt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commencement Address<\/strong><\/p>\n

Furman University<\/strong><\/p>\n

May 10, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Curious Weaver\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On behalf of both my wife, Lynne, who has gladly served Furman as the Interim First Lady and has always been my first and only lady, and myself, we thank the Board of Trustees for the confidence shown in us by entrusting Furman to our care this academic year.\u00a0 It is a responsibility and a burden we could not have born without the gracious help of so many in the community, the faculty, the staff, and the student body.\u00a0 Speaking of students, I want to add my appreciation to my fellow speaker, Allie Simmons, for her fine remarks\u2014well done, Allie.<\/p>\n

So!! Welcome family, friends, esteemed faculty, and candidates.\u00a0 We are gathered here on this auspicious occasion to recognize and to celebrate the culmination of multiple years of study, of contemplation, of fun, of special relationships with friends and professors, of exploration of new ideas, of days of anxiety and self-doubt now hopefully left behind, and, finally, the elation of ultimate success as you receive your degree.\u00a0 You may feel that you are now on the launching pad awaiting us to light the fuse as you cross the stage in just a very few minutes so that you can blast off on your own into a continually changing and perhaps nebulous future.\u00a0 But it is a journey that you, like I nearly 50 years ago, are well prepared to navigate with your very own liberal arts compass in hand as a graduate of Furman University.<\/p>\n

I stand here today in awe and with great envy of your youth, your intelligence, your opportunities, and your command of the many aspects of a contemporary world that were unknown to me as a 1965 graduate.\u00a0 Phones in my day were often stuck to walls, not stuck in your pocket.\u00a0 Dinner was prepared with heat waves, not microwaves.\u00a0 Books were stored on shelves, not in the cloud.\u00a0 Three pointers only happened if you made both the basket and<\/span> the free-throw\u2014and then only <\/span>if fouled in the act.\u00a0 And, MOOCs were called correspondence school, with postage stamps, not electrons used to communicate between the teacher and the student.\u00a0 Yes, many things have changed since the trees on the Furman Mall were but 6 feet high and students from Sterling High School bravely demonstrated for their civil rights in downtown Greenville.\u00a0 But at least two things have remained wondrously the same for the graduates of Furman University both in 1965 and today in 2014.<\/p>\n

The first of those is the quality and character of a Furman graduate as a leader <\/span>in their family, their community, their profession, and in society—a characteristic demonstrated by the thousands of alumni who have gone before you.\u00a0 I believe that there are four elements underlying a Furman-trained leader of character. Beyond personal integrity, which is an absolute must, the other three elements of leadership that I have come to value in others during my international business career and observed in Furman graduates over the years are intelligence,<\/span> passion<\/span> and curiosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Intelligence<\/span> is certainly important, for it is the engine that enables one to better understand and deal with the uncertainty and complexity one encounters throughout ones\u2019 lifetime.\u00a0 But intelligence without humility becomes arrogance \u2013 and in my experience, arrogance is a serious barrier to generating followership and successfully influencing others.\u00a0 The second is passion<\/span> and its hand maiden\u2014persistence<\/span>; for together, they help one overcome those inevitable speed bumps that are sure to arise\u2014and undoubtedly have at some point in your Furman career.\u00a0 However, passion without respect can become terrorism and persistence without purpose is merely theater.<\/p>\n

The most important ingredient of leadership, in my opinion, is curiosity<\/span>. The spark of curiosity that has been ignited in each of you here today by your daily close interactions with faculty and with one another is a hallmark of a residence-based Furman education and has been so for decades.\u00a0 Liberal arts education is often cited for training its students to think critically\u2014I believe that curiosity<\/span> is the key to critical thinking.\u00a0 A curious person naturally looks deeply into things of interest and is not satisfied with merely the superficial.\u00a0 A curious person confidently learns from others, and by doing so, is rarely satisfied with the status quo.\u00a0 A curious person is often a non-linear thinker who confidently collects ideas and information from many sources and then connects the dots in new and often unexpected ways.\u00a0 A curious person is a life-time learner who is very rarely bored and who embraces change as an opportunity rather than a threat.\u00a0 So the character of a 2014 Furman graduate as a curious person and leader has not changed from those who have gone before.<\/p>\n

But what about the second item that has not changed?\u00a0 The history of Furman and of Greenville have been interwoven for over 180 years\u2014one as a place where curious students of character learn, and the second where the world of textiles thrived for nearly as long–where cloths of many colors were woven<\/span> from threads of many types and for many uses.\u00a0 Today, it is a city that respects its heritage as the textile center of the world, but continues to add confidently to its history in new ways as a progressive city that attracts artists, international businesses, and entrepreneurs because its leaders are curious about what might be, and so like typical Furman graduates, are not satisfied with the status quo.\u00a0 It is a city that has embraced the Class of 2014 and to which I am sure each of you has returned the favor as you enjoyed some of its many special offerings on a Friday night\u2014several of which, I am sure will stay in Greenville as the saying goes.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Hence, in a curious way, your lives as Greenville-based Furman graduates are much like the woven fabric once produced in Greenville that began merely as a collection of spools of thread\u2014each spool representing some element of your life or piece of knowledge or experience that are now part of your own unique\u00a0 personal fabric.\u00a0 Many of your first spools of thread were put in your life\u2019s sewing box, so to speak, by your parents\u2014spools of love, of respect for others, of purpose, of compassion.\u00a0 Your Furman education has added many more to that original starter set with spools representing the basic elements of knowledge \u2013philosophy, history, mathematics, chemistry, art, music\u2014or the experiences you may have encountered during your time with us\u2014sports, leadership, service, internships, Friday nights on Main Street.\u00a0 Each spool is figuratively wound with thread of a particular texture, strength, length and color.\u00a0 With them you will continue to weave your own life\u2019s tapestry first begun by your parents for all to see.<\/p>\n

But pause for a moment and ask yourself–will I use only<\/span> the spools I walk off the stage with today to weave that tapestry of my life in the future?\u00a0 Will I only seek to add spools with which I am comfortable or that look exactly like those I have used before?\u00a0 If so, that is perfectly fine. \u00a0The resulting tapestry of life that you will likely weave will reflect a life\u2019s work that will surely be strong and well-constructed but, perhaps rather monochromatic in character, and predictable in its design \u2014a tapestry limited in its ability to interest or to inspire others who see it.<\/p>\n

Or<\/span>, like the curious person I hope that you have become, will you courageously <\/span>seek other spools of thread to add to your box?\u00a0 Will you experiment with the new or the unfamiliar? Will there be spools of many different colors or textures or lengths or strength?\u00a0 Perhaps there will be some that you collect out of mere curiosity, or borrow from others, or which might represent new skills you have invested in learning, or relationships such your family and even new cultures that have enhanced your life?\u00a0 With this more varied box of spools fostered by your curiosity you will be better able to weave a life\u2019s tapestry that is unique in design, multi-textured, rich in meaning and an inspiration to those who engage it.<\/p>\n

So, Class of 2014<\/span>, you have a choice\u2014to be a good, but ordinary weaver in life or to be a courageous and curious weaver in life.\u00a0 Either is appropriate.\u00a0 I hope that as you walk confidently from your current world of the familiar across this stage this evening and into the next adventure, you will do so not only as a Furman graduate and leader of character, but as a curious weaver<\/span> of your own, unique, life story.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Kohrt, Lynne, and I chose to do the latter long ago. \u00a0Our box is filled with spools of many colors, textures, purposes and come from many sources.\u00a0 With them we have, together<\/span>, woven a life tapestry with much character, color, and impact\u2014and we are certainly not yet finished. \u00a0There are yet other spools to be discovered and we are certainly curious about what our life tapestry will become in the years ahead.\u00a0 Similarly, since we have known you<\/span>, the Class of 2014, for this entire academic year and for this evening as \u201cour fellow graduates<\/span>\u201d\u2014our adopted class so to speak<\/span>–we will be doubly curious to see how each of your life tapestries develop.\u00a0 And, we will celebrate each of them knowing full well that Furman is a part of its woof and warp.<\/p>\n

But<\/span> in each case whether you choose to become an ordinary weaver or a curious weaver you must<\/span> be sure that, like ours–your life\u2019s tapestry has Paladin purple throughout and forever!!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Congratulations Class of 2014, and thank you for who you are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Furman Interim President Carl Kohrt delivered the commencement address at Furman’s 2014 spring graduation exercises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}