We live in an age of technology, an age in which information is king. Education gives us the ability to discern what information is valuable and to use that information wisely.
Recent years have seen an explosion in the amount of information available to each of us. Among the most successful companies in the world are those that sort and sell information using technology. Think about Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other technological giants of the corporate world. Today, information is big business—new companies hold billions of dollars in reserve.
Many WVU alumni have played leading roles in the information revolution. Dr. Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard invented the cable modem. John Chambers is president and chief executive officer of Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Raymond J. Lane, former Oracle Corp. president and chief operating officer, now helps businesses seize strategic Internet opportunities as a general partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Ken Kendrick founded Datatel Inc., the industry leader in developing information management software for colleges and universities.
Furthermore, WVU alumni in all disciplines have contributed to the rapidly accelerating increase in the amount of knowledge available today. Advances in biomedical science, the arts, engineering, and other fields make it possible for content to advance beyond our capacity to learn it. We can’t know all there is to know.
As educators today, we focus on giving students the tools to find, analyze, and use information throughout their lives.
Only through education can people begin to grapple with the deep questions that the Information Age poses: How much of what we can learn is truly worth learning? What books are worth reading? What Web sites are worth visiting? What speakers are worth hearing? What information is relevant to me and my family?
In short, how do we find wisdom in the information age?
One source describes wisdom as “the ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight.”
At WVU, students have many opportunities to develop this ability. Our academic programs teach students to analyze and synthesize information through capstone projects and other learning experiences. The University provides a wide variety of activities—from Festival of Ideas lectures to study-abroad trips—to deeper understanding of their course work. Students also have ample opportunity to apply their classroom learning to real-world experiences, such as leading a student organization, performing community service, participating in hands-on research, or receiving internships in their prospective career fields.
WVU’s academic opportunities help students hone the critical thinking skills they will need to continue learning long after graduation. We cannot be wise unless we continue to learn. I urged this year’s WVU graduates to devote their lives to refining their abilities to uncover facts, analyze problems, and communicate clearly.
I fully expect that they will do so, and that they will take their place alongside generations of WVU alumni whose wisdom helped make today’s explosion in knowledge possible.