A Message from Carroll President Tom Trebon, Ph.D.

Thomas Trebon

As president of Carroll College, I am proud to tell you that this Catholic, liberal arts and pre-professional college is consistently ranked as one of the best in the West. Yes, we offer academic excellence and an incredible campus life experience, but we go even farther in our commitment to offering students a unique college experience.

Dedicated to making the difference, Carroll students and professors are people of action in service to the human family. Being involved is a personal decision, and most Carroll faculty, staff and students choose to volunteer their time to help others less fortunate. In your four years at Carroll, you will have a professor who has served in the Peace Corps or another volunteer organization. You will study among top minds with a conscience and a commitment to making the world a better place, one selfless act at a time. In your four years at Carroll, you will likely embark on one of our many study abroad opportunities. These journeys to other lands push students beyond their comfort zones to understand different cultures and gain a broader perspective about the challenges facing people and our planet. Last year, Carroll undergraduates traveled to 17 countries on 6 continents, and many performed service work while they were there. It's all called service learning, and it's a foundation of the Carroll experience.

The campus is now poised for a great celebration, honoring the 100th anniversary of the college's 1909 founding. In recognition of the Carroll Century, we are planning a number of prominent events. The Carroll Centennial Lecture Series, which began in spring 2007, will continue to bring distinguished experts to campus. Our award-winning Montana historian, Dr. Robert Swartout, is writing a book about the history of Carroll, slated for publication to coincide with our gala Carroll birthday party. Much more is planned. The excitement is building now, and we want all of you to join us for the festivities in 2009-2010.

Over the years, Carroll's recognition as an institution of distinction has grown, but while high rankings and ratings are appreciated, what really matters is our unique identity. At Carroll, our students have chosen to study in an atmosphere that stresses learning above just scoring good grades, that emphasizes community support instead of the competition frenzy and that demands ethics over simply winning the game at all costs. We can offer this experience to those who crave more, and we've been doing it for nearly a century.

President's Commencement Speech

In my decades in higher education, as a president, administrator, and professor, never have I looked upon a graduating class that faced more challenges than you, the Class of 2009. Yes, in some years, the student crop wasn't the most bountiful or promising to behold, but that was largely their own doing. In some years, the college wasn't addressing student needs quite as well as it should have, and that was the college's fault. But here, now, you face a world of hurdles and hardships that can't be blamed on you or on your college. It's a crisis for the whole world. As one commentator wrote recently in the New York Times, it's as if in 2008 the earth and the world economy simultaneously cried out that they could take it no more, that things could no longer continue as they have.

But, where does that leave you, Class of 2009? I say to you now:

These are not dark days: these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived.

This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.

Sure I am of this: that you have only to endure to conquer.

These are not my own words, nor those of our leaders in D.C. They are words of Sir Winston Churchill, uttered in a time of economic turmoil and a great world war. Inspiring words in dark times, he also offered up some wit applicable now:

"If this is a blessing, it is certainly very well disguised."

And, words that are funny because they're true, like these:

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

For the economy, for the stock market, for the nation, for other nations, and for the earth and all its creatures, these are historic times, not end times, but monumental turning points demanding all our exertions. For the Church in recent years, these have been challenging times as well. I speak particularly of the decreasing numbers of those entering vocations.

Recently, former Carroll President Monsignor Anthony Brown, who led this college in the 1960s, said "My priesthood was in Catholic higher education." He held a doctorate in education, and higher ed was the love of his life. He proved absolutely outstanding as president of this college, shepherding record growth, and later as president of the College of Great Falls. His words show me that, in all the financial, global and faith challenges we face, we are all in the priesthood. Men, women-all of us, priests committed to a single creed: To stand up and do the work when it's hard. To do the work when it's inconvenient, when it's poorly paid, even when there's no time for it because time seems to have run out, even when the odds are stacked against us. We must be priests, priests who do not serve the sacrament, but priests who ARE a sacrament to the world.

Go forth and do the work. Dare. Endure. Make friends when you can and enemies if you must. Conquer. And be a sacrament.