Inauguration Address

"Independent Minds, Working Together"
Grant H. Cornwell
April 26, 2008

continued...

I begin with the story of the Honorable Solomon Oliver, a long-standing trustee of the College. Sol had a great deal to do with me standing here now, since he was the chair of the Presidential Search Committee, and his hopes and aspirations for Wooster captured my imagination.

Solomon Oliver Jr. grew up in the segregated south, in Bessemer, Alabama, a small town outside Birmingham. Although blacks were not allowed to work as bus drivers, hold skilled jobs in the steel mills, or serve in local or state government, Sol's parents instilled in him and his nine brothers and sisters, in his words, "a sense of hope and a belief that one day things would be different."

In 1966, Sol transferred from Miles College in Birmingham to Wooster, where he double majored in philosophy and political science. After graduating from Wooster, Sol earned a master's in political science from Case Western Reserve and a law degree from N.Y.U. He returned to Wooster and taught in the political science department for three years, before joining the U.S. attorney's office in Cleveland. In May 1994, Sol was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, where he has served with distinction ever since.

In an interview several years ago, Sol told the Wooster Voice, "There was a great sense when we left the College we would be going into the world to make a difference - to improve our society by making it more just and equal." When reflecting on how he found his way to his Independent Study project, Sol says the following:

I was a student at the College of Wooster during the widespread urban unrest by young African-Americans during the late 1960's fueled in part by high unemployment, poor living conditions, racial discrimination and police brutality. Partly because of these events, I became interested in learning about some of the legal issues associated with the plight of African-Americans. I became interested in the question of when might a person be morally entitled to disobey a law or legal authority.

The title of his Independent Study is: "The Problem of Civil Disobedience and the Philosophy of Law," which he wrote under the guidance of Ron Hustwit, Professor of Philosophy. Sol says of his experience:

Independent Study provided me with the critical skills of organization, reasoning, analysis and independent thinking, which I have found useful ever since. As a judge, my ability to research and properly decide cases in a wide range of legal areas and contexts is bolstered by the skills I learned in the first instance while doing I.S. My interest in the issue of civil disobedience and the philosophy of law is part of my general interest in law as a means of assuring fairness and equality. I went into the field of law because as a child growing up in the segregated South, I came to believe that committed lawyers could make a difference in changing the negative circumstances under which we lived.

As Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Donald L. Kohn has been described as being "at the vortex of a $13.3 trillion national economy." A 30-year Fed veteran known for his analytical skills and curiosity, he is one of the people to whom Chairman Ben Bernanke consistently turns for input and counsel, as did Alan Greenspan before him. Don is a little busy right now, but he was not too busy to spend time with me reflecting on his Independent Study experience at The College of Wooster.

After earning a bachelor's degree in economics from Wooster and a doctorate from the University of Michigan, Don joined the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in 1971. Five years later, he moved to Washington, where he has held a series of positions. He was appointed to the Fed's Board of Governors in 2002, and named Vice Chairman in 2006.

Though he jokes that as a student he devoted considerable intellectual energy to "figuring out ways to avoid chapel, in favor of a cup of coffee and a cigarette at The Shack," Don also says that in his work at the Fed he relies on "patterns of thought that were developed and encouraged at Wooster." The title of Don's I.S. was "Flexible exchange rates as a means to stable markets: theory, practice and evaluation", which he wrote under the guidance of Professor Richard Reimer.

Don saw his I.S. as a warm up for a Ph.D. dissertation. He says:

It gave me a leg up on how to find an interesting topic that would remain interesting over a long time; how to organize a literature search to get the relevant background; and how to structure a logical examination of that topic. It has served me well because I have been thinking about closely related issues my entire career. So it formed a strong foundation for a good part of my graduate work and my subsequent career in monetary policy.

In offering advice to current students, Don has this to say. Please listen for the resonances with Professor Nussbaum's thoughts about the goals of liberal education: "Another strong thread in the Wooster tradition has been putting the knowledge acquired here to work for the common good as well as for individual gain. In that tradition, I suggest to students that (they) consider government service." Don says to students:

Governments at all levels have the power to help or harm. To increase the odds on the former, we need to apply the kinds of knowledge and analytic skills (students) are obtaining here. I can tell you from personal experience that going to work each morning knowing that how well you do your job could affect the welfare of your fellow citizens can be a little scary, but it is also tremendously challenging and rewarding.

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