Roger Tilles -  2005 Commencement Speaker - May 8, 2005
C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University

New York State Board of Regentsmember Roger Tilles served as commencement speaker at the 47th annual graduation exercises of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University on Sunday, May 8, 2005. Tilles is immediate past chair of the Long Island University Board of Trustees and was recently elected by the state legislature to the Board of Regents, which oversees education throughout New York. A highly successful real estate developer with a lifelong commitment to education, Tilles is widely known for his philanthropy, his service to cultural and civic organizations and his efforts to promote interfaith relations. Tilles was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the graduation ceremony.

Here is Mr. Tilles’ keynote address:
Let me say firstly that my mother, herself an honorary degree recipient, would have been here if traffic and logistics would have permitted.  She and my father have devoted a great part of their lives to this campus.  I am here to see Dr. Donna Alvermann get her much deserved degree for her work on literacy which as a new regent, I am so grateful for.  My wife, C.W. Post class of 1998 summa cum laude, is here but probably to see the stunning Edward Villella get his degree.  My daughter is also here, but I’m sure that she is here to see Al Kahn – “Mr. Pokeman” – get his degree.  So, on this Mother’s Day, I want to thank my mother-in-law for coming to see me graduate.

I want to thank first the Board of Trustees of Long Island University, not only for affording me the great honor of becoming a graduate of this great University, but for all their talented, tireless, incredibly devoted and caring work on behalf of you, the students.  In the almost 15 years that I have sat on this Board, there was never a time when the welfare of the students was not in the forefront of the minds of these Board members and, remember, they are all volunteers – the word coming from the Swahili – “vol” meaning to kill oneself and “unteer” meaning without pay.  And, having Gene Luntey, our former distinguished Chair taking the time to be here to present my degree, has made this day even more special for me.

Former President Eisenhower defined leadership as the art of getting otherpeople to do something that you want done because they want to do it.  David Steinberg exemplifies such leadership. 

“Excellence and Access” – we could not have had a better teacher of these subjects than President Steinberg.  He exemplifies leadership and has moved this University great leaps forward during his long (but not yet long enough, David) tenure.  And, remember what Bishop Fulton Sheen said, “When you are being kicked in the rear, it must mean that you’re in front.”

Similarly, I have experienced some of the finest teachers anywhere here at C.W. Post.  Observing my wife and daughter learning on this campus, as a student myself and in my later role as a Board member, I have been tremendously impressed by the intellect, skill and enthusiasm of our faculty – your teachers.  I sincerely hope that the near future will bring a new era of strengthened Board – faculty communication and trust.  Our students will be the greatest beneficiaries.

An old farmer was sitting out on a fence – behind him a meticulously groomed field – planted with wheat, corn, barley, string beans, tomatoes – what have you.             

A minister came by, saw the beautiful field and said, “Truly, a miracle.”

The old farmer said, “Yes, I had to work very had to get it to this point.  I tilled it, I planted it, I irrigated it, I fertilized it and I’ll reap it soon.”

The minister then, obviously discouraged, said, “But you make no mention of God – all is ‘I did this’ and ‘I did that’.”  With a little grin and a twinkle in his eye, the old farmer answered, “I’m sure that God had something to do with it, but you should have seen it when he was taking care of it by himself!”

Well, as the farmer says, your hard work will have its results., but sometimes you might not see the results of your labors right away or even at all – but good work will have effects, small or large, of which you have never dreamed.

Take the music teacher in a nearby local public school system – he taught three children over a period of years – from third grade songs, to introduction to music in middle school, to high school chorus, you know, the kinds of programs that so many schools are so detrimentally cutting from their curriculum.  He loved his work and it showed.  Through his influence, these children and their family vastly increased the enjoyment and meaning of their lives.  It is in no small part because of this teacher and the gift of music he brought to our lives, that my family, when asked by my father for an opinion on how to repay this good Long Island for our good fortune, decided to provide the resources for what is now the Tilles Center – so that all Long Islanders could indeed have fuller and more meaningful lives.  One teacher! – who certainly had no idea of what the results of his lessons would bring – what a role model for all of you!  In just doing what he loved to do and doing it well, he touched the lives of all of you and tens of thousands of others.

This is the simple message:  go – make sure you like what you do and do it well.

Let me then offer these prayers for you today:

May your hair, your face lift, your abs and your stocks not fall and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere in the rush hour on Long Island in less than an hour and when you get there, may you find a parking space.

May you have the strength to make the world a little better because you were important in the life of a child.
And lastly, from my heart, may what you see in the mirror, delight you – and what others see in you, delight them.
Thank you for letting me graduate with you.
Congratulations to you all!