Gov. Corbett Recognizes Arcadia’s Role in Building Knowledge, Innovation and Character
Editor’s Note: See U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.’s remarks at the Commons dedication.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett called the new Commons a great symbol of how Arcadia University uses its role as a leader in international studies to build the knowledge, innovation and character needed for productive citizens in a democracy.
He delivered his remarks on the high-definition video-teleconferencing screen in the Commons Great Room on Jan. 23 to an audience of nearly 400 alumni, faculty, staff and students—encompassing Arcadia’s global footprint of 75 cities in 22 countries around the world. His message follows:
I’m happy to send my congratulations and good wishes to the students, faculty and families of Arcadia University. Your new student union, the Commons, testifies in stone, steel and glass to Arcadia’s mission of building knowledge, innovation and character in its 4,000 students.
Sometimes people say that college is a magical place. In a way that’s very true. It has the power to transform lives and the power to transform people. Today, more than ever, the foundation of learning and character that a university provides is essential—not just for the students, but for all of society.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania needs new jobs, and people with the ability to fill them, and to be productive citizens of a democracy.
That’s what makes the Commons such a great symbol. It has faculty offices where students can meet their teachers. It is a place for student organizations, where everyone can play a role in some group or cause. The fitness center will strengthen bodies while the meeting rooms and café will strengthen minds. And all of this helps to connect students by teleconferencing centers to the entire globe.
It is testimony to Arcadia’s role as a leader in international studies and a place to shape tomorrow’s citizens of Pennsylvania and the world. Congratulations.
Watch the ceremony at www.ustream.tv/
Corbett was inaugurated as the 46th Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on Jan. 18, 2011. His long career of public service includes serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania under President Ronald Reagan and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania under President George H. W. Bush. He also provided criminal law and policy expertise to then-Congressman Tom Ridge, later filling several key roles in Governor Ridge’s administration, including Attorney General from 1995-97.
In 1997, Corbett returned to the private practice of law in Pittsburgh. In 1998 he joined Waste Management as Assistant General Counsel for Government Affairs. In 2002, Corbett formed his own law firm, practicing until his election as Pennsylvania Attorney General in November 2004.
Corbett received his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. He and his wife, Susan, currently reside at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg, with their family home in Shaler Township.
