Institute Commissions its First Philadelphia Class
The John Jay Institute’s maiden semester in Philadelphia came to a rousing and successful conclusion with a solemn and celebratory commissioning ceremony on Friday evening, December 16, 2011.
There was standing room only in the grand gothic-style George Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge National Park, where family and friends of the fall 2011 class, as well as Institute alumni, assembled to support the Fellows. Taking formal oaths, each Fellow promised to “serve Christ, my brothers and sisters, and my fellow man in public life.”
Mr. Mark Meador, Esq., John Jay Institute alumnus (spring 2008) and an attorney with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, formally inducted the Fellows into the Society of St. George the Dragon Slayer, the alumni and professional service organization of the John Jay Institute.
In his remarks, President Alan Crippen quoted American founder and clergyman John Witherspoon. Witherspoon said:
"It has been observed, that great and eminent men have appeared in clusters. The reason of this probably is, that their society and mutual intercourse greatly adds to their improvement, and gives force and vigor to the talents which they may severally possess. Nothing is so powerful an incitement to diligence, or so kindles the best fort of ambition, as the friendship, advice, and affluence of men of learning and worth."
Crippen added, "John Jay, Witherspoon, and the other founders are dead and gone. The eminent men of yesterday have passed. The eminent men of tomorrow have yet to be born. So, if there are to be any eminent men in our time, they must be here right now." He charged the Fellows to be a band of sober, vigilant, and penitent leaders as they pursue their callings to public service.
Next term, the newly commissioned Fellows pursue various public service internships in Washington, D.C.; Canberra, Australia; Bratislava, Slovakia; Dallas, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia. Click here to learn more about the fall 2011 class.
