A talk by MSU President Peter McPherson at the dedication of John A. Hannah statue, September 17, 2004.
What a wonderful morning on the beautiful campus of John Hannah’s university.
Today we celebrate our past. And, as Hannah would wish, we celebrate our future. We honor a great man; and we honor a great university.
This ceremony is the ideal way to begin the celebration of 150 years of the nation’s grand experiment: the land-grant university, a uniquely American movement—the democratization of higher education!
As we all know, Michigan State served as the inspiration for the land-grant movement. We also know that Michigan State continues to inspire. This morning we honor and celebrate a man who also continues to inspire, John Hannah.
When he took over as president on July 1, 1941, an American higher education revolution began.
Hannah saw opportunity. And he built.
Hannah saw closed doors. And he opened them.
Hannah saw talent. And he recruited it.
Hannah saw what would work here. And he internationalized it.
Hannah saw a college that could be transformed into a great university. And he made it so.
Friends, John Hannah saw the future. And he led us there.
It is very appropriate—in fact it is necessary—that in this statue John Hannah is not standing still. He is on the move!
John Hannah continues to inspire us. And to lead us. That is why I wanted a permanent sculpture to remind not just us—but future generations—of John Hannah’s pragmatic vision that came true. And keeps coming true each and every day.
Some day, there will be no one here who knew John Hannah personally. That will be sad. But today, we assure that future generations will know of John Hannah.
One of the accomplishments of President Hannah was our entry into the Big Ten. The wisdom—and political genius—of John Hannah was never more evident than in his personal quest for conference membership. And this weekend as we prepare for a football game against our friends from Notre Dame is an appropriate time to remember that John Hannah, through a deal with Fr. John Cavanaugh, later president of Notre Dame, used an annual football series with Notre Dame to enhance our image among Big Ten members.
With us today for this historic occasion is the current chair of Notre Dame’s Faculty Board on Athletics, Professor of Law Tex Dutile and his wife, Brigid. Let us give them a warm Spartan greeting.
The strong Michigan State-Notre Dame connection was also evident in the very special relationship between two legendary presidents, John Hannah and Ted Hesburgh. Fr. Hesburgh has often said, “John and I were brothers.”
I talked to Fr. Hesburgh last week. He wanted very much to be here today. He asked me to convey this message: “John Hannah was a superb university president who created Michigan State as one of the premier institutions of higher learning. His leadership in many national and international activities is beyond compare. He was the best…and a great friend.”
Yes, John Hannah was the best.
John Hannah built on land-grant values when after World War II he historically merged two uniquely American concepts—the land-grant university and the GI Bill of Rights. In the ’60s and the ’70s once more MSU grew with the sons and daughters of working- and middle-class families. Consider the extraordinary fact that John Hannah started as president of a 6,000-student college and left as president of a 40,000-student university.
John Hannah built on land-grant values when he proclaimed that greatness in basic science must be united with the land-grant ideal of applied science. His commitment lives on from the cyclotron to plant research Labs to our quest for a Rare Isotope Accelerator.
Hannah built on land-grant values when he declared that students should live where they learn. He built the nation’s largest on-campus residence hall system and created a national model for residential colleges.
Hannah built on land-grant values when he called upon MSU to be global in thought and in action. He made the world our campus, and named the nation’s first dean of international programs.
But he also specifically honored all citizens of Michigan when at graduation he used to say: “Remember, your education was made possible by the people of Michigan, rich and poor alike. This wasn’t an entitlement; somebody had to sweat for it.”
John Hannah honored land-grant values when he said time and again that the nobility of the person must be at the very heart of all that we do. How often we heard him say, “Only people are important.”
Yes, John Hannah brought great honor to all who love this university. And far beyond. Hannah embodied in vision and action the land-grant values. May his work be an inspiration, and his values endure, for many generations to come. Let us recommit to a future worthy of that inspiration and those values.