I say, finally, to you, who graduate from Harvard University in the certificate programs here today, that you came well prepared to understand the institutions and communities you serve. You now have more tools and training to help not only the institution you work for, but also your home community to prosper. More than 80 percent of graduates of Harvard Business School, at some point in their careers, become board members of nonprofit organizations serving their communities. I would guess that similar numbers would characterize graduates of these certificate programs. This is one reason why the course offerings in nonprofit management have increased at the Harvard Business School and are increasing at the Division of Continuing Education.
Democracy has an infinite capacity for improvement and expansion when citizens engage in it.
You are prepared to lead that engagement. You can build those democratic institutions that will create a healthy community while you contribute to the prosperity of the companies for which you work and raise your own families. You have the training to move to the next stage in your careers. But you also know that if economic prosperity reaches only a sector of the population, trouble lies ahead. Poverty, lack of education, and lack of opportunity breed racial, ethnic, and religious division, violence, and political instability.