From The President's Office.(Special Report; THE AMERICAN SCENE)

Byline: Shapiro lives in New York City and is the chair of the board of trustees of Common Cents, an educational nonprofit.

First Person: After 14 years at Barnard, a leader looks back at how much has changed--from the tech revolution to renewed political engagement.

By Judith R. Shapiro

Graduation day. A jubilant sea of relieved and hopeful students in caps and gowns, marching in slow procession, faces beaming, while proud parents in the audience applaud, cheer and snap pictures. Is there any sight more inspiring? Not for me. As a college president, I had the joyful privilege of officiating at commencement twice a year for 14 years, and I can honestly say that my final commencement in May 2008 was as thrilling as my first in February 1995.

I shook hands with each of the 597 members of the class of 2008, and found myself thinking how much has changed even in the (relatively) short time since I first arrived at Barnard. During my years on our Manhattan campus, we lived through the events of September 11; the technological revolution that brought us the online, cell-phone and instant-messaging age; the growing environmental crisis; the extended tragedy of the Iraq War, and the rise of an increasingly noisy (and nosy) media-obsessed culture. These years also saw a significant generational shift, as the "baby bust" Gen-Xers settled into the work force and the children of baby boomers reached college age in huge and anxiety-ridden numbers. Just as it was for the students of a decade or more ago, it's still "the economy, stupid!" Members of this era's college generation are worriedly focused on acquiring grades, degrees and jobs that will enable them to repay student loans and achieve a measure of financial security.

A heartening difference that I see, though, is that today's youth, connected to events and people halfway around the world by the Internet, also see themselves as global citizens responsible for the well-being of others and the survival of the planet. Many are increasingly entrepreneurial. At the same time, I'd always been concerned that--until the extraordinary 2008 election year--most students maintained a deep cynicism about the political process, and stubbornly kept their distance from the electoral arena. I came of ...