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When I asked Ira Wagler to describe the day
he received an honorary doctorate from his
alma mater
, he pointed me to the blog post he
had written about that day. After reading it, I
decided to use his own words to share the
moment. Ira wrote:
“The Jeep bucketed along the interstate, and
right at 5:30 that evening, I pulled into Vin-
cennes. Checked in and got the keys to VU’s Guest House, a very
nicely furnished mansion on campus. No one else was staying
there, so I had the place to myself. After cleaning up a bit, splash-
ing some water over my face, I headed out to meet some old
friends for dinner.
I’ve written before, about my first
back in 1991. How not a single person from friends or family
showed up to witness it. This time, though, I wanted at least a
few. So I invited my brother Jesse and his wife Lynda. And I in-
vited some of the Waglers, my surrogate family in Daviess. Dean
and his sister Rhoda said they would be there.
Vincennes University rolled out the VIP treatment for me and my
guests. All the way. At 11:30, (the next day) we assembled for a
banquet in my honor. President Dick Helton, members of the
VU Board of Trustees, and other dignitaries. And of course, my
guests. They showed up, right on time. Jesse and Lynda, and
Dean and Rhoda. After the meal, a quick van tour of the campus,
most ably guided by Assistant Provost Lynn White. And then the
time was here. Time to robe and get ready for the ceremony.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been around academia. Fifteen
years since I graduated from Dickinson Law. I’d forgotten how it
is. All the pomp, all the seriousness of it. We mingled with the
faculty in a side room. I was issued my robe and cap. It wasn’t a
mortarboard cap, like I’d figured. Nah, this was a little 6-pointed
thing, a doctor’s cap, I guess. And they came up and congratulat-
ed me, the faculty. The Trustees. You look at them from a dis-
tance, and it’s intimidating. But up close, they were just people.
People who seemed quite genuinely thrilled to have me there.
And it all came down then, some of it in slow motion and some
of it at lightning speed. Lining up to march into the arena. Wait-
ing for the 400-some graduating students to walk in and be seat-
ed. And then marching out in procession up the center aisle to
the stage up front. The basketball arena was packed out. Abso-
lutely overflowing with at least 5,000 people. And my brain kind
of went into cruise mode. You’re here. You’re being honored.
Enjoy this moment.
After a brief opening ceremony, President Helton addressed the
students with a ten minute speech. And then it was time to pre-
sent the honorary doctorate. Mr. J. R. Gaylor, a Trustee, a great
bear of a man with a deep, deep voice got up and stepped to the
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microphone. Whatever I have accomplished in my life, it was all
laid out in the most glowing descriptions imaginable. He conclud-
ed. For these accomplishments in
literature, law and business, we are
presenting VU’s 2012 Honorary
Doctorate of Letters to Ira Wagler.
Everyone clapped as I stood. Presi-
dent Helton approached with the
hood. I stooped a bit and he slipped
it over my head and adjusted it. It
flowed down my back.
Then I was handed a huge framed
diploma. Doctor of Letters. Then
“the microphone is yours,” President
Helton whispered. I nodded and
stepped up, clutching my little slip of
yellow lined paper. My speech.
In a moment like that, you either
freak out, or you don’t. Fortunately,
I did not, at least I don’t think so. I
looked out over the heads of the
graduates and began to speak. Sure, I stammered a time or two,
getting started. Who wouldn’t? But
as I settled in, my voice was at least
not shaking. I encouraged the grad-
uates to follow their hearts. And
then closed with a short quote from
Thomas Wolfe. So, then, to every
man his chance – to every man,
regardless of his birth, his shining,
golden opportunity… Thank you,
Vincennes University. Thank you
very much.
And then it was over. As applause rolled through the stadium, I
stepped back and sagged into my seat. And realized how tense
and exhausted I was, as wave after wave of relief swept through
me. The ceremony moved along then, as diplomas were handed
to more than four hundred graduating students who marched
across the same stage I had walked twenty-one years ago, back in
1991. Who knows where they will end up? Who knows what dis-
tant goals they will achieve?
No one knows. That’s the beauty of it. The human spirit un-
leashed has almost unlimited potential.
And that was Vincennes University, for me, on April 28, 2012.
Whatever happens in the future on this wild and beautiful road,
there will never be another moment quite like this one.”
(Photos by David A. Fisher, Vincennes University.)
Call Him Doctor : Ira Wagler Honored with Doctorate
