Verma to Graduates: Face the World with Humanity, Heart, Grace and Respect

The former ambassador to India and Lehigh trustee shared life lessons gleaned from three decades on the world stage.

In a stirring speech delivered to members of the Class of 2019 and their families in Goodman Stadium, former U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma ’90 urged the young graduates to maximize the unprecedented opportunities they have been given to face a problem-plagued world with “the humility and responsibility that comes with power.”

The young graduates entered Lehigh “as perhaps one of the smartest classes we’ve ever had, shattering all records in your SAT scores, GPA and class ranking,” said Verma, a leading expert on trade and diplomacy and now a vice chair and partner with The Asia Group. “It’s a pretty safe bet to assume I would never have been admitted here…And you enter the work world with an unlimited set of options, with what feels like new innovations and inventions at every turn.”

But, he added, “we have also left you with a range of real challenges. The U.S. is no longer a dominant and unchallenged world power. We face new and real competition from rising powers. We have either been unable or unwilling to stop the planet from warming. And we’ve seen a rise in authoritarian, nationalist and populist regimes across the globe, and we are facing real and polarizing division right here at home.”