“Many Tufts University graduates said they were baffled Sunday by commencement remarks on fairness and integrity by Ellen Kullman, former CEO of DuPont, which settled several cases related to chemical dumping in recent years.
‘Determine what your personal values are and resolve to yourself that they are non-negotiable,’ Kullman said, as several people scoffed but some applauded. ‘But as critical as institutional values are, even more important will be your personal inventory of values.’
A group of about 150, out of 3,700 graduates, silently protested through Kullman’s remarks, turning their backs to the stage and holding up signs that accused the company of ethical impropriety. One sign mentioned a 2016 settlement in which the chemical giant DuPont, formally called E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., paid more than $50 million after decades of releasing toxic chemicals that ended up in the waterways of the Shenandoah Valley. As part of the deal, the company admitted no fault. Kullman had left the company in 2015.
Students organized the protest several days before the commencement, after concerns about the university’s choice of Kullman as speaker had been growing for almost a month, according to several graduates…
The university stood by its choice of speaker in an e-mailed statement to the Globe…
Kullman never addressed the company’s environmental issues and instead challenged graduates to contemplate how future technologies could change societies and economies…
As part of the ceremony, an honorary doctor in science degree was awarded to Kullman, who received her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Tufts in 1978, She currently serves on the boards of directors for Goldman Sachs, United Technologies Corp., and Carbon. She also sits on the board of advisors for Tufts University’s engineering school.”
Read the full article by Jerome Campbell