This address was given by Victor Davis Hanson at Hillsdale College’s 173rd Commencement Ceremony on May 11, 2025.

00:00 Introduction: Hillsdale's Rising National Profile
01:17 Hillsdale’s Independence from Federal Influence
02:27 Hillsdale as a Model for Civic and Moral Education
03:26 Observations from a Newcomer: Campus Life at Hillsdale
05:05 Hillsdale’s Unique Academic Curriculum
07:04 The Culture of Happiness and Civility
08:36 Behind the Anecdotes: The Value of Honor
10:50 Upholding Civilization Through Ethical Conduct
12:09 The Power and Necessity of Tradition
13:38 Rejecting Presentism and Embracing Historical Gratitude
14:45 Optimism as a Civic and Cultural Force
15:35 A Call to the Class of 2025: Lead with Virtue and Confidence

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Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” It pursues the stated object of the founders: “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education” outstanding among American colleges “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils.” As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains “by precept and example” the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.

The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.

By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.