University of Wisconsin graduates received a few key words of encouragement and wisdom, as United States Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan spoke about the Wisconsin Idea and the importance of following one’s passion at the commencement ceremony Saturday.

Duncan was the keynote speaker in a ceremony that also featured UW System Board of Regents member David Walsh and UW Chancellor Biddy Martin.

Martin introduced Duncan as one of the most forward-thinking and dynamic policymakers shaping the country’s education system today.

Duncan said he was “absolutely delighted,” to be speaking in Madison and to be celebrating success in education. He praised UW students’ sense of passion and dedication, as the notion of having a passionate purpose is deeply ingrained in a UW education.

“Only in Madison do students party with a purpose,” Duncan said, referring to the Mifflin Street Block Party and the Polar Plunge charity event. “It’s here in Madison that the progressive tradition was born and nurtured, and it’s here at UW that higher education’s progressive cousin, the Wisconsin Idea, came into being a century ago.”

Duncan added it is no surprise that education champions like Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wis., Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Gov. Jim Doyle have all graduated from UW, as well as luminaries like architect Frank LLoyd Wright and Pulitzer-prize winner Eudora Welty.

According to Duncan, UW faculty or alumni have won 17 Nobel Prizes and 30 Pulitzers. Much of this can be attributed to the progressive education UW offers, which not only includes a degree in a specific field, but also problem solving, teamwork skills and the ability to adapt and create.

“Seated among you are our future luminaries and leaders who will go on to make their own mark on the world,” Duncan said. “Wisconsin is the birthplace of the progressive movement that was so rooted in [the idea] that the voices of the people can speak louder than special interests.”

Martin also spoke at the ceremony, detailing some of UW’s great accomplishments, including being ranked in the top 20 public universities in the world. UW also produces more Fortune 500 CEOs than any other school in the country besides Harvard, and UW also is one of the universities leading the nation in Peace Corps and Teach for America volunteers.

She also praised the students’ commitment to long-term thinking and generosity, which she hopes they will take with them throughout the rest of their life and careers.

“Your sense of responsibility and your talent will help strengthen our economy, our society and our culture, and we need to have your talent turned to that job,” Martin said. “I have been inspired at my two years at UW by your talent, your openness, your lack of cynicism, your curiosity, your dedication to service and your can-do attitudes. And of course I’m delighted by your sense of fun.”

UW CALS graduate Lindsay Evers said she was excited they were able to listen to a big-name speaker like Duncan, especially because his focus is in education.

“I like that he used a little bit of humor, but also that he said that our degrees are going to be about adapting and not just specific knowledge,” Evers said.