Ex-CSC president reflects on his alma mater's motto

A 1964 graduate of Saint Joseph's College in Indiana, Rankin said those Latin words, “Religio, Moralitas, Scientia,” which translate into religion, morality and knowledge, are essential to building a successful life and, when imprinted in a life, serve graduates well long after graduation day.

Rankin, who was president of Chadron State for nearly 12 years during a period of great progress before teaching history at the college the past eight years, said religion is much more than coursework.

“It is an understanding that life has a deeper meaning than classroom instruction,” he stated.

While recalling some of his instructors in theology and philosophy courses, Rankin said they were disappointed when they felt they had “not made contact” with their students, but loved their jobs and were solicitous of student needs and concerns.

“They were religious in the sense that they had faith in human potential. They were not quick to condemn and were faithful to a set of ideals that were and remain at the heart of the humanism of western civilization,” Rankin said. “In short, their religiosity was as secular as it was doctrinal and it inspired one to live to do well; not just for the moment, but also for a lifetime.”

This training, Rankin said, provided a lesson, which he shared with the graduates.

“Take time each day to seek quiet thoughts, meditate, read for inspiration, exercise the mental ability to have faith, to be happy and possess hope for the morrow, regardless of the unreasonableness of the world,” he advised.

Morality, the speaker said, may be more important today than at any time in history. He said it means accepting responsibility for our daily lives, actions and even thoughts. He noted that the need for intellectual honesty, personal integrity and rigorous standards for others as well as for ourselves are basic and almost too obvious to mention.

Being faithful and moral does not excuse one from being smart, knowledgeable and capable of inductive and deductive reasoning, Rankin stated.

Certainly a love for knowledge and the development of effective learning habits are important, he said.

“College is all about knowledge, its evolution in the past, its present condition and its potential for the future. Then, as now, knowledge is as much as matter of appreciation for the elegance of reasoned thought as it is the accumulation of facts, numbers or skills.”

In concluding his address, Rankin said the old college motto that focuses on both the mind and the soul was important when he graduated and remains important today.

“Religion, morality and knowledge are essential to a fulfilled life, to a happy life, to a purposeful life. I wish each and every one such a life,” he stated.