Transcript Staff Writer

This generation faces intense challenges as the world changes and the U.S. meets new crises, but the education received at the University of Oklahoma has equipped tomorrow's leaders to make a difference for the better, said William S. Cohen, the 20th U.S. Secretary of Defense Friday.

Cohen addressed thousands at OU's 2008 Commencement ceremony Friday evening in the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Graduation candidates filed onto the field in their black robes and hats and waved to family and friends in the stands. Many held cell phones to their ears as they tried to locate loved ones in the audience.

OU President David Boren told the students he looked on them with the same feeling their families may have had when they first came to OU. But he assured them they could accomplish great things.

"You have begun to live out your dreams already and you have forever left your mark on this university," he said.

Cohen, a former U.S. senator and the author or co-author of 11 books, was awarded an honorary degree at the event, and then he addressed the crowd. He spoke of the United States' "state of disrepair," including the energy crisis, terrorism, partisanship and health care.

He said, however, that he didn't come just to list off the problems, "but to issue a call to action."

Every generation faces their own set of challenges, and the secret to responding to them is the same as always: honor, honesty, courage and generosity, he said.

The graduates of OU have been given in their education the keys to solving the world's problems, but those keys don't look like clear-cut blueprints, but rather small seeds.

"It has planted the seeds for your love of learning, and it's a lifetime of love," he said.

And with those seeds the graduates of OU have been given the ability "to serve as a beacon of hope in a world with too much darkness and despair."

He concluded with a word of caution and inspiration in one: "The future is in your hands."