Honoring Professor Alan MacDiarmid

Chargé d’ Affaires Dr. David Keegan, United States Embassy.
Remarks at the function following the Memorial Service in honor of Professor Alan McDairmid.
The Grand Hall. Parliament.

Minister the Honorable Steve Maharey,
Mr. Rod McDairmid,
Gail Gentile and Dawn Haslet,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me and the United States Embassy to participate in today’s memorial for a great New Zealander and a great American.

Another great American academic, and subsequently a United States Senator, was J. William Fulbright. He said:

We must try and expand the boundaries of human wisdom, and there is no way of doing that except through education.

I would like to pair that with a statement, perhaps apocryphal, attributed to Professor McDairmid.  When asked why he had decided to become an American citizen, he replied that he wanted to vote so that he could give those folks “a piece of my mind.”

Those two statements for me capture something essential: that we all must be committed to the pursuit of wisdom, that those who would pursue wisdom must assume responsibility, and that part of that responsibility is public service.

It’s well known that Professor McDairmid, whenever he could, acknowledged with gratitude the Fulbright program that was the catalyst which took him to the University of Wisconsin.

Throughout the rest of his career, he continued to work to support the aims of the Fulbright program. I have often said that the student visa program and academic exchanges, of which the Fulbright is the pinnacle, have been since World War II the most consistently successful element of American foreign policy. More than anything else, they have helped build a world that yearns for peace and works for it through the sometimes difficult endeavor of mutual understanding.

It is for that reasons that we place such great value on the role of the Fulbright Program in still sending the best and brightest young minds on exchange programs between our two countries, the United States and New Zealand.

The example of Professor McDairmid’s achievements must rank as high inspiration for each generation of New Zealand Fulbrighters. Many of those who have eulogized Professor McDairmid today have praised him as a great son of New Zealand, and that is altogether appropriate. At the same time, let us remember that he is a great adopted son of the United States.

It is my honor today to welcome and say how grateful we are to have Professor McDairmid’s wife Gail Gentile and daughter  Dawn Haslett here today representing the rest of his family.

Today’s memorial service has been made all that more personal by your attendance as you bring to our minds his American family, colleagues and friends.

The loss of a husband, a father, and a brother is first and foremost is a private family matter and we appreciate your allowing us to participate with you in today’s New Zealand tribute.

May I conclude by proposing a toast: To a distinguished Kiwi and a distinguished Yankee; to Gail, Dawn, and Rod, Professor McDairmid’s family and friends.

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