Commencement Weekend 1999

First Union Corporation CEO Edward Crutchield addressed Wharton MBA recipients on Sunday. He runs the second largest bank in the world, he recently purchased Philadelphia's own CoreStates Spectrum and, on Sunday afternoon, Edward Crutchfield unveiled the secrets of his success to approximately 900 recipients of master of business administration degrees from the Wharton School of Business. During his address, Crutchfield advised students to combine passion for a given goal with compassion for other people. As future leaders, Crutchfield said, graduates should not only "give everything [they] have to give," but should "give each employee a sense that they're building something" as well. "Don't leave anything on the field but sweat," Crutchfield said, quoting advice that he had once learned from a college football coach. He also praised Wharton School Dean Thomas Gerrity as a consummate leader, claiming that Gerrity has turned Wharton "into the finest business school in the world" during his stint as dean. Gerrity himself spoke at the ceremony, honoring the MBA students for having survived the "special blend of rigorous breadth and global depth" that characterizes a Wharton education. And Gerrity -- who will resign from his position in July -- acknowledged his special fondness for the Class of 1999. "You've been an extraordinary class. I'm proud to graduate with you," he said. -- Eric Tucker