One of Wittenberg’s most accomplished alumni, John McLaughlin ’64 daily briefs the President of the United States on the rapidly changing political, social and military forces in the world.

He has launched programs for CIA analysts, and he has served on the National Intelligence Council. But appearing before the senior class on May 12 to deliver the keynote address to the graduates and the standing-room only crowd seemed to top it all.

“I’m honored to return to Wittenberg — this gorgeous campus that is filled with wonderful memories,” McLaughlin said.

This is “an essential place that was essential to the journey that has taken me from a small town in western Pennsylvania to places as diverse as Cairo, Kyrgyzstan, St. Petersburg and Hong Kong and now to the office of the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence.”

Named the DDCI at the CIA by President Bill Clinton last year, McLaughlin has led a distinguished 29- year career at the agency.

In addition to serving as deputy director of intelligence, the agency’s top analyst position, from 1997-2000, McLaughlin has also served as vice chairman for estimates and as acting chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

In 2000, McLaughlin launched the CIA’s Senior Analytic Service, which rewards world-class expertise in topics of key concern to the U.S. Government.

He was also the driving force behind the new Sherman Kent School, which houses the CIA’s first comprehensive training program for professional intelligence analysts.

During his address, McLaughlin, whose appearance was marked by higher than usual security, discussed his career and his Wittenberg years, recalling a number of stories from his days on campus.

“When you someday retrace your path as I have, you will find your Wittenberg heritage woven through it like a constant thread,” he said.

McLaughlin recounted how a speech given on campus by then presidential candidate John F. Kennedy awoke in him an enduring passion for politics and public service.

He remembered how Margaret Ermarth, the late professor of history, painted vivid, first-hand accounts of the then Soviet Union, which in turn nourished his growing interest in international affairs.

He recalled how his debate coaches at Wittenberg taught him how to weigh and organize evidence, how to listen, how to see a situation from both sides, how to deal with complexity and how to learn.

“There is an old saying that ‘leadership casts a long shadow,’” McLaughlin told the graduates.

“I predict that each of you will also realize as life goes on that you stand in the long shadow of someone here at Wittenberg, be it a professor, a dean, a president, or even a fellow student.”

McLaughlin’s invitation to speak, however, stirred some controversy on campus with some faculty and students sporting white armbands in protest during the ceremony.

About a dozen faculty members held signs during McLaughlin’s address, each displaying the name of a particular country or city which they said had suffered as a result of CIA activities.

A handful of faculty also removed their hoods when McLaughlin was presented with his honorary Doctor of Laws.

In response to these concerns, McLaughlin hosted a forum with students and faculty the day before Commencement to discuss the CIA’s history, mission and actions, and to answer questions.

“We’re here to warn and protect,” he said at the forum, noting that covert action is the smallest area of CIA activity and that every president since Truman has authorized its activities.

“Nothing is done without the president’s or Congress’ knowledge,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of easy choices.” As for his advice to the Class of 2001, McLaughlin encouraged the graduates to remember that they are free.

“In our land of plenty, we often forget the novelty and power of the ideas that made us what we are and what we represent to others,” he said. “You are free to make a difference — a decisive difference for good.”