The University of Michigan tribute to Mrs. Betty Ford

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[Background Music] When Betty Ford suddenly and unexpectedly became First Lady in 1974 amidst the scandal of Watergate, she was like a breath of fresh air. She had the poise of Pat Nixon, a strong sense of style like Jackie Kennedy, and looked to Eleanor Roosevelt as a role model. But it was her personal candor that made Betty Ford unique among her predecessors and would ultimately help to save thousands of lives. She was born Elizabeth Ann Bloomer in 1918 and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Betty Bloomer was a lively teenager who spoke her mind and gravitated toward the freer forms of modern dance. When she graduated from high school, she knew exactly what she wanted to do, move to New York City to become a professional dancer. She spent three years living her dreams, studying and dancing with the legendary Martha Graham and even performing at Carnegie Hall. She returned to Grand Rapids but continued dancing. And after her first marriage that ended in divorce, Betty met her match in a handsome young lawyer named Gerald R. Ford, a former University of Michigan football star and World War II naval officer, Ford had a secret ambition to run for Congress. Betty was reluctant to become a congressional wife which seemed well-founded when Gerald showed up late to their wedding wearing muddy shoes he had worn on the campaign trail. The couple then spent their honeymoon at campaign rallies and a University of Michigan football game. Nonetheless, Betty threw herself into the roles of political wife and devoted mother of four children, roles that kept her mostly out of the limelight. Her life abruptly changed, however, when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned due to corruption charges and President Nixon appointed the popular Republican minority leader, Gerald Ford, Vice President. The family barely had time to adjust to their new roles before Nixon himself resigned eight months later. The Fords, still living in their modest suburban Alexandria, Virginia home had suddenly become First Family. Betty Ford would soon find her own voice in a country that was eager to hear what she had to say. The Fords were determined to set themselves apart from the secrecy of the previous administration. So when Betty Ford had a mastectomy, just six weeks into the new Presidency, she chose to speak up publicly about her battle with breast cancer, a taboo topic at the time. This led thousands of women to seek screenings, which saved countless lives.

Part of the battle against cancer is to fight the fear that accompanies the disease.

The First Lady's openness about other topics, however, including premarital sex, marijuana use, and abortion rights, as well as her [inaudible] support of the Equal Rights Amendment was not always so-well received especially from her own party.

I do not believe that being First Lady should prevent me from expressing my ideas.

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[Background Music] But she was speaking out about the issues of the time with the frankness that no previous First Lady had displayed.

[Background Music & Laughter] I just want to congratulate you Mr. President. I'm glad to see you who have to come a long, long way.

[Laughter]

[Background Music] She had brought a more relaxed accessible atmosphere to the White House, even a sense of fun and the public found it refreshing. Betty's approval rating shot up to 75 percent. Because of her popularity, she was given a grueling campaign schedule during Gerald Ford's unsuccessful 1976 Presidential bid and it took its toll exacerbating the excruciating pain of a pinched nerve that she had been enduring for years. This brought to the forefront her addiction to pain killers and alcohol. In 1978, with the encouragement of her family, Betty began to seek treatment for her addictions and then made the brave decision to again go public with her struggle. By putting a dignified face on addiction, Betty Ford helped to de-stigmatize another deadly disease and inspire thousands to seek treatment. Later, she would help to found the Betty Ford Center which has now treated nearly 100,000 patients and their families. In the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, there is a classroom dedicated to the memory of Betty Ford. "In the Betty", as it is affectionately called by students, Betty Ford's legacy is honored through the exploration of important public policy questions, including health and women's issues. When she received an honorary law degree from the university in 1976, the Board of Regions noted, "Your style and substance have earned the admiration of a nation." These words would ring through throughout her life. And with her death in 2011, at the age of 93, the country lost one of its most courageous and original First Ladies.

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Good afternoon everybody and welcome. I'm Susan Collins, the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy here at the University of Michigan. And it is my great honor to welcome all of you here as the University of Michigan celebrates the life and the legacy of Mrs. Betty Ford. We're so pleased today that President Mary Sue Coleman, Congressman John Dingell and Mrs. Debbie Dingell, and several of the Universities executive officers and deans could be here with us today. Welcome and thank you all so much for coming. And we could not be more honored that so many members of the Ford family are here. The Fords here today spent three generations. Sons, Mike and Steve; daughter, Susan; daughter-in-law, Gayle, are all here and they're joined by several grandchildren of President Ford and even one great grandchild. I know we're all very eager to welcome them here back to Ann Arbor and so I'd like to invite the members of the Ford family, please, to stand. Welcome.

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It's really wonderful to have so many of you here with us today. And now, it is my great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker, Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Ambassador Brinker was a very good friend of Mrs. Ford's and I know that she will tell you much more about the inspiration and the support that she found in Mrs. Ford. Ambassador Brinker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. She served as US Ambassador to Hungary from 2001 to 2003 and as a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She served as US Chief of Protocol from 2007 to 2009 and it's really a tremendous honor for us to have her here with us today. Please help me welcome to the stage, Ambassador Nancy Brinker.

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Thank you Dean Collins and President Coleman for inviting me. I really am honored to be here today. Because the University of Michigan has always had a special place in my heart and it's always wonderful to be with my very dear friend, a long time colleague, Susan Ford Bales, all of the of the Ford family who are here today, and Debbie and John Dingell who are also very good friends. So, Michigan has always been this university very important to me. I grew up on the other side of Lake Michigan and Peoria. And as a student, Michigan was number one on my very short list of universities. So in 1963, I send in my application, cross my fingers and eagerly awaited a response. Oh, I got one, almost the next day but it wasn't what I was hoping. So when I told my mother I was coming here today, she said, "Oh, good dear. You finally got in there [laughter] after all there years." Well, no one keeps you grounded like your mothers, you know. But the bottom line is I've got a lot of maize and blue in my heart even if not on my diploma. I'm honored to be with all of you truly. Last summer, I traveled to California with Secretary Hillary Clinton for Mrs. Ford's funeral. We talked about Betty's leadership and the extraordinary influence she had on all women and our culture. Our generation looked up to her because she had the courage to stand up and challenge our society to think about important issues, to change things that were wrong. She was an outspoken leader but she led with such grace and savvy and dignity and she moved our nation forward faster than if she had had chosen a more confrontational style, and these were monumental issues.

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Ambassador Brinker, thank you so much for those very inspiring remarks. Betty Ford was an accomplished dancer who made her first public performance at age 8. Throughout her school year, she was a voracious student of many styles of dance and just after finishing high school, she attended a summer dance program at Bennington College in Vermont where she choreographed--where choreographer and modern dance pioneer, Martha Graham, was in residence. And Martha Graham became Betty's inspiration. She joined Martha's troop in New York for two years before returning to Grand Rapids where she continued to teach dance. And years later, Mrs. Ford's love for dance as we've seen injected style and laughter and energy into the Ford White House. The First Couple brought dancing back to state dinners and hosted legendary parties that lasted well into the night. And of course we can all recall and have just enjoyed that iconic shot of her on top of the mahogany conference table in the Cabinet Room striking a beautiful pose so full of grace and humor. And anyone who sees that picture knows that this was a very unique First Lady. In her 1978 autobiography, "The Times of My Life", Mrs. Ford reflected, "Dance is my happiness." And here to celebrate that source of Mrs. Ford's happiness, it is my pleasure to introduce Miki Orihara, Principal Dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Please join me in welcoming her to the stage.

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Thank you, Miki, that was beautiful. That was the opening dance of Martha Graham's 1940 ballet, "Letter to the World." Graham took her inspiration for that work from Emily Dickinson and the dance evokes Dickinson's curiosity and eagerness to engage with life. Miki, thank you once again for that lovely performance.

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Next, we'll hear tribute remarks from a few people who admired and loved Mrs. Ford, and as Dean of the Ford School, I have the tremendous honor of getting started. At the Ford School, we prepare leaders. We prepare our students to influence and improve public policies and we take great pride in our curriculum, our professional development and our faculty research. Mrs. Betty Ford who had no formal training in public policy yet profoundly influenced some of the most important public issues of our time, how did she do it? She was of course married to a career politician and spent over 27 years as the wife of a congressman, vice president, and then president. But most importantly, Mrs. Ford had conviction. Outspoken and independent by nature, upbringing and life circumstance, she had the courage to speak her mind. It's no surprise that here at the University of Michigan and at the Ford School, we consider Mrs. Ford an exemplar for our students. In 1975, she told a crowd, "I do not believe that being first lady should prevent me from expressing my ideas." And so Mrs. Ford did speak her mind. She proudly called herself a feminist and she actively lobbied for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. After the Watergate scandal and coverup, her husband took office promising transparency to the American people and in that charged context, Mrs. Ford bravely decided to make public her treatment for breast cancer. Later in life, her candor about alcoholism and addiction put a known much loved face on those diseases. Her outspokenness was not without cost. Well, she certainly isn't the last first lady to take criticism for outspoken views on public policy issues, she was among the first. In 1975, Mrs. Ford spoke with 60 Minutes about premarital sex and about her strong support for Roe versus Wade decision to legalize abortion. And the White House received a flood of over 28,000 letters, nearly all of them critical of the first lady. Some of those letters are on display at the Ford Presidential Library on North Campus. I've had the pleasure of spending time at the Ford Library and it really--it's one of the gems of Ann Arbor and I encourage all of you to visit, especially if you've not had the opportunity so far. At the library, you can read one--a few of those outraged letters including some from very prominent people. But after the initial wave of criticism, Americans from both sides of the political isle came to admire Mrs. Ford and her candor and her popularity sword. In the short run, her husband narrowly lost his campaign for a second term in office. But in the long run, their legacies all right secure and profound. His, as a man of integrity who helped America to heal, and hers, as a courageous woman who broke taboos and saved countless lives. Throughout her life, Betty Ford spoke her story, an honest American story about child rearing, work, illness, recovery and family. That story resonated with so many of her fellow citizens in a way that political leaders rarely do. And in fact, as an immigrant myself whose family is from Jamaica, I can attest that it resonated in countries around the globe. I was fortunate enough to meet Mrs. Ford once when she invited me to her California home after I became dean of the Ford School. And I was strucked by her grace and her graciousness. She took a deep interest in the activities of our students in particular. And each year, we would send her a birthday card or a birthday video. And each year, dozens of students in the midst of classes and assignments and problems sets in their jobs would turn out to be included in those videos. Her spirit is very much alive at the Ford School. And so, to our students in particular, I encouraged you to look to Mrs. Ford as inspiration and example. Speak out, find your conviction. Tell your story, your work, your impact and your service might be just the living legacy that President Ford, and the irrepressible Mrs. Betty Ford would most have treasured. Thank you.

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And now, it is my great pleasure to introduce the 13th President of the University of Michigan, Mary Sue Coleman.

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Well, thank you Susan and thank you for your leadership of the Ford School. It's a great honor to take part in this joyful celebration of Betty Ford's life and legacy. Throughout her life as a professional dancer, wife and mother, first lady champion of the arts, an advocate for women's health and equality. Betty Ford displayed a confect in an infectious spirit of candor and courage. She once described herself as an ordinary woman who was cold on stage at an extraordinary time. The grim circumstances that led to Congressman Ford becoming vice president in 1973 and then president in 1974 after Richard Nixon resigned shocked the country. It was arguably our nation's most significant constitutional threat since the Civil War. Fortunately for us, Betty Ford proved to be an extraordinary woman and a strong player on the Ford team working together to restore trust in government following Watergate. President and Mrs. Ford helped the nation heal. In his inaugural address, President Ford said, "I am indebted to no man and to one woman, my dear wife Betty, as I begin this difficult job." Mrs. Ford exercised her influence and successfully lobbied her husband to appoint more women to key roles in government. President Ford once said, he had little choice, appointing women was the best way to keep me out of the dog house with Betty. Speaking at the 1976 Republican Convention, Cary Grant told delegates, "It would be good for women to be there--it would be good for women if there were four more years of pillow talk in a Ford White House. Mrs. Ford once said, "I don't like to be dishonest. So when people asked me, I said what I thought and speak," she did. She was truthful with the American people about such sensitive topics, at sexuality, women's rights and addiction. Her frankness about breast cancer encouraged millions of women to see their doctors. Perform monthly exams and get mammograms. Through interviews, press conferences and public appearances, Mrs. Ford elevated the visibility and awareness of women's roles in the world and their right to be treated as equal. A career woman, before marrying a handsome Michigan graduate name Jerry Ford, Betty was a quick study when it came to politics.

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Thank you, President Coleman. And this is a very special day for Susan and Steve. Jack can't be with us today but my wife and our extended family, my wife Gale. And we are here to celebrate with you this special lady, Betty Ford. A year ago, this past July, our family and all the nation said goodbye to our dear mom, Betty Ford. And while in the moment, it was a sad parting for all of us. Her death was a joyiest farewell as mom went home to be with her father in heaven. In the midst of our grief, the family knew that mom had it figured out. In her final days with us, she expressed that she had done everything here on earth that she could possibly do that God had asked her to do for family, for friends, for the circle of people both near and far that had looked to her for a direction and inspiration and leadership. And besides, dad's birthday was just around the corner, July 14th and she wanted to go home and celebrate his birthday with her best friend. And so, we told her we loved her and that everything was going to be fine and okay, and that we would say goodbye for now. And at that time, we remembered mom in California and we took her home to Grand Rapids to join dad in rest. And over the past year, we've had the opportunity to pay tribute to mom in Vail, Colorado and Washington DC to very special places in her life. And now, we find ourselves here in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan to remember mom to celebrate her life and legacy. It's only fitting that we're here in Ann Arbor for mom has a wonderful history here at the University of Michigan. When dad was courting mom in the fall of 1946, he brought her back to Ann Arbor many times to cheer on the Wolverines on the Gridiron. Jerry Ford loved the University of Michigan and he was falling in love with Betty Bloomer Warren. The Wolverines were having great football season in the fall of 1947, unbeaten in the Big Ten. They were so good that they were invited out to the Rose Bowl in California to play USC. And yes, my dad followed his team to California that year for the big game. This summer when my brothers and sister were going through my dad's and mom's keepsakes, we came across a copy of an old Western Union telegram. It was sent to Ms. Betty Warren. It was dated January 1st, 1948 from Santa Monica, California just down the road from the Rose Bowl and it read "Miss you, dot, dot, dot, wished you were here, dot, dot, dot, loads of love, Jerry." On that special New Year's Day, dad had his two special loves on his heart, the Michigan Wolverines and Betty Bloomer Warren. As a historical footnote, I'm pleased to report that the University of Michigan beat USC 49 to nothing.

[Laughter]

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Many of you know their love story. Dad and mom were engaged to be married on February of '48. They were married later that fall on October 15th in the midst of his campaign to run for the fifth district of congress which she won. And their postponed honeymoon was spent, you guess it, in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan of football game followed by a trip down the road to Detroit to participate in the campaign--Presidential campaign rally of New York Governor Thomas Dewey.

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My gosh, just beautiful, beautiful words written down. Not about me but about your mother. And I think that everybody here has said fantastic things about what your mother really accomplished and I just like to say that Joan couldn't be with us today because she has spent all week and has continuing to spend time on picking a new executive director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and therefore she's with her board and her executive committee and apologizes for not being here. But I'd like to read some notes from her that she wanted everybody to know. She says that she's so very sorry to miss this wonderful occasion for a woman I have so much loved and respect for. The very first time we're graciously invited to stay up at the Ford's home for a weekend golf tournament, I really panicked. To stay in the home of former president and first lady, wow! So I called my mother for advice and she said, "Make sure you make your bed." "Thanks, mom." However, when we arrived, everyone was so gracious and put us at ease immediately at least until I used my hairdryer that evening and blew out all the electricity in the house. When the Secret Service realized after searching the whole house and grounds, guns ready, they did inform me that I needed a different hairdryer because of the altitude, my mother did not tell me that. That weekend was the beginning for me of a very special relationship with Mrs. Ford. She was someone I so looked at to and respected. Her honestly and okness thought me a lot. I could talk to her about my troubled son and she gave me good advice. We traveled together a lot for the company and I learned so much from her including how to shop in China, the message was, "Bring a 727." I feel so privileged to have spent time with this very special lady. Those memories will always live me with me always. I would like--like to tell you a little bit about my background with President and Mrs. Ford and talk a little bit about how they can really help influence the future. But before I do that Mike, you know, you know that we really live in a very changing world and it was interesting for me to hear that in--was it 1949 that Michigan beat the Southern Cal, 49 to nothing? In 1951, I was a freshman at Cornell University, I think I've told you this before. And Cornell beat Michigan in Football 13 to 7, never ever to be repeated again.

[Laughter]

But I met President Ford and spoke to him in the first time in 1981 right after he decided to get out of active politics and not run against Reagan for the Republican nomination for the president. And I was told to call him up because he might be very interested in going at a board like the company that I ran up that time. And I wrote down in very big print as I dialed the number to call him, "Remember call him, Mr. President. Don't call him Jerry." And I remember that first call and we made a date to meet the next week when he was in New York at Waldorf Astoria and I told them a little bit about what we're doing and he joined our company which was then called Shearson Loeb Rhoades, a year later we merged our company with American Express and President Ford went on to the board of American Express with me and for the next 25 years he participated in every company that I ran right up through Citigroup. He was an incredible contributor to our company through his common sense and talking about things from his experience and Betty was always at his side at all the meetings we went to. We went really literally all over the world with President Ford and Betty to places like Singapore, to Geneva, Paris, London, Hawaii, all over the United States. And they were terrified role models for the people in our company, everybody looked up to them and it was really--great, great relationship. But I think the most important stuff that I think about was when we broke ground for the Ford School here at the University of Michigan, and President Ford and Betty were there and we all had shovels, you know, shoveling that dirt which was supposed to be the dirt where the building was going to be built and talking about how this school can really make a difference and how the Ford School can really a legacy for what Betty stood for and what President Ford stood for. All the things that had been spoken about today but really the special relationship that they had with each other, that Joan and I really saw it firsthand some many, many times and helped us get through, defend arguments that one has in the relationship but understanding the value of a partnership and that we have now been married 57 years and trying to keep up that thing that they taught us.

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I think when we think about our government today and when we think about what the world looks like today, I think we should all think about Betty and her leadership and President Ford and what they did as a team and think about how the Ford school can really turn out better leaders of tomorrow, people that understand that you got to work together, people that understand that, you know, America should be a partnership and we've all found out through the great recession that we've just going through that even through America did some bad things and created a lot of problems there's nobody yet to take the place of the leadership that our country can and should provide to the world. And so I would hope that all of us would think about Betty and think about President Ford everyday and think about how we can make this institution at this university the kind of place that will turn out the leaders that we need to create the world that they would love to see. Thank you very much.

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Well, thank you so much, Sandy and Mike and Mary Sue and I should thank Joan as well for her remarks too. Ambassador Brinker, our wonderful dancer, Miki Orihara. I have to say that it has been an honor for us to host this tribute and really an honor to be able to bring together and to share so many wonderful remembrances of the legacy but also of the impact and the power that Mrs. Betty Ford has had on so many lives and continues to have, and so again I'd like to thank everybody who joined us both on the podium speaking, dancing, all of you who have joined us in the audience and have come to help us celebrate and recognized her legacy. Special thanks to all of the members of the Ford family including those who are here with us today. Again, the University of Michigan is so proud of our continued connection with your parents and so pleased that their legacies are alive and well here on campus as we look forward to the many ways that we will continue to keep that vibrancy and that impact alive. So, thanks to all of you for coming to join us today. If you're curios to learn more about this remarkable first lady, again, I'd like to encourage you to visit the Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Again, our honor to celebrate and to look forward, thank you very much for joining us.

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