Provost Paul Ludden kicked off his graduation address with a reference to Bob Dylan’s “The Times, They Are A-Changin'” Like “the times,” Ludden noted that people change throughout their lifetimes.

“My message today is about changes in you and me,” he said. “You have changed during your time at SMU also for the better. You will change again and again and again in your lives. Be ready for that change, embrace it, make the best of it.”

Ludden spoke to more than 870 students at the 2010 December graduation ceremony in Moody Coliseum on Saturday.

Ludden recently celebrated his 60th birthday, and he spoke to students about changes in his own life and other people’s perceptions of him.

“I have changed,” he said, “and graduates, you will too.”

For his recent birthday, Ludden’s daughter assembled a book of letters from various people from Ludden’s life. He said he was most surprised about the perception of himself that changed over the years.

“The snapshots that others provided made it clear that I had been a different person at different stages in my life.”

Ludden encouraged the graduating students to follow their dreams and to not lose their capacity for personal growth and change. He noted “one of the agents of change is the disappointments you face.”

Ludden told the students “you don’t get to write the scripts” of your life, although you will be offered various roles. He noted that the script would change, as well as the roles offered, and that many will be difficult.

But he advised students that they “should not be afraid to accept those challenges.”

“You will have many choices in life,” he said. “Consider them, make the best choices that you can and then make the best of those choices.”