This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

University presidents deeply believe in the transformative power of the superb education that our talented students receive on our campuses. Yet every so often a person comes along who reminds us that, no matter how life-changing the experience of our classrooms and campuses may be, there are deeper lessons – lessons learned long before a young person sets off to college – that matter even more.

For me, and countless others, that person is Jon M. Huntsman Sr., who celebrates his 80th birthday today. One of the greatest privileges not only of my Penn presidency, but of my entire life, has been to count Jon Huntsman as both a mentor and a beloved friend.

When you learn some of life's lessons from Jon, as I have, you can make no mistake about how much personal integrity and the love of our fellow human beings matter in our lives. Jon is inspiring not only because he fought long odds and prevailed, but also because his success reflects the greatest strength of character and principled belief.

To listen and to learn from Jon is to do nothing less than to affirm one's sense of life's meaning and of our national purpose. To be an American, after all, is to hold fast in the belief that tomorrow can be made better than today through the dint of our own hard work in unison with our family, friends, fellow Americans and ultimately all of humanity. Surely, there is no rags-to-riches story more inspiring and more edifying than Jon's.

From his first job, digging potatoes in Idaho at the age of 8, to the surprising day in his senior year of high school when farsighted tycoon Harold Zellerbach (another great Penn alumnus!) unexpectedly offered him a scholarship to attend Penn's Wharton School in far-away Philadelphia, to his amazing and audacious acquisitions that turned the Huntsman Corporation into a global chemical powerhouse, Jon has lived by the dictum that a person's pledge, a handshake of commitment, the dependability of one's word, is absolutely sacrosanct.

Honor matters more than money. And honor is best measured not in what resources one obtains but in what one does with them. Here again, as one of our nation's foremost philanthropists, Jon is a beacon of light, hope and inspiration to others.

If you have read Jon's book "Winners Never Cheat" (and if you have not, by all means acquire it today!), you know the story of Jon as a promising young leader from Utah who won a coveted invitation to join the West Wing staff of first-term President Richard Nixon. His boss was H.R. Haldeman. Within months of his arrival, Haldeman instructed Jon to arrange to plant undercover employees in a facility run by one of the president's political opponents. Jon picked up the phone to make the call, but halfway in Jon realized he was about to do something neither honorable nor right. He hung up and told Haldeman no.

Six months later, he was no longer part of the Nixon White House.

As he puts it, each of us has a true moral compass that always points north. It's up to each of us to keep an eye on it. In subsequent years, when a long list of names of indicted and unindicted co-conspirators emerged from the Watergate Hearings, there was one name nowhere to be found on those lists: Jon M. Huntsman Sr.

Where you will see Jon's name is on the campus of the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute, that Jon, his beloved wife Karen, and family members have supported so generously and to such path-breaking advances in research and patient care. You will see the Huntsman name as well at Penn, in recognition of Jon's overwhelming generosity, on the landmark building for our Wharton School, and the world-renowned Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. (Truth be told, Jon argued against our putting his name on the building, but we insisted, knowing how inspirational his leadership is.)

You also will encounter the Huntsman name everywhere in the hearts of citizens of Utah and people from all walks of life across our great land who have found loving care and encouragement, solace and inspiration from Jon.

Like most dedicated teachers, I have found that one of the greatest joys in life is being perpetually open to learning from others. From Jon Huntsman, I have learned — beyond a shadow of a doubt — that it is our integrity, honesty, respect and caring for others that measure our success and that matter most.

For that and so much more, I say: Thank you, Jon, and happy birthday, dear friend!

Amy Gutmann is the president of the University of Pennsylvania.