Pittsburg ? Former Gov. Bill Graves, back in his home state to accept two honors from Pittsburg State University, lectured Friday on the importance of lifelong learning.

“It is the tragedy of the world that no one knows what they don’t know, and the less a person knows, the more certain they are that they know everything,” Graves said, paraphrasing the late British novelist Joyce Cary. “If you don’t remember another word of anything I said today, keep that thought in mind.”

As governor, Graves added, he found that the number of things he needed to know outran his ability to learn them.

“I’m sure that’s true for all of you and will be for all of our lives,” he told the audience at the university’s second annual Brandenburg Lecture.

The lecture series is named for William A. Brandenburg, who was president of Pittsburg State from 1913 until his death in 1940. Graves also received a Brandenburg Medallion.

In a separate event Friday, university officials formally named a wing of the Kansas Technology Center as the Gov. Bill Graves Technology Building. The honor was bestowed in recognition of Graves’ role in securing funding for the center.

Since leaving office in January 2002 after eight years as governor, Graves has served as president of the American Trucking Assn. in Washington, D.C.

Graves, a Republican, touched on national politics in his lecture.

“In this presidential election I have concluded a couple of things: that John Kerry served his country in Vietnam and that George Bush was in the National Guard,” he said. “Sorting through facts from 35 years ago and going beyond these two statements, in my mind, appears to very difficult to do, and I just wish we would move on.”