Thank you, Will [Makris]. Greetings, alumni and friends.
Last year, I mentioned Jonny Kim in my remarks. This year, he is our featured speaker. Proof, some would argue, that the gravitational force of this University exceeds the gravitational force of the Earth itself.
We should probably let Jonny weigh in on that.
What draws us to this institution? What holds us to it year after year?
I have the immense good fortune of being claimed by both the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» College Class of 1976 and the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» College Class of 1977, which means that I am celebrating my 50th anniversary this year and the next. I really must credit my past self: A 25% reduction in tuition, fees, room and board, and forgone earnings yielded a 100% increase in classmates—the best return on investment I’ve ever seen. And they’re some of the most amazing people I’ve ever known—A+ people, if you will.
My double-feature reunion has made me think more than usual about my own beginnings here, about what it was that drew me in as a young man. I remember imagining Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» as I think many people still do: a stellar ideal—brilliant, remote, forbidding, unattainable. But that impression became more textured when I visited campus between my junior and senior years of high school. Walking through the Yard, I began to see the University for what it truly is: a collection of people whose talents, interests, and ambitions fuel difficult and serious work, work at the edges of what is known and understood, work that holds the promise of a better future.
That is as true today as it was in the summer of 1972. Although it’s been decades since I left Rock Island, Illinois, I still recognize a bumper crop when I see one. This year, we celebrated dozens of faculty newly elected to the National Academies and dozens of students who received the most competitive scholarships in the world, Marshalls and Rhodes among them. We celebrated Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellows, Breakthrough Prize Winners, a Berggruen Prize Laureate, and a John Bates Clark Medalist. Last month, our list of accolades lengthened by half a dozen Pulitzer Prizes awarded to faculty and alumni—in biography, drama, history, and journalism, from audio reporting to criticism to public service. This is an abridged version of a very long list.
Last week, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» awarded 10,413 degrees. I cannot begin to imagine all that our newest alumni will achieve, but I can tell you that the bar has been set spectacularly high. After delivering a rousing speech, our Latin salutatorian returned to the stage to add a stunning musical flourish to Audra McDonald’s honorary degree citation, playing keyboard as a pair of her classmates sang Wheels of a Dream. Kiesse concentrated in classics and economics. She’s proficient in Greek and Latin, of course, and her ancient Egyptian is pretty good too. She’ll be touring the world with the Din and Tonics this summer—she’s their music director, after all—before starting law school in the fall.
Have you ever gotten the feeling that you haven’t really done anything with your life?
Of course, she has the benefit of a more recent Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» education.
The excellence that exists among us—the good that it does in the world—makes me optimistic about the future, even when so many beliefs we had about the future have been shaken. Two years ago, when I first spoke at this gathering, I was confident that we would be able to address the legitimate concerns of our critics and to create an environment in which each person at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» could thrive. I was confident because my time as provost had afforded me a front row seat to our capabilities as a community. But, I thought it would take a long while before we would see—and, more importantly, feel—progress on our campus.
I don’t think I have ever been happier to be proven wrong. Harsh scrutiny created urgency and urgency drove change. People across the University embraced the work of nurturing and promoting open inquiry and constructive dialogue with renewed energy and purpose, eager to restore and cultivate an environment that would more consistently and effectively foster excellence in teaching, learning, and research. The Chatham House rule was adopted widely. Sincere and rigorous debate was fostered through the refinement and practice of essential communication skills. Curiosity, generosity, and humility were foregrounded. And efforts and projects to connect across differences—many of them created and led by students—flourished.
I attended an interfaith dinner in February that brought together hundreds of students—from different Schools, with different perspectives, faiths, and beliefs—who wanted to learn from one another, to know one another better, to reach greater levels of understanding, respect, and appreciation. What felt at first like a dining hall transformed into something more like an intimate seminar—with food. The best of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» was on full display. I appreciated anew the role that this institution can—and must—play in advancing the common good.
I expect that most of you feel the same way. If there is one message I have heard in my conversations and exchanges with alumni and friends this year, it is that our efforts to nurture a culture of understanding continue to be a special point of pride. When we were called to defend and protect Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³», we answered with resolve and action across the University—and far beyond it. The work continues, but I am heartened by the progress we’ve made thus far. Community draws us in and holds us close. Community drives our mission and makes it possible for each of us to do more good in the world than we could ever hope to do alone. Thank you—now and always—for being part of this great and venerable enterprise.
In ten years, we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of our founding. Between now and then, we will continue to navigate a landscape in flux, buffeted by political, social, and technological forces. This is no time for complacency. Fortunately, if our response to recent events is any indication, we will meet our moment with both confidence and determination, proud of our mission and bound to this place as surely as we humans are bound to this planet.
Present company excluded, of course!
Thank you.