2010 Stanford University Convocation
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[ Music ]
>> Rev. Scotty McLennan:
We all begin a new today; what a great day.
May the eternal spirit of all life be with us and within us
and renew each of us as we gather here.
For parents now begin to know their children as adults.
Former high school students and transfer students begin
to become scholars in this community of scholars.
Professors re-envision what they teach
and the research they pursue in dialogue with fresh fingers.
The California sun enlivens all of us, the colors are bright
and our dreams are too.
To begin anew is exhilarating and unnerving.
It's hopeful and tearful; it's full of promises
and it's overwhelming.
May each of us understand though
that a unique community is beginning right here and now
in this moment; the Stanford Class of 2014.
[ Applause ]
>> Rev. Scotty McLennan: Stanford will be changed
by this class as well as by the transfer students
who have arrived today.
May this be a beloved community that will help embrace
and support and uphold each of us.
May the process of education here ground us deeply,
grant us courage and free us from repeating the mistakes
of the past, personal and collective.
May we develop enough wisdom here that the things
that matter the most are not at the mercy of the things
that matter the least.
May we learn to be true to ourselves
so that we cannot be false to anyone.
We ask for the blessings of God in the language of some.
We ask for knowledge of the beauty of truth and of the truth
of beauty in the language of others;
and finally we ask this-- may the understanding which each
of us develops here in this great center
of learning play its part in transforming a needy world
into a global community of peace and justice.
Amen.
[ Applause ]
>> Rev. Scotty McLennan: And now I'm pleased
to introduce a person whom I imagine each
of you feel very good about.
The Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Richard Shaw.
[ Applause ]
>> Richard Shaw: President Hennessy, Deans, Faculty,
Administrators, Trustees and Members
of the Stanford Community,
today at our great university's 120th convocation we celebrate
the magnificent class of 2014.
Men and women of the incoming class we welcome you,
we salute you, and now I command you to engage
in a thunderous cheer.
[ Applause ]
>> Richard Shaw: Convocation is my favorite event at Stanford.
It brings together in this historic quadrangle an
extraordinary group of students.
All of you have worked hard to arrive at this place.
All of you have long anticipated this moment.
Each of you in your own unique way will bring something
exceptional to Stanford.
To those of us who read your applications, your potential
and promise are breathtaking.
Let me tell you more about who you are as a class;
1,675 of you incoming freshmen;
20 of you are transfer students joining the academic community
at Stanford.
Collectively you represent 1,908 secondary schools in 49 states
and 54 countries, oh my gosh, South Dakota.
More than 8% of you are international students;
48% of you are women and 52% men;
15% of you will be the first in your family to attend college
and close to 50% of you are receiving financial support
from Stanford for your undergraduate education.
You are artists and musicians, scientists and journalists,
actors and editors, researchers and writers;
athletes and former soldiers.
You are Intel finalists, Olympiad winners,
published authors and top debater among hundreds
of other talents and accomplishments.
You have been recognized at the highest level.
My staff and I spend approximately 11,000 hours
reviewing 33,275 applications to arrive
at this outstanding new student body here today.
Your teachers and counselors testify to your talent,
ability and motivation.
You told us in your own words of your passion and intention
to contribute in significant ways.
We see your academic motivation
and your personal experiences reflecting a world
of possibilities as your lives unfold at Stanford and beyond.
At this point, some of you may be asking yourselves is he
really talking about me?
Well some of you might be secretly wondering
if you were the one mistake
that the Admissions Office made this year.
Let me be emphatic.
We have not made any mistakes
in selecting this superlative class.
A good and wise friend sees more in you that you see in yourself.
This is what we do; this is our profession; this is our work
to identify in you the intellectual strength
and leadership potential to impact the world;
to see in you the promise of the future.
We have chosen you and we have not made a single mistake.
[ Applause ]
>> Richard Shaw: A convocation in the simplest
of terms is a coming together.
The convocation ceremony also marks the transition.
You are leaving the familiarity of home and high school
and embracing a new independence.
Soon you will say goodbye to family members
and in quiet moments you will realize the awesome
responsibility of deciding next steps for yourself.
While at Stanford, take on those next steps with an open heart,
an open mind; engage in discovery and know
that no truth is so absolute it cannot be challenged.
Compete on the playing field like a champion; seek out those
who may seem different from you.
This is your time of exploration;
it will afford you the greatest freedom of your life.
Before I conclude I want you to look around, breathe deeply
and savor this moment.
Appreciate the beauty of this quadrangle;
soak up the California sunshine and take in your new classmates.
They are your companions for the journey that awaits you.
Many will become your friends for life.
Students of the class of 2014 I now officially deliver you
to Stanford's three undergraduate schools
and introduce you to the Freeman Thornton vice Provost
for undergraduate education and Professor
in the Humanities, Harry J. Elam, Jr.
[ Applause ]
>> Harry J. Elam, Jr.: Thank you Dean Shaw for your remarks
and for bringing to Stanford this amazing new class.
As Vice Provost for undergraduate education
and on behalf of all of the Stanford faculty, I accept
and welcome you the transfer students and freshman class
of 2014 to Stanford University.
[ Applause ]
>> Harry J. Elam, Jr.: Marked by this ceremony of convocation
and by your matriculation at Stanford, I also call on you
to recognize your new membership in an old
and enduring fellowship, the fellowship of the mind.
This fellowship is once sustained by belief
and the inestimable value of learning;
by the infinite power of knowledge.
It is a fellowship nurtured not simply
by the countless hours spent note taking in the classroom,
toiling in the lab, practicing in the music studio,
rehearsing in the theater, or studying in the dorm;
rather the fellowship of which I speak is created
by the intellectual excitement, spontaneous community,
the pleasurable exhaustion that comes with the realization
that you are actually helping to create knowledge.
Even as you may work independently, you will be part
of a larger community devoted to contemplation as well
as to action, knowing that you joined a collection
of fellow travelers knee-deep in deep thinking.
You are not alone.
You are one with us.
From day one on this campus as freshmen and transfer students,
you are a full member of this fellowship.
The Stanford faculty recognizes that every entering student,
each and every single one of you, are capable of great things
and we are here to help you realize this greatness.
And consequently your education here will never just be a
process of simply receiving knowledge from your professors;
but of engaging in a continually evolving partnership
with them and with your peers.
It will be a partnership that encourages questioning, probing,
investigation; one that thrives on the process of give and take
which is so critical to the production of knowledge.
Here at Stanford you will be presented
with marvelous opportunities;
you will face significant intellectual challenges;
some I might add of your own exhilarating design.
You will be able to explore academically a new
and potentially groundbreaking ways.
These are some of the elements that constitute the fellowship
of the mind here at Stanford, and they represent part
of our covenant with you.
For as Dean Shaw said from the myriad of application
that came Stanford's way, we selected you.
Ah, but you selected us as well.
You had other options, other suitors at your doors
but you chose Stanford.
We know this and you have our pledge to partner with you
in your process of becoming.
For you also help us to grow and change.
But what of your end to this pact, what do we expect of you?
Our expectation is at once simple and complex.
We ask that you avoid the cliche.
When someone seeks to define or delimit,
what constitutes a Stanford student steps outside
of those limitations.
What this means in engaging in Stanford from today forward
with openness, with creativity, with inventiveness of spirit.
We ask that you remain open to new possibilities;
accept the unexpected accidents of discovery that may result
from an unexpected experiment gone awry.
Of course we want you to work to your fullest;
to give your whole self over to the academic enterprise,
but we know that this may mean taking
on decidedly new approaches to subject matter.
It may require knowledge and accepting difference
and it also may require the inevitability of change.
I remember well my mother and father taking me off
to my first days of college so many years ago.
My parents hated my dorm room; too small
and old, my mother thought.
Your dorms here at Stanford are so much better, believe me.
My mom, with tears in her eyes, pulled me aside and asked me
to do one thing for her; simply to savor my college days,
to devour them like I used to do to her prime roast beef.
While she did not like my room she loved
that I was entering new physical and intellectual spaces;
even as she admitted she missed my presence at home,
she celebrated my opportunity to learn and grow on my own.
I think she understood as your parents sitting beside you do
now that this is your moment so embrace it; enjoy it; relish it;
make it your own and do not be afraid
to let it remake you as well.
In this 1903 classic, The Souls of Black Folk,
the great intellectual W. E. B. Du Bois writes,
"The true college will ever have one goal - not to earn meat,
but to know the end and aim of that life which meat nourishes."
Du Bois' comments at the turn
of the last century still have resonance
in this new millennium.
For him college education is not just about the pursuit
of vocation, it is not just a means to material end,
it is not just about the meat, that is not just
about getting by; rather Du Bois asked
of college education higher goals and aspirations;
specifically that you know the end and aim
of that life which meat nourishes.
Such deep knowing is not and cannot ever be easy,
but it is this understanding
that makes one a full participant in the light
of a nation and of the world.
This is the mission that now awaits you here at Stanford
as you enter into our fellowship, our covenant
with you and as you begin your search
for the end and aim of life.
And we are so very glad that you are here and we look forward
to guiding, counseling, supporting you on this journey,
a journey which yokes us profoundly together
from this day onward.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Henry J. Elam, Jr.: And now it's my pleasure
to introduce the student speaker,
Senior Zev Karlin-Neumann.
[ Applause ]
>> Zev Karlin-Neumann: Thank you Vice Provost Elam
for those wonderfully warm and welcoming words that I will
in some ways will echo.
Members of the Board of Trustees, distinguished faculty,
families, freshmen, transfers, good afternoon.
It's a pleasure to share this exciting day with you all
and I thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.
As I was thinking about what I wanted to say here,
I came across a quote in a student's letter to a friend
that nicely encapsulated my thoughts.
"I've become very fond of Stanford," the student wrote;
"Everyone is very friendly, the gals are quite attractive
and it's a very good life."
I could have written these words myself freshman year
but they were in fact penned in 1940 by a young John F. Kennedy.
I can still recall the flash of excitement I felt
when I discovered that little known fact
that JFK walked these sandstone and tile corridors
for a few brief months while auditing business
school classes.
I had recently returned from a quarter studying
and interning the Bing Stanford & Washington Program
and I hungered for a link to that world
of politics and public service.
I identified with JFK's youthful uncertainty.
If he could transform himself from an aimless student
into a visionary leader, could Stanford similarly reveal
and focus my potential?
I threw myself into research intending
to write an honest thesis about Stanford's influence on JFK.
So you can imagine the disappointment when I opened
up the papers of a Stanford professor
who supposedly knew JFK here and discovered
that he could not recall meeting him.
With only a few old newspaper articles and interviews
to go on, I had hit a dead end.
I couldn't prove that one of our most dynamic
and inspirational Presidents was indelibly shaped
by the innovation, optimism and egalitarianism
of Stanford University.
I did learn, however, that I have been.
These years have passed in a whirlwind of extracurriculars,
social events and academic excitement.
This is the only place where Bill Gates and Afro Man can be
on campus simultaneously
or where you'll see more former Latin American Presidents
than rainy days.
Long runs to the dish and nerf wars
and Green library gradually gave way to study
in the Bender reading room with late night conversations
on politics, religion and philosophy thrown
in over a midnight snack.
I have road tripped to Nevada for political campaigns
in the fall, cheered on Cardinal basketball in the winter,
and fountain hopped in the spring.
Throughout it all, my incredible professors have encouraged me
to think deeply within and across disciplines;
to question the world around me, to learn for learning's sake.
Every one of these instances has affected
in some way the person I am still becoming,
the person I sought to find
through my exploration of JFK's time here.
Stanford has provided to paraphrase the artist
and architect Maya Lin, space in which to think
but not what to think.
That space is one of engagement and excitement, challenge
and triumph, friendship and discovery.
In that same box of papers for instance,
I discovered a promising new thesis idea,
linking JFK in the Senate where I interned.
This idea would ultimately enable me work
with Pulitzer prize-winning historian David Kennedy,
no relation to JFK.
It would put me in touch with the personal hero,
JFK's speechwriter Ted Sorenson.
It would let me read and write
and re-write experiencing new cities
and romantic dusty archives along the way.
In fact, I've only just returned from a thesis research trip
to Boston and D.C. last week and leave
for another one tomorrow morning.
So I didn't find the President but I found
and developed my passions; I found thoughtful, creative,
brilliant people to share this journey with.
I discovered that I didn't need
to prove how meaningful Stanford was
to one particular person I admired,
because I realized how much my years here have meant to me just
as you all will discover what they will mean to you.
Exactly 50 years ago JFK returned
to deliver the 1960 convocation address at this very ceremony.
Though perhaps little impacted by Stanford,
by then he was a war hero, an experienced Congressman
and Senator recently declared for the Presidency.
That is likely not my path but it may be yours;
or maybe you will bring needed integrity to the business world,
develop a revolutionary alternative energy source,
create an NGO.
Maybe you'll enter the world of professional sports or academia,
netting a free throw or a Nobel Prize.
You may even become the next generation of scholars
and teachers who shape our paths here; because whether
or not I can prove that Stanford convinced JFK I do know
that Stanford will have a profound
and transformative impact on all of our lives.
So open those dusty boxes in the archives, risk disappointment
and failure, question your preconceived notions.
Lean on friends and family, develop your passion,
engage in your surroundings,
find and make meaning in your time here.
Above all, love to learn and learn to love.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class
of 2014, welcome to Stanford.
[ Applause ]
>> Zev Karlin-Neumann: Everyone is very friendly,
the gals are quite attractive and it's a very good life.
[ Applause ]
>> Zev Karlin-Neumann: Thank you.
It is now my honor to introduce the President
of Stanford University John Hennessy.
[ Applause ]
>> John Hennessy: Thank you Zev for that wonderful message
and for the insights about JFK's education.
Harvard was claiming him but now we are.
So... Parents, transfer students and members of the class
of 2014 good afternoon.
Welcome to the 120th convocation exercises welcome to Stanford.
Each fall as I prepare for convocation and the arrival
of a new class of Stanford students,
I contemplate the message I want to deliver and look
for inspiration often among my recent reading.
This past spring I saw the movie Invictus,
which if you haven't seen it, it is absolutely worthwhile.
It tells the story of Nelson Mandela's early days
as the first democratically elected South African President,
and his support for the South African Rugby team
which overcame incredible odds to win the World Cup in 1995
and unite the country.
The movie inspired me to read Nelson Mandela's autobiography,
Long Walk to Freedom.
In his book Mandela writes about realizing the importance
of education in liberating his people,
and the tremendous negative impact they suffered
from not having equal access to education.
He writes, "Education is the great engine of development.
It is through education that the daughter
of a peasant can become a doctor; that the son
of a mine worker can become head of a mine; and that the child
of farm workers can become the president of great nation."
You, our newest students, will have access of the resources
of a great university and to its teachers
and distinguished scholars.
It is an opportunity and a responsibility.
I urge you to use this opportunity to the maximum.
As our Vice Provost, Harry Elam said,
"It is a unique opportunity granted only to a few."
My first piece of advice is to get to know the faculty.
Our faculty have a passion for learning and a desire
to share their knowledge with others.
Alumni have told us that getting
to know a faculty member personally was one
of the most rewarding aspects of their Stanford experience;
and this university has invested heavily over the past 15 years
to create many more such opportunities.
A hallmark of our innovations
in undergraduate education has been the Freshman
Seminar Program.
Each of our seminars is lead by a Stanford faculty member
and enrolls no more than 16 students.
This year there will be freshman seminars
on an incredibly wide range of topics from biotechnology
to the welfare system;
from Mozart's operas to horse medicine.
These classes are a unique and wonderful opportunity to get
to know a faculty member and a new subject.
But get to know the faculty outside
of the classroom as well.
Use the opportunity to discover why they are passionate
about their scholarly pursuits.
While I love giving an exciting lecture to a packed classroom,
my greatest enjoyment comes when a student comes
to visit my office to talk about research, to ask career advice
or to seek help on a difficult topic.
And these relationships often continue long after graduation.
Just this weekend I received an e-mail
from a former undergraduate advisee of mine
who will be returning this fall for her fifth reunion.
She simply asked, "Could we get together to talk about my career
and the possibility of me returning to school for my PhD?"
I said, "Absolutely."
Over the next few years you'll also get
to know many fellow students;
students with different backgrounds,
cultures and beliefs.
You may find that your own values
and your beliefs are challenged.
I hope that you will discover a new understanding
and appreciation of our pluralistic society,
and develop your skills in interacting
with people quite different from you.
As Mandela is advising some of his fellow activists in prison,
he comes to know a number
of white jail keepers reasonably well.
And the jail keepers become sympathetic to the cause
and see the injustice perpetrated
by both the apartheid and the imprisonment of the activists.
Mandela writes, "This is precisely why the National Party
was violently opposed to all forms of integration.
Only a white electorate indoctrinated with the idea
of a black threat, ignorant of African ideas
and policies could support the monstrous, racist philosophy
of the Nationalist Party."
"Familiarity in this case", he says, "would not be contempt
but understanding and even eventually harmony."
Throughout his autobiography Mandela remains committed
to the service of his community and through
that service he comes to many new insights.
I encourage you to consider the opportunity to learn
through service as one vehicle for broadening your experience.
Stanford's Hass Center is one of the oldest centers
for public service in any university.
It offers hundreds of opportunities for you to learn
and contribute to the local community
as well as internationally.
These days we often talk about the need
to often prepare students to be members of a global community
and to ready themselves to live in a world
that is increasingly interconnected.
When Mandela was a boy and attending school,
he was taught the superiority of British ideas, British culture
and British institutions.
His perspective both on the world
and his own culture suffered.
Now 80 years later the Internet has vastly increased global
interaction as well as our knowledge
of societies around the world.
Isolation is not possible for any nation physically,
economically, environmentally or intellectually.
Stanford has been a leader in overseas studies for more
than 40 years, and incorporating an overseas studies experience
in your education will help prepare you
to be a better global citizen.
Mandela was ambitious for change in South Africa
and he saw his long walk to freedom as a life-long effort
for which he focused on preparing himself;
not only as a young man but also during his 26th years
of imprisonment.
The four years that most of you will stay here will go quickly
and I urge you to make the most of this time.
You have chosen to attend a university
that is not only a great educational institution,
but also a great research institution.
At Stanford you can take courses and attend seminars
that explore the frontiers of fields where new knowledge
and understanding are being created
and you can contribute to that process.
For me, participating in undergraduate research led me
from my undergraduate major in electrical engineering
to my graduate work in computer science;
and it ignited a passion for being
on the leading edge of discovery.
Being at the forefront of discovery and taking part
in the creation of new knowledge is an immensely rewarding
and life-altering experience.
Of course, real growth involves not only risking failure
but also overcoming adversity.
In launching his freedom campaign Mandela was aware
of the incredible risks he faced;
and when he was arrested he was challenged to find ways
to remain committed
to the freedom struggle during his many years in prison.
You will certainly face intellectual challenges during
your time here at Stanford; but I encourage you to experiment
and take intellectual risks.
Challenge yourself with courses and disciplines that are new
to you; and should you occasionally not succeed do not
become disillusioned.
The only people I know who succeed
at everything they undertake are those who have been timid
at setting their goals.
A cornerstone of Mandela's efforts to bring
about a democratic South Africa was to develop a set
of ideals inspired largely by our Declaration of Independence.
The Freedom Charter which he helped draft opens
with the following words: "We, the people of South Africa,
declare for all our country and the world to know
that South Africa belongs to all who live in it--
black and white; and that no government can justly claim
authority unless it is based on the will of the people."
Today, you join a university community created and bound
by a commitment to similarly lofty ideals,
a community of scholars dedicated to the pursuit
of truth, knowledge and understanding.
It is a community rooted in principles established
by the university's founders and early leaders by Jane
and Leland Stanford; who after the tragic death of their son
at the age of 15 founded this university
to benefit other people's children; and as it says
in the founding grant to exercise and influence on behalf
of humanity and civilization.
By Stanford's first President, David Starr Jordan,
who chose the university's motto,
"the wind of freedom blows" to remind us of the importance
and privilege of free and open inquiry.
And by Stanford's first faculty and students
who in 1896 created the fundamental standard
which emphasizes personal integrity and respect for each
and every member of the scholarly community.
This standard is still in effect more than 100 years later.
As you begin your time in Stanford
and plan your years here, I urge you to remember
that your undergraduate education is much more
than a ticket to your first job.
Mandela's law studies prepared him for a life of work
with his fellow activists, helping to educate them
and prepare them for their many struggles.
His education also prepared him to be an effective advocate
for change when he was eventually released from prison.
Likewise, your undergraduate education is an opportunity--
an opportunity to develop the skills and passion
for being a lifelong learner in areas related to and outside
of your future career.
It is a foundation not just for your first job
but for your entire life.
To the parents in the audience I assure you
that Stanford will provide your children a variety
of possibilities for growing
and learning during the next few years; but it is your children
as individuals who will chose what excites them,
what generates intellectual passion
and what engages their very able minds.
I hope that you will support their choices.
In the movie Invictus, Mandela aims to motivate the captain
of the Springboks with the poem Invictus
which helped inspire Mandela himself during his
long imprisonment.
The final stanza of that poem is,
"It matters not how straight the gate,
how charged with punishments the scroll; I am the Master
of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."
So it is with your time here
at Stanford you will have many opportunities
but you are the master of your fate during the next four years.
And you will also be responsible for how you use your education
after you leave Stanford; but we'll return to that topic
at your graduation on June 15, 2014.
I welcome all our new students and their parents
to the Stanford family, a family that consists not only
of the 25,000 students, staff and faculty on this campus,
but also of more than 100,000 alumni around the world.
Students, I hope your time here transforms your lives just
as it has transformed the lives of so many alumni.
And finally, I hope that your time here will help
to provide a foundation on which you will make your contributions
to a better future for yourselves
and the generations that will follow.
Welcome to the forum, welcome to the Stanford community,
and thank you for joining us this afternoon.
[ Applause ]
>> John Hennessy: I now with the help of two wonderful students,
Susan Lape and Julian Kusnadi, I'm going to introduce you
to a famous and important Stanford tradition,
singing the Stanford hymn.
Susan and Julian, won't you come up and help us.
>> Please rise as we sing the Alma Mater "Hail Stanford Hail".
>> We're going to sing it twice--
first on our own and then we'll ask you to join us.
You can find the lyrics in your program.
[ Music ]
[ Applause ]
>> Now please join us as we sing it again.
[ Music ]
[ Applause ]
>> Please remain standing for the benediction.
>> Surrounded by arches of stone and the embrace of community;
inspired by creativity and conversation;
accompanied by seekers of wisdom,
knowledge and understanding.
May this new class in Stanford's rich and robust history,
together with those who love and celebrate them,
go forth to an adventure of learning and listening;
go forth to an exploration of community and consequence;
go forth to a cornucopia of gifts
and gratitude, source of wisdom.
You who have blessed us with intellectual curiosity
and unbridled opportunity; grant us as well discerning minds
and open hearts that we may use our knowledge
for righteous purpose and our promise
for creating a world worthy of your trust.
May our study be sweet and our learning be lively.
Amen.
[ Music ]
