Sep

1

The Tradition of Greatness

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“The Tradition of Greatness”
Friday, September 1, 2006

UC Merced New Student Convocation

My fellow Bobcats…

I am humbled to address you, at this time and from this place, about the most important of matters and that matter is our future and the future of our university.

As I look throughout this auditorium, I see the face of California; I see the face of the world. You cannot find a more stunning mosaic of people anywhere in the world for it is only at our university where all the people and cultures of the world are represented in some way, shape or form.

I believe the diversity of our university is the foundation of our tradition of greatness.

Consider how in the long history of the world, issues of economics, race, politics, religion and the like have divided civilization, fragmented societies and segmented communities that are incredibly diverse.

Such division, fragmentation and segmentation occurred because the means of communication were inadequate to exchange the amount of information necessary to generate a mutual understanding between seemingly disparate factions.

It would take an immense amount of effort to communicate, so much so, that some were unwilling to exert such effort.

The unwillingness of some to cross vast oceans, climb prodigious mountains, navigate winding rivers, trek unending plains may have resulted in the demise of their beliefs, their way of life and even they themselves.

However, it was the willingness of others that would prevent the collapse of civilization, the degradation of societies and the destruction of communities.

Those others were the pioneers.

When people said to them it was impossible, they believed it was possible. When people said to them that it would never happen, they resolve that it would happen. When people asked them why, they replied why not?

It was the pioneers who were willing to confront both internal and external obstacles with a new tenacity. This new tenacity only arises in certain places and at certain times.

With the past behind us and the future ahead of us, the University of California, Merced is that certain place and this is that certain time were a new tenacity has been born.

To paraphrase the great pioneer of new John F Kennedy: “Ask not what the future can do for you; ask what you can do for the future.”

We, the students of the University of California, Merced, represent a generation unlike any other. Our generation grew up in a world of relative calm, general prosperity, the coming of age of the Internet and the proliferation of a new global understanding. No other generation grew up in similar circumstances and therefore no other generation has the same responsibility to the future that we do.

We are the new generation of the willing; we are the new generation of pioneers.

Nearly four decades have gone by since the last University of California campus was built. For four decades, the opportunity for students to till the soil, sow the seeds and reap the bounty of a new university did not exist until now and now the University of California shall exist here in California’s San Joaquin Valley for all time.

Some people said it would be impossible to build another public research university in California; some people said that the San Joaquin Valley would never be home to a University of California campus, and some people even asked why does the Valley need a public research university?

The need for a university within this Valley was overwhelming for this bucolic region is plagued by some of the highest unemployment rates, lowest political participation rates, lowest college going rates, poorest air quality and worst access to healthcare in the state. The preceding issues are just some of the issues that this university and we, the students of the University of California, Merced, will confront.

We confront such issues because we understand that we live in a different world than those of our forebears. We live in a world where with greater communication comes greater miscommunication; where with more educated people comes more people to be educated; where with more economic growth comes more economic disparity; where with more social understanding comes more social conflict; where with more political participation comes more political cynicism; and ultimately where with ever more knowledge comes ever more uncertainty.

To some, this is not the world we live in. For some are unwilling to see the positive and the negative, the good and the bad, the rich and the poor, the happy and the sad, and the right and the wrong.

Like you, I am not unwilling for I am a pioneer.

To paraphrase the great pioneer of old Abraham Lincoln: “Let us have faith that light makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.” We dare to do our duty for the opportunity to dare has been given to us.

In this auditorium and throughout this university, I see a collection of catalysts that understand their duty.

Our duty is to learn, research and serve the public; to let their be light in every crevasse and every corner; to, with unrelenting energy and unwavering commitment, make a difference at the university, in this valley, and throughout the world.

Our duty is to learn all there is to learn; to know all there is to know with the hope that we will have a better picture and understanding of the world.

Our duty is to research all there is to research; to discover things that have never been discovered. To discover the cures for cancers and diseases that will save countless of lives and hours of heartache, to design the technology that will allow us to maximize our world’s finite resources, and to delineate new norms and new laws to make our society more equal and fair.

Our duty is to serve the public, day in and day out. For while each of us may select a particular major or career, the one striking similarity is that each of us select it for the same reason: to make a positive impact on our local to global community.

Our final duty is to dissolve the walls that exist between two opposed, yet conjoined, ends. For while the ends may appear different, the means are the same and from this it follows that multiple ends are actually one end and that end is to ensure a better, brighter future.

It was people’s belief in our future and the future of the university that permits us to gather here today.

It was people’s belief in the future in affording the future an opportunity for obtaining a UC education in the San Joaquin Valley.

And though we come different parts of the state, from places all over the globe, and now we have the opportunity to afford the next generation the same opportunity.

I ask for you to look into your hand; what do you see? I see that we each have the key to unlock the vault of opportunity.

In your hands, more than mine, shall the tradition of greatness be ingrained into the culture of this university within a valley; it shall be you who unlock the vault of opportunity.

But to achieve greatness we must ask ourselves the three following questions: First, what can I do for the university? Second, what can and will this university be? And finally, how will I make this university what it can be so that it will be? It is these three basic questions that require us to think critically, to consider the future and to take action.

As you exit this auditorium and return to your work or dwelling, remember that you have something that no other person has.

You have the opportunity to serve as role models, to be the change agents in the community, and, ultimately, to become the so-called philosopher kings and queens who, enlightened by the light of knowledge, guided by the logic of reason and driven by the passion of life, will lead organizations, businesses, governments and societies into a new era of our civilization with a new global understanding.

And it is here and now, from this time and place that we recommit to our pioneer roots, draw the energy and life from the earth, and embark on our journey to ascend to great heights and fundamentally change the world.

By drawing from our well of diversity, we shall strengthen our resolve to continue our tradition of greatness.

And realize that you are not alone in this endeavor; you are in the company of your fellow man and woman who desire, at the most basic level, to make a difference.

For, in the final analysis, it is this university within a valley that will truly light this region; it is this university, as a symbol of a community from generation old to generation new, that will forever shine its light on the world and we, all of us, are the light and now we must shine upon this valley like the light has never done before.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you, at this time and from this place.