New Student Convocation
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Liacouras Center
To our new students and parents: Good afternoon, and welcome to Temple University. To the faculty and staff at Temple, welcome back at the beginning of a year full of promise.
Today we celebrate the arrival of an extraordinary group of young men and women. You are among the 4,000 freshmen and 2,650 transfer students who are beginning their Temple educations this fall.
You are a wonderfully diverse group. About 55 percent of you are women and 45 percent of you are men. You range in age from 16 to 69. You represent 39 states — and 101 nations, from Azerbaijan to Venezuela. And about one out of three of you identify yourselves as a person of color. Is it any wonder that The Princeton Review’s annual Best Colleges guide now ranks Temple’s student body among the most socially and ethnically diverse in the nation?
The last few days have been exciting, full of new experiences. You have said good bye to friends and loved ones. That, by the way, is a feeling my husband Randy and I understand all too well; we have sent four daughters off to college and are now saving for six grandchildren who will one day follow in your footsteps.
Many of you are leaving home to live on your own for the first time. You are exploring a new home town — the fabulous city of Philadelphia. Earlier today, you had your first meeting with the dean of your school or college. And for those of you who have joined discussions of this year’s Summer Reading Project or attended one the lectures in our “Experience the Classroom” program, you have already had your first academic experience as a Temple student.
These new experiences are exhilarating. I know — because I am new to Temple too.
I like to think that we are classmates: We will learn together, and we will learn from each other.
But you and I are not alone in being new at Temple. The University is enjoying a period of remarkable growth, bringing new people, new facilities, and new energy to all of Temple’s campuses, from North Broad Street to Tokyo.
This fall, for the third year in a row, Temple will welcome dozens of new professors to our faculty. At a time when most Universities are losing faculty members, Temple is in the midst of a hiring effort that will bring 300 new teachers from the world’s leading universities to your classrooms, your labs, and your studios.
This year alone brings remarkable talent to Temple's faculty. … just a few examples:
Pepón Osorio, the Puerto Rican artist famous for his large-scale installations, is the newest member of the Tyler School of Art’s department of art and art education;
Carol Gould, a leader in the fields of social philosophy and global ethics, joins our philosophy department in the College of Liberal Arts;
Youngjin Yoo, a pioneer who has introduced concepts from architecture and design into the field of information systems, is the newest member of the Fox School of Business and Management’s department of management information systems;
Stephen LePore, a prominent researcher whose work focuses on how people adjust to trauma and chronic stress, joins the department of public health in the College of Health Professions;
And Lindsay Bremner, an expert in urban development who comes to Temple from South Africa, is Tyler’s new chair of architecture;
These great new colleagues are just a few examples of the tremendous talent and expertise of the Temple faculty. We also are blessed with wonderful new facilities. A 500 million dollar construction and renovation campaign is dramatically improving educational and campus life opportunities for you and generations of students to come.
Last year, a new cinema, a nightclub, and a game room opened in the renovated Student Center. Earlier this year, Temple opened a new 24-hour TECH Center that includes more than 700 workstations, all the software you need for any Temple class, and the most essential feature of college life — a coffee shop.
New retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and private student housing complexes are opening in the neighborhoods surrounding Main Campus, helping to create a safe and vibrant campus and community.
Also new to Temple this year are coaches for our football and men’s basketball teams — two men who are proven winners in the worlds of athletic and academic achievement.
You can already sense the growing excitement about the football team under new head coach Al Golden, and I hope you will join me at the home opener at Lincoln Financial Field at noon on Saturday, September 9.
On the basketball court, replacing a legend like Hall of Fame coach John Chaney will be difficult, but if anyone can push Temple men’s basketball to new heights, it is new head coach Fran Dunphy, who led the University of Pennsylvania to a school-record 310 wins and 10 NCAA tournament appearances.
And speaking of legends, while women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley is not new to Temple, she is quickly becoming a sports legend. A three-time Olympic gold medal winner, Coach Staley has elevated Temple women’s basketball to national prominence.
In addition to the excitement of college varsity sports, I want to urge you to join me in exploring something much, much older at Temple. Something that was woven into the fabric of Temple from the moment of its founding. Something that is as alive and vibrant today as it was 122 years ago. Something that will help all of us grow as scholars and as people.
I am talking about community.
This is a bustling place. The sidewalks, the dining halls, the workout rooms in the Independence Blue Cross Student Recreation Center, the libraries, the TECH Center and the lounges in the Student Center are full of the energy generated by people in motion. This constant state of activity is one of the features that define Temple.
Not too long ago, Andrew Cassell, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s business columnist, visited Temple and pondered the vitality of our campus, asking: “Is it just me, or does Temple have some extra electricity running through it these days?”
He was right, of course: Temple does have an extra jolt of energy these days. That energy comes from Temple’s people. People like you.
But great numbers of people, no matter how fast they are in motion, do not make a community. The creation of a community, whether large or small, requires a commitment to join… to participate… to share.
That commitment to join learning communities has been a characteristic of Temple students since the University was founded in 1884. One evening that year, a young man approached Temple’s founder, Philadelphia pastor Russell Conwell, to ask if Conwell would be willing to educate him to prepare for the ministry. Conwell agreed, telling the young man that he would teach him once a week. On the evening that had been set for the first lesson, seven young men appeared. Soon a room was not enough, and Conwell had to rent a building. Then another.
And so it began.
The story of Temple’s creation usually emphasizes the role of Conwell as teacher. But what strikes me is the boldness of those first seven Temple students. When an opportunity was presented, they took the initiative and created a community.
So as you begin your time here, I ask you to follow the lead of those first Temple students. I ask you to become an active member of this community.
Become a mentor in a nearby public school.
Become a peer health educator.
Spend winter break working on community projects in Mexico.
Apply for a position on Temple’s student-run newspaper, The Temple News.
Join one of Temple’s 18 sports clubs. Three new clubs make their debut this year: field hockey, jujitsu, and women’s lacrosse.
Or help future freshmen and transfers by becoming a member of the Owl Ambassadors, guiding new students through their first days at Temple.
The opportunities are unlimited, and so are the rewards, from making career connections to meeting people who will be your friends for life. But just like Temple’s first students, you must take the initiative and create the community of today.
As Temple’s new president, I am honored to welcome the newest members of our community. Welcome to your University. Welcome to Temple.
[NEW STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT THE ALMA MATER]
That was wonderful, if not always in tune!
You know, a young person once asked Muhammad Ali what he should do with his life – continue his education or go out into the world to seek his fortune. “Go to college, get the knowledge,” advised Ali. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can make something out of you!”
You, in turn, will shape the world we all inhabit in the years to come.
In closing, I need to make a few quick announcements.
First, when the recessional begins, please stand and remain in place until the president’s party has completed the recessional.
Second, after your dinner, be sure to join us on Liacouras Walk for the longest banana split you will ever see and eat!
And third, I want you to remember the words of educator Robert Hutchins, who said: “A college teaches; a university both teaches and learns.”
Let us go teach and learn, together!
Thank you.
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