printable versionEmbrace your opportunities, Hennessy tells Class of 2009 in welcome remarks
BY RAY DELGADO
At the university’s 115th Opening Convocation on Tuesday afternoon, President John Hennessy officially welcomed 1,635 freshmen and 50 transfer students to Stanford, and extended a warm welcome to the 27 undergraduates from four universities in New Orleans who will temporarily study at the university.
New students, their parents and members of the Stanford community took refuge from an unusual late summer shower as Convocation relocated to Memorial Church.
In a ceremony that frequently touched on the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, it was oddly fitting that an unseasonal September storm prompted the university’s 115th Opening Convocation ceremony to be hastily moved indoors Tuesday afternoon.
Although brilliantly sunny skies greeted freshmen and transfer students and their parents who arrived at the Farm on Tuesday morning, a thunderstorm moved across the university in the afternoon, prompting officials to move the ceremony to Memorial Church instead of the Main Quad. An overflow crowd of students and parents filed into the church and were treated to a moving and inspirational ceremony that went off without a hitch.
President John Hennessy officially welcomed the 1,635 freshmen and 50 transfer students to Stanford, and extended a warm welcome to the 28 undergraduates from four universities in New Orleans who will temporarily study at the university. “We are blessed that Stanford can make a small contribution to alleviate the tragedy experienced by the residents of the Gulf Coast,” he said.
Hennessy highlighted the lessons he absorbed from his summer reading of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, which extolled the Athenian virtues of equality, meritocracy, opportunity and respect for fellow citizens.
“Today, you join a university community created and bound by a commitment to similar lofty ideals: a community of scholars dedicated to the pursuit of truth, knowledge, and understanding,” Hennessy said.
Other speakers included John Bravman, vice provost for undergraduate education, and Anna Marie Porras, who served as director of admission, overseeing the admission process for the Class of 2009 while the university conducted a search for a new dean of admission and financial aid following the departure of Robin Mamlet. Porras will begin a new position in the Office of Development next month, while the new dean of admission and financial aid, Rick Shaw, began his job earlier this month.
The incoming class is one of the most diverse ever admitted, Porras said, representing 1,062 high schools, six of seven continents, 55 countries and 49 states (“If any of you have friends or relatives in the great state of West Virginia, I hope you will call or e-mail them often and tell them what a great place Stanford is,” she quipped.)
“Your applications showed us that you are more than ready for whatever challenges, opportunities and experiences await you at Stanford,” Porras said. “And your applications were terrific. Each and every one of you rose to the top of the largest applicant pool in the university’s history and survived the most competitive admission process we have ever had.”
The Rev. Joanne Sanders’ benediction reminded students of their greater obligations outside the university, especially at this time of national struggle. “We are praying and hoping that in these years to come our minds will be stretched, our spirits set free, and we will gain not only truth and knowledge, but also understanding and compassion,” she said. “While so many today exhaust their strength in the basic struggle for physical survival, we would not be unmindful of the obligations which attend our good fortune.”
Hennessy urged students to make the most of their time at the university by getting to know faculty, exploring the freshman and sophomore seminar programs, seeking out relationships and friendships with students of different backgrounds and cultures, incorporating an overseas studies experience or public service experience into their education, and embracing various research opportunities the university offers.
“Experiment and take intellectual risks,” Hennessy said. “Challenge yourself with courses in disciplines that are new to you. And should you occasionally not succeed, do not become disillusioned. The only people I know who have succeeded at everything they have undertaken are those who have been timid in setting their goals.”
Hennessy assured parents that the university would provide an ample number of possibilities for learning for their children, and he urged them to support their children’s choices. Most importantly, he said, it is up to the students to make the most of their opportunity at Stanford.
“During the next four years, we will do our best to create opportunities for our students to learn and discover, but it will be each individual’s task to embrace opportunities and to pursue them with determination and energy,” Hennessy said. “Students, I hope your time here transforms your lives, just as it has transformed the lives of so many alumni. And, finally, I hope your time here will help to provide a foundation on which you will make your contributions to a better world.”
