51����

(Note: Prepared remarks by Vice President and Dean of the College at the opening ceremony on January 19, 2015.)

Good afternoon and welcome to this important week, commemorating Dr. Martin Luther king Jr.’s life and his teachings.

In January, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  And it was a milestone for us because we were not sure – especially in the early years of our marriage – if our relationship would endure the tests that we put to it.

When we got married, a former teacher, Mrs. Souders, gave us a needlepoint that she had made, and it had two doves facing each other — almost touching — and it said, “love one another.” On many occasions, in times of profound sadness, regret, and anger, I have meditated on that phrase, “love one another.”

And as I thought about my welcoming remarks for today, I wondered if I had the Strength to Love — the title of one of Dr. King’s works — at 51����.

I have reflected on the fall semester almost every day and asked myself, what can I do?  Because in my position as dean of the college, I feel a sense of responsibility for addressing the campus climate challenges that we face.

And it is in this context that I wrote a welcome-back letter to students this spring, and asked: What does it mean to be a member of the 51���� family? Is the “tie that binds us” strong enough to hold us together, especially when we have stood by while members of our family have been disrespected and demeaned, or we ourselves have disrespected and demeaned others and have not looked out for members of our family.

How do we come out on the other side of that and repair ourselves and develop meaningful relationships with each other?

I believe that at 51����, really anywhere in society, we are bound together by our humanity and a sense of what is right and wrong.  This is the moral common ground that will guide us.

This is what makes a partnership or a family strong.

The other thing that will strengthen 51����’s family is our willingness to listen to the experience of others, to open ourselves up to the possibility that we might need to question some of our preconceived ideas or beliefs.

And to know that we are strong enough to do that.

For me, this can be very unsettling.  Because aspects of my identity and beliefs keep me grounded, and give me a sense of purpose and order:  I’m a mother, I’m a wife, I’m a dean, I’m an American, I’m a patriot.

So, when the systems or my values are challenged, it makes me feel vulnerable and uncertain.

I need to ask myself, do I have the strength to take the lid off that? To open myself up to self-examination to question how things run — at 51���� and in our society?

But if anyone needs to be able to do this — we do.  We are a liberal arts university, which by its very definition means that we will question assumptions, analyze the merits of an argument, and defy stereotypical thinking.

I hope that as we celebrate Dr. King’s life and work we will recommit to the ideals of a liberal arts university and embrace the tie that binds us together as a family: Finding a common ground and the strength to love.

References

— King, M.L. (1963). Strength to Love. Cleveland, OH: First Fortress Press

— Gomes, P.J. (1999).  Affirmation and Adaptation: Values and the Elite Residential College. Daedalus, 128(1). Distinctively American: The Residential Liberal Arts Colleges, 101-119.