Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Remarks delivered at Lewis & Clark's Phi Beta Kappa induction ceremony - May 8, 2010

The seniors among you are graduating at a time when financial institutions, large companies, and even entire countries are in crisis; an economic crisis that will be felt around the world for many years. So the juniors among you will face the same challenges a year from now that your senior colleagues are about to face now. The world is going through rapid change, and you must be wondering how you will cope with so much change. But I’d like to convince you that you already learned how to cope with change.

Some years ago you had just accepted Lewis & Clark’s offer of admission to its College of Arts & Sciences, and you began to contemplate change: the move away from home to a new school, where you would make new friends and work with professors intent on opening your eyes to new ways of learning and thinking. A few months later, you came to Palatine Hill and major change became inevitable and immediate. Before you could blink an eye, you were reading and critiquing texts you once thought intractable, working with faculty mentors on research projects, creating art. You were changing, and rapidly. Four years have gone by and the seniors among you now must face change yet again: the move away from this school to a new home, new friends and colleagues—some perhaps intent on opening your eyes to new ways of thinking.

I am a chemist, accustomed to visualizing change at the atomic and molecular levels. But the change you experienced then and are about to experience now cannot be rationalized by the postulates of quantum mechanics or the laws of thermodynamics, of which chemists are so fond. So let’s look for inspiration elsewhere.

Theologian Richard Hooker warns that “Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.” It follows that embracing change is essential, even when change causes temporary unease. Such is the nature of the changes you will experience when entering graduate or professional school, starting a new job or career, or making a particularly difficult decision affecting you or others.

Philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell takes us further by telling us that “Change is one thing, progress is another.” That is, movement along a carefully defined trajectory is the kind of change that will be meaningful and joyful to you and those with whom you are sharing your life.

Finally, Victor Hugo, poet, novelist, and playwright, asks you, as do I, to “Change your opinions, keep to your principles.” As you collect experiences, your perspectives on everything, from politics to religion, can and will likely change, even if slightly. But these changes will only “feel right” if they do not erode an ethical foundation that, by now, should be sufficiently strong to give you the instincts you will need to make good and fair decisions.

I have great confidence that you, Lewis & Clark students and members of Phi Beta Kappa, have the intellectual skills and motivation to engage any issue and lead any conversation, no matter how society changes. I know that the seniors among you will make yourselves, your family, and the College proud as you begin your new lives beyond Palatine Hill. As for the juniors in the audience, Lewis & Clark’s faculty and staff look forward to continuing our work with you next year.

Thank you and Peace to all.

No comments:

Post a Comment