第1篇 大学校长竞聘演讲稿
首先感谢上级领导给了我一个展示自己的机会!
我,现年岁,本科学历,中学高级教师,年月参加工作。曾任学校教导主任、小学校长,现任校务处主任。
从教26年以来,教过中学语文、英语,多担毕业班教学工作,96年,带的一个少年班,过一高(省径师范高中)正取线23人,连过中师中专线共40多人,到现在为止,还没有哪年班升学率超过这个数字。当年步入教坛时我是一个不满18岁的黑发小伙子,而今已过不惑,两鬓染霜，早生华发，毫无夸张,我已经把我人生最最美好的青春年华,献给了家乡的教育,我无怨无悔,今天站在这里我可以问心无愧的说,26年来,我无愧于家乡的教育,无愧于我的学生,无愧于自己的良心!但为了工作,我亏欠家人,尤其是我的女儿太多太多.....多年来，为了工作,女儿从上小学到高中,我没有辅导过孩子一次,女儿考高中,我也带着学校的初三学生在县城考试,连考几天我竟没有抽空去看女儿一次,结果女儿以3分之差,考取一高备取生,回来后妻子大吵一顿,6000元是小事,可我亏欠了我女儿;去年,女儿参加高考,而初三也面临毕业,两个班英语课还有班主任,实在脱不开身。
高考那天夜里两个朋友打电话骂我:你算啥家伙,女儿参加高考,你连面都不露!成绩揭晓后，女儿名落孙山!今年女儿复读,考试成绩揭晓后,成绩还可以,好多人都说孩子“你爸是教书的，能经常辅导你”，孩子笑着说“你问我爸，我上学这么多年，他辅导过我一次吗?”我知道女儿没有责怪我的意思，但听了这话，心如针扎!开始录取后，女儿竟因1分之差，和她心仪的学校失之交臂!那天，听到这个消息，我心如刀绞，耳晕目眩，女儿却安慰我：爸，天无绝人之路，车到山前比有路!不行了，明年我再复习……可女儿整整一天多没有吃饭啊!作为一名教师，我送走了一个个大学生、硕士生、博士生，我无愧自己的学生，而作为一个家长，我给了女儿多少，我是一个不称职的父亲……我亏欠我的女儿太多了，多日来，我一直食无味，睡无眠，半夜醒来，再不能睡，辗转反侧，泪湿枕巾，愧见女儿，愧对家人……今天我站在这里，并不是非得这个校长的位子，我只是想借机宣泄我心中太沉的积郁，也向女儿证明：他爸20多年来在的教育上并没有虚度!那一世。
说句实在话，有失也有得，家乡的教育对我也不薄，年我被评为模范班主任受到县委、县政府的表彰，年教师节我再次受到县教体局的表彰;年我被评为县百优模范班主任;年被评为市优秀教师，受到市教委的表彰，年我也评上了高级职称。最让我自慰的是我教过的学生，有上清华的，有出国留学的，有读研读博的，毫无夸张的说，而今我桃李满天下!
第2篇 大学校长演讲稿——经验与激情
同学们、老师们，下午好。
我们这个世界，一直有一项缺憾：有经验的人缺少激情，有激情的人没有经验。而今天呢，有经验的教授和有激情的学生走到了一起，组织了这样一个“信息安全高校行”，从北邮开始，依次走向人大、北理工、清华和北大。然后还要推向全国。这么好的一个活动，我这个当校长的当然应该来祝贺。
大学的特点可以说就是经验与激情的融合。融合在一间间教室，融合在一组组实验，融合在一个个专利，融合在篇论文。经验与激情之所以能在大学里融合，从而弥补这世界的缺憾，是因为大学校园里崇尚学术的自由和平等。
科学和技术的发展需要经验。经验是财富，不仅属于个人，而且属于社会。这也就是人们尊敬师长的缘故。一个大学、一个社会成熟的必要标志是尊重经验，善待学者。
逐年增长的经验，一不留心往往会掩埋激情，让暮气滋生。因此呢，在科学技术前沿冲锋陷阵的总是充满激情，开始积累经验的青年。一个大学、一个社会成功的必要条件是爱护激情，关怀青年。
激情的青年人人渴望拥有经验。然而，经验是真才实学，经验靠工作积累，应该懂得，学术态度的浮躁是取得经验最大的障碍。
上个月召开的第六届全国计算机应用联合会议，来稿 560 篇，录用 357 篇，这本来应该是很象样的会议，参会者应该大有收获，可惜注册参会人数只有 147 名，而最后到会宣读论文的仅仅剩下 78 人。
会议程序委员会**还告诉我，他甚至接到两个电话，让人哭笑不得。一个要求更改第一作者名字，原因是自己已有职称，拟定的新作者为了提职称需要论文。第二个是说不会来开会，要求会议出具证明，说明论文已被录用并在第几页刊载。
学术界的浮躁，由此可见一斑。如果这样的浮躁学风蔓延，那么还谈什么建设一流大学？还谈什么建设科技强国。要说这学风浮躁根源，有历史的，官本位意识几千年；有社会的，按学历、身份支付薪酬的劳动分配制度；有管理的，把论文数目当作衡量人的标准；有文化的，狭隘的个人功利价值观。当然，我们的教育，也应该承担不可推卸的责任。
我想，一个大学真正的、非自我吹嘘的校风和学风，从她的学生教师参加学术活动、学术会议的表现就可以一目了然。因为在这里，没有应付上级检查的事先布置，没有班主任点名，没有任课教师提醒的目光，也没有成绩、考试和学分，这里反映的是真实的校风和学风，是对于科学和技术发展真正起作用的精神、态度和能力。
我今天很高兴，你们学生的协会自发组织参与了这次 " 信息安全高校行 " ，有这么多学生、这么多有名教授专家参加，而且还是在周末。你们的协会没有沾染上一点狭隘功利主义的色彩。你们组织的活动纯粹是为了学术、为了技术、为了社会的信息安全。我衷心祝愿“信息安全高校行”成功。也祝愿北邮 " 团结、勤奋、严谨、创新 " 的校训精神在你们的协会和你们组织的学术活动的推动下，蔚然成风。
谢谢大家。
第3篇 哈福大学校长之全体毕业同学演讲稿
按照这所古老大学的奇怪的传统，我应该是站在这儿，告诉你们那些永恒的智慧。我就站在这个讲坛上，穿得像个清教徒牧师一样——这个打扮也许已经吓到了我那些高贵的先人们，让他们以为是巫婆现身（校长是女的，译者注）。这会让英克利斯（increase）和考特恩（cotton）父子俩（他们反对清教，译者注）忍不住想审判我的。但是，我还是要站在这儿，跟你们聊聊。
你们已经上了四年的大学了，我当校长还不到一年；你们认识三任校长，我只认识大四一个班的学生。那么，经验是什么？也许你们应该搞清楚。也许我们可以互换一下角色，我可能就会以哈佛法学院惯有的风格，在接下来的一个小时里自说自话。
从这一点上说，我们似乎都做到了——不管程度多少。但我最近才知道，从5月22日开始你们就没有晚饭吃了。虽然我们会把你们比作已经从哈佛断奶的孩子们，但我从没想到会这么彻底。
再让我们来说说那个“自说自话”吧。让我们把这个演讲看作是一个答疑式的毕业生服务，你们来提问题。“浮士德校长，生活的意义是什么？我们为什么要在哈佛读四年？校长，四十年前你从学校毕业的时候，肯定学到不少东西吧？”（四十年了。我可以大声地说出我当时生活的每个细节，和我获得布林莫尔学位的年份——现在大家都知道这个。但请注意，我在班里还算岁数小的。）
其实，这个答疑环节你们早就从我这儿预定了。你们问的问题也大概就是这类的。我也一直在想该怎么回答，还在想：你们为什么为这么问。
听我的回答。2007年冬天，助理就告诉我要有这么一个演讲。当我在kirkland听中午饭的时候，在leverett吃晚饭的时候，当我在我上班时和同学们见面的时候，甚至当我在国外碰见我们刚毕业的学生的时候，同学们都会问我一些问题。你们问我的第一个问题，不是问课程计划，不是提建议，也不是问老师的联系方式或者学生的空间问题。实际上，也不是酒精限制政策。你们不停地问我的问题是：“为什么我们的学生很多都去了华尔街？为什么我们哈佛的学生中，有那么多人到金融、咨询和电子银行领域去？”
这个问题可以从好几个方面来回答，我要用的是威利萨顿（一个美国银行大盗，译者注）的回答。你们可能知道，当他被问到为什么要抢银行时，他说“因为那儿有钱”。我想，你们在上经济学课的时候，都见过克劳迪亚·戈丁和拉里·凯兹两位教授，他们根据七十年代以来他们所教学生的职业选择，提出了不同的看法。他们发现，虽然金融行业在金钱方面有很高回报，但还是有学生选择了其它的工作。实际上，你们中有37个人选择做教师，有一个会跳探戈的人要去阿根廷的舞蹈诊疗所上班，另一个拿了数学荣誉学位的人要去学诗歌，有一个要在美国空军受训作一名飞行员，还有一个要去作一名治疗乳房癌症的医生。你们中有很多人会去学法学、学医学、读研究生。但是，根据戈丁和凯兹的记录，更多的人去了金融和咨询行业。crimson对去年的毕业生作了调查，参加工作的人中，58%的男生和43％的女生去了这两个行业。虽然今年的经济不景气，这个数字还是到了39%。
高薪、不可抗拒的招聘的冲击、到纽约和你的朋友一起工作的保证、承诺工作很有趣——这样的选择可以有很多种理由。对于你们中的一些人，也许只会在其中做一到两年。其他人也都相信这是他们可以做到最好的一份工作。但，还是有人会问：为什么要这样选择。
其实，比起回答你们的问题来，我更喜欢思考你们为什么会问。戈丁和凯兹教授的研究是不是正确的；到金融行业是不是就是“理性的选择”；你们为什么会不停地问我这个问题？为什么这个看似理性的选择，却会让你们许多人无法理解、觉得不尽理性，甚至有的会觉得是被迫作出的必要的选择？为什么这个问题会困扰这么多人呢？
我认为，你们问我生活的意义的时候，是带着指向性的——你们把它看成是高级职业选择中可见、可量度的现象，而不是一种抽象而深不可测的、形而上学的尴尬境地。所谓“生活的意义”已经被说滥了——它就像是蒙提·派森（monty python）电影里可笑的标题，或者说是《辛普森一家》里的那些鸡零狗碎的话题一样，已经没有任何严肃的涵义了。
让我们暂时扔掉哈佛人精明的处世能力、沉着和不可战胜的虚伪，试着来寻找一下你们问题的答案吧。
我想，你们之所以会焦虑，是因为你们不想只是做到一般意义上的成功，而且还想过得有意义。但你们又不知道这两个目标如何才能同时达到，你们不知道在一个大名鼎鼎的公司中有一份丰厚的起薪，并且前途很有保障，是不是就可以让你们自己满足。
你们为什么要焦虑？说起来，我们学校这方面也有错。从你们进来的时候，我们就告诉你们，到这里，你们会成为对未来负责的精英，你们是最棒的、最聪明的，我们都要依靠你们，因为你们会改变这个世界。这些话，让你们个个都胸怀大志。你们会去做各种不平常的事情：在课外活动中，你们处处体现着服务的热情；你们大力倡导可持续发展，因为你们关注地球的未来；在今年的总统竞选中，你们也表现出了对美国政治改革的热衷。
但现在，你们中的许多人迷惘了，不知道这些在做职业选择时都有什么用。如果在有偿的工作和有意义的工作之间做个选择，你们会怎么办？这二者可以兼顾吗？
你们都在不停地问我一些最基本的问题：关于价值、试图调和那些潜在竞争的东西、对鱼与熊掌不可兼得的认识，等等。现在的你们，到了要作出选择的转换阶段。作出一个选择——或工作、或读研——都意味着失去了选择其他选项的机会。每次决定都会有舍有得——放弃一个可能的同时，你也赢得了其他可能。对于我来说，你们的问题差不多就等于是站在十字路口时的迷茫。
金融业、华尔街、“招聘”就是这个困境的标志，它带来了比职业选择更广更深的一系列问题。不管你是从医学院毕业当了全科医生或者皮肤科医生，从法学院毕业进了一家公司或者作了一名公设辩护律师，还是结束了两年的teach for america项目，在想要不要继续教书，这些问题总会在某种程度上困扰你们。你们之所以焦虑，是因为你们既想活得有意义，又想活得成功；你们知道你们所受的教育，让你们不只是为自己的舒适和满足而活，而且还要为你们周围的人而活。现在，到了你们想办法实现这个目标的时候了。
我想，还有一个原因使你们焦虑——这个原因和第一个原因相关，但又有所不同。你们想过得幸福。你们一拥而上地去选修“成功哲学”和“幸福的科学”，想从中找到秘诀。但我们怎么样才能幸福呢？我可以提供一个不错的答案：长大。调查数据说明，越老的人——比如我这个岁数的人——比年轻的人感到更幸福。但可能你们都不愿意等。
当我听着你们说你们面前有如何的选择时，可以听出来，你们在为搞不明白成功和幸福的关系而烦恼——或者更确切地说，什么样的成功，不仅能带来金钱和名望，还能让人真正地幸福。你们担心工资最高的工作，不一定是最有意义、最令人满足的工作。但你们想过没，艺术家、演员、公务员或者高中老师都是怎么过的？你们有没有思考一下，在媒体圈里该怎么生存？你们是否曾试想过，在经过不知道多少年的研究生学习、写了不知道多少篇论文之后，你们能否找到一个英语教授的工作？
所以，答案就是：只有试过了才知道。但是不管是画画、生物还是金融，如果你都不试着去做你喜欢做的事，如果你不去追求你认为最有意义的东西，总有一天你会后悔的。生活的路还很长，总有机会尝试别的选择，但不要一开始就想着这个。
我把这个叫作职业选择中的停车位理论，几十年来我一直在和同学们说这些。不要因为你觉得会没有停车位，就把车停在离目的地20个街区远的地方。先到你想去的地方，然后再到你应该去的地方。
你可能喜欢投资银行、喜欢金融、喜欢咨询，它们可能是最适合你的。也许你和我在kirkland碰到的一个大四学生一样，她刚从西海岸一家很有名的咨询公司面试回来，她问：“我为什么要做这行？我讨厌坐飞机，我不喜欢住酒店，我不会喜欢这个工作的。”那就找个你喜欢的工作吧。要是你醒着的时间里，都在做你不喜欢的事情，你也不会感到幸福的。
但是，最最最最重要的是，你们要问出这个问题——问我或者问你们自己。你们选择了一条路，也就选择了一份挑战。你知道自己想要什么样的生活，只是不知道该怎样到达那儿。这是好事。我觉得，从某种程度上说，这也是我们的错。关注你的生活，思考怎样才能把它过好、怎样才能把事情做对：这些也许是博雅教育给你最宝贵的东西。通识教育让你自觉地生活，让你在你所作的一切中寻找、定义价值。它也让你成为一个自我的分析家和批评家，让你从最高水平上掌握你生活的展示方式。从这个意义上讲，博雅教育让你自由。它们赋予你行动、发现价值和作出选择的能力。不要静止不动，要随时准备接受改变。牢记那些我们告诉你们的远大理想，就算你觉得它们永远不可能实现，也要记住：它们可以指引你们，让你们到达那个对自己和世界都有意义的彼岸。你们的未来在自己手中。
我都迫不及待地想知道你们会做出什么样的成就了。无论如何，常回家看看，和我们分享你的幸福！
第4篇 大学校长开学典礼演讲稿
同学们、老师们：
你们好！
今天，我们在这里隆重举行大连理工大学网络教育学院xx级新生春季开学典礼。首先，我谨代表学校向网络教育学院的新同学表示热烈的欢迎，并祝贺你们成为大连理工大学这所拥有54年光荣历史的全国重点高等学府新的一员！一年之际在于春，你们将在一个新的起点上开始新的学习，在此，我首先祝愿你们学习进步！
当今社会，网络带着铺天盖地的气势将我们包围，并且逐渐渗透到生活中的每一个细节。网络使我们这个社会大大地变小了。当网络时代来临的时候，每一个人都会遇到这样的事实：现在我们能够比较快地接触到原来我们接触不到的文化、完全没有接触过的事物。现代网络教育是一个现代教育理念、现代教育技术，特别是高技术相互结合的一个产物，作为网络时代发展需求的新事物，有它非常明显的不可取代的优势。
大连理工大学作为教育部授权的远程教育试点高校，在开展网络教育上有着不可比拟的优势。首先，大连理工大学名师荟萃，有两院院士17名，博士生指导教师223名，教授333名。大工还是大连地区唯一一所全国高校排名进入前30位的重点高校。网络教育学院是大连理工大学下设的二级学院；其次，大连理工大学网络教育学院秉承了大工"团结、进取、求实、创新"的优良校风，始终坚持教学质量第一的宗旨， 以应用型人才培养为目标；第三，在教学模式上，我们面授和网上学习并重；第四，我们有优良的硬件环境和一流的课件。所以，同学们在这里学习大可放心，只要你肯付出努力，一定会实现你的理想和目标。
同学们，目前世界已进入信息化时代，进入"知识经济"时代。在知识经济时代，全球经济的竞争，实质上是高科技的竞争，是知识的竞争，但归根到底还是人才的竞争。希望同学们能够珍惜这次学习机会，珍惜学校良好的学习环境和学习条件，按照江_____提出的"坚持学习科学文化与加强思想修养的统一；坚持学习书本知识与投身社会实践的统一；坚持实现自身价值与服务祖国人民的统一；坚持树立远大理想与进行艰苦奋斗的统一"的要求，凭借自己的真才实学拿到大连理工大学的毕业证书，我也相信，同学们一定能学好！
春天是播种的季节，代表着希望和期盼，同学们在春天播种，相信必将有丰硕的果实，预祝同学们学业有成！
第5篇 哈佛大学校长福斯特在2019年毕业典礼英语演讲稿
it is always a pleasure to greeta sea of alumni on commencement afternoon—even thoughmy role is that of thewarm-up act for the feature to come. today i am especially aware of thetreatwe have in store as i look out on not a sea, but a veritable ocean ofanticipation.
but it is my customary assignmentand privilege to offer each spring a report to thealumni on the year that isending. and this was a year that for a number of reasons demandsspecial note.
“the world is too much with us”—the lines of wordsworth’s well-known poem echoed in mymind as i thoughtabout my remarks today, for the world has intruded on us this year in wayswenever would have imagined. the university had not officially closed for a daysince 1978. thisyear it closed three times. twice it was for cases of extremeweather—first for superstorm sandyand then for nemo, the record-breakingfebruary blizzard. the third was of course the day ofboston’s lockdown in theaftermath of the tragic marathon bombings. this was a year thatchallengedfundamental assumptions about life’s security, stability and predictability.
yet as i reflected on theseintrusions from a world so very much with us, i was struck by howwe at harvardare so actively engaged in shaping that world and indeed in addressing somanyof the most important and trying questions that these recent events have posed.
just two weeks ago, climatescientists and disaster relief workers gathered here for a two-day conferenceco-sponsored by the harvard humanitarian initiative and the harvarduniversitycenter for the environment. they came to explore the very issues presentedbysandy and nemo and to consider how academic researchers and workers on theground cancollaborate more effectively.
this gathering represents justone example of the wide range of activities across theuniversity dedicated toaddressing the challenges of climate change. how can we advance thesciencethat helps us understand climate change—and perhaps avert it? how can wedevisesolutions—from new technologies to principles of urban design—that mightmitigate it?how can we envision the public policies to manage and respond toit? harvard is deeplyengaged with the broad issues of energy andenvironment—offering more than 250 courses inthis area, gathering 225 facultythrough our environment center and its programs, enrolling100 doctoralstudents from 7 schools and many different disciplines in a graduateconsortiumdesigned to broaden their understanding of environmental issues. our facultyarestudying atmospheric composition and working to develop renewable energysources; theyare seeking to manage rising oceans and to reimagine cities foran era of increasinglythreatening weather; they are helping to fashionenvironmental regulations and internationalclimate agreements.
so the weather isn’t somethingthat simply happens at harvard, even though it may haveseemed that way when wehad to close twice this year. it is a focus of study and of research, aswework to confront the implications of climate change and help shape nationalandinternational responses to its extremes.
when boston experienced thetragedy of the marathon bombings last month, the city andsurroundingmunicipalities went into lockdown on april 19 to help ensure the capture oftheescaped suspect, and harvard responded in extraordinary ways. within ourowncommunity, students, faculty and staff went well beyond their ordinaryresponsibilities tosupport one another and keep the university operatingsmoothly and safely underunprecedented circumstances. but we also witnessedour colleagues’ magnificent efforts tomeet the needs of boston and our other neighborsin the crisis. the harvard police worked withother law enforcement agencies,and several of our officers played a critical role in saving thelife of thetransit officer wounded in watertown. doctors, nurses and other staff, manyfrom ouraffiliated hospitals, performed a near-miracle in ensuring that everyinjured person who arrivedat a hospital survived. years of disaster planningand emergency readiness enabled theseinstitutions to act in a stunninglycoordinated and effective manner. i am deeply proud of thecontributions madeby members of the harvard community in the immediate aftermath of thebombings.
but our broader and ongoingresponsibility as a university is to ask and address the largerquestions anysuch tragedy poses: to prepare for the next crisis and the one after that, evenaswe work to prevent them; to help us all understand the origins and themeaning of suchterrible events in human lives and societies. we do this workin the teaching and research towhich we devote ourselves every day.
investigators at the harvardhospitals are exploring improved techniques for managinginjury. researchers atbrigham and women’s, for instance, are pursuing the prospect of legtransplantsfor amputees. a faculty member in our school of engineering and appliedsciences isstudying traumatic brain injury. faculty in the business andkennedy schools are teaching andlearning about leadership in times ofcrisis—analyzing historic and contemporary examples,from shackleton inantarctica to katrina in new orleans—in order to search for lessons forthefuture. the very day of the lockdown, the mahindra humanities center and theharvard lawschool program on negotiation had scheduled a conference on“confronting evil,” examiningthe cognitive, behavioral and social implicationsof both what it called “everyday evils” and“extraordinary crimes.” a few dayslater, the harvard divinity school assembled a panel ofexperts to discuss“religion and terror,” exploring sources of violence in bosnia, in themiddleeast, and during the troubles in ireland, which served as a formativeexperience for ourdivinity school dean in his youth. at the institute ofpolitics at the kennedy school, lawenforcement, emergency management and otherexperts gathered to consider lessons learnedfrom the bombings. as we struggledto understand the events that shook our city and ourregion, members of ourcommunity were already engaged in interpreting the world that hadproduced suchtragedy and in seeking ways to prevent its recurrence.
three unusual days, making for anunusual year. yet these three unusual daysunderscore and illuminate the usualwork of this university: calling on knowledge andresearch to addressfundamental challenges and dilemmas with resources drawn from the widestscopeof human inquiry—from the insights of the natural and social sciences to thereflectionson meaning and values at the heart of the humanities. universitiesurge us towards a betterfuture and equip us as individuals and societies toget there.
yet other events this past yearremind us we cannot take what universities do for granted.this year hasbrought home not just the threats of extreme weather and of terror andviolence.it has also been a year that has challenged fundamental assumptions undergirdingamericanhigher education and the foundations of our nation’s researchenterprise. i have just offeredexamples of how our research and teaching cancontribute to addressing urgent problems facingour world. we live in an era inwhich knowledge is more vital than ever to nations, economiesand societies.knowledge is, i often say, the most important currency of the twenty-firstcentury.and universities are the places that, more than any other, generateand disseminate thatknowledge.
in the united states, thepartnership between universities and the federal governmentestablished afterworld war ii has been a powerful engine of scientific discovery andprosperity.yet that partnership, now more than half a century old, is threatened by theerosionof federal support for research—a situation made acute by the sequester. anestimatedalmost $10 billion will be cut from the federal government’s researchbudget in 2019. thenational institutes of health calculates that cuts to itsresources could mean the loss of morethan 20,000 jobs in the life sciencessector. here at harvard, we receive approximately 16% ofour operating budgetfrom federal research funding. we anticipate we may see declines of asmuch as$40 million annually in federal support for research.
what does all this mean? facultyare finding that even grant applications with perfect scoresin peerevaluations are not getting funded. they see existing awards being reduced.aspiringyounger scientists are fearful they will not receive career-launchinggrants on which their futuredepends. some are entertaining overtures fromcountries outside the united states wherescience investment is robust andexpanding. students contemplating graduate training arewondering if theyshould pursue other options. great ideas that could lead to improvedhumanlives and opportunities, and improved understanding, are left without supportor themeans for further development.
the world and the nation need thekind of research that harvard and other americanresearch universitiesundertake. we need the knowledge and understanding thatresearchgenerates—knowledge about climate change, or crisis management, or melanoma,oreffective mental health interventions in schools, or hormones that might treatdiabetes, orany of a host of other worthy projects our faculty are currentlypursuing. we need the supportand encouragement for the students who willcreate our scientific future. we need theeconomic vitality—the jobs andcompanies—that these ideas and discoveries produce. we needthe nation toresist imposing a self-inflicted wound on its intellectual and human capital.weneed a nation that believes in, and invests in, its universities because werepresent aninvestment in the ideas and the people that will build and will bethe future.
so as i report to you on the yearwe now bring to a close, i want to underscore the threatto universities and toour national infrastructure of knowledge and discovery that thesequesterrepresents. even in a year when sometimes the world felt too much with us, wehavenever lost sight of how much what we do here has to do with the world. andfor the world. tosequester the search for knowledge, to sequester discovery,to sequester the unrelentingdrive of our students and faculty to envision andpursue this endless frontier—such a strategydoes more than threatenuniversities. it puts at risk the capacity and promise of universitiestofulfill our commitment to the public good, our commitment to our childrenandgrandchildren and to the future we will leave them. the challenges facing theworld are tooconsequential, the need for knowledge, imagination andunderstanding is too great, theopportunity for improving the human conditiontoo precious for us to do anything less thanrise to the occasion. with thedevotion of our alumni, with the inspiration of our new graduatesand—ihope—with the support of our nation’s leaders, we must and we will.
第6篇 哈佛大学校长德鲁·福斯特在哈佛大学2019年毕业典礼英语演讲稿
thank you all and good afternoon alumni, graduates, families, friends, honored guests. for seven years now, it has been my assignment and my privilege to deliver an annual report to our alumni, and to serve as the warm-up act for our distinguished speaker.
whether this is your first opportunity to be a part of these exercises or your fiftieth, it is worthtaking a minute to soak in this place—its sheltering trees, its familiar buildings, its enduringvoices. in 1936, this part of harvard’s yard was named tercentenary theatre, in recognition ofharvard’s three hundredth birthday. it is a place where giants have stood, and history has beenmade.
we were reminded this morning of george washington’s adventures here. and from this stagein 1943, winston churchill addressed an overflow crowd that included 6,000 uniformedharvard students heading off to war. he said he hoped the young recruits would come toregard the british soldiers and sailors they would soon fight alongside as their “brothers inarms,” and he assured the audience that “we shall never tire, nor weaken, but march withyou … to establish the reign of justice and of law.”
four years later, from this same place, george marshall introduced a plan that aidedreconstruction across war-stricken europe, and ended his speech by asking: “what is needed?what can best be done? what must be done?”
here, in 1998, nelson mandela addressed an audience of 25,000 and spoke of our sharedfuture. “the greatest single challenge facing our globalized world,” he said, “is to combat anderadicate its disparities.” ellen johnson sirleaf, the first female head of state in africa, stoodhere 13 years later and encouraged graduates to resist cynicism and to be fearless.
here, on the terrible afternoon of september 11, 2019, we gathered under a cloudless sky toshare our sadness, our horror, and our disbelief.
and here, just three years ago, we marked harvard’s 375th anniversary dancing in the mud of atorrential downpour. here, president franklin delano roosevelt had celebrated harvard’s threecenturies of accomplishment in a comparably soaking rain.
here, j.k. rowling encouraged graduates to “think themselves into other people’s places.” andconan o’brien told them that “every failure was freeing.”
here, honorary degrees have been presented to carl jung and jean piaget, ellsworth kelly andgeorgia o’keefe, helen keller and martha graham, ravi shankar and leonard bernstein, joandidion and philip roth, eric kandel and elizabeth blackburn, bill gates and tim berners-lee.
i remember feeling awed by that history when i spoke here at my installation as harvard’s28th president, and when i reflected on what has always seemed to me the essence of auniversity: that among society’s institutions, it is uniquely accountable to the past and to thefuture.
our accountability to the past is all around us: behind me stands memorial church, amonument to harvardians who gave their lives at the somme and ypres and verdun duringworld war one. dedicated on armistice day in 1932, it represents harvard’s long tradition ofcommitment to service.
in front of me is widener library, a gift from a bereaved mother, named in honor of her sonharry, who perished aboard the titanic. a library built to advance the learning and discoveryenabled by one of the most diverse and broad collections in the world. widener’s twelvemajestic columns safeguard texts and manuscripts—some centuries old—that are deployedevery day by scholars to help us interpret—and reinterpret—the past.
but this afternoon i would like to spend a few minutes considering our accountability to thefuture, because these obligations must be “our compass to steer by,” our common purpose andour shared commitment.
what does harvard—what do universities—owe the future?
first, we owe the world answers.
discovery is at the heart of what universities do. universities engage faculty and studentsacross a range of disciplines in seeking solutions to problems that may have seemedunsolvable, endeavoring to answer questions that threaten to elude us. the scientific researchundertaken today at harvard, and tomorrow by the students we educate, has a capacity toimprove human lives in ways virtually unimaginable even a generation ago. in this past yearalone, harvard researchers have solved riddles related to the treatment of alzheimer’s, thecost-effective production of malaria vaccine, and the origins of the universe. harvardresearchers have proposed answers to challenges as varied as nuclear proliferation, americancompetitiveness, and governance of the internet.
we must continue to support our answer-seekers, who work at the crossroads of thetheoretical and the applied, at the nexus of research, public policy, and entrepreneurship.together, they will shape our future and enhance our understanding of the world.
second, we owe the world questions.
just as questions yield answers, answers yield questions. human beings may long forcertainty, but, as oliver wendell holmes put it, “certainty generally is illusion, and repose isnot the destiny of man.” universities produce knowledge. they must also produce doubt. thepursuit of truth is restless. we search for answers not by following prescribed paths, but byfinding the right questions—by answering one question with another question, by nurturing astate of mind that is flexible and alert, dissatisfied and imaginative. it is what universitiesare designed to do. in an essay in harvard magazine, one of today’s graduates, cheroneduggan, wrote about seeking what she called “an education of questions.” i hope we haveindeed given her that.
questions are the foundation for progress—for ensuring that the world transcends where weare now, what we know now.
and questions are also the foundation for a third obligation that we as universities owe thefuture: we owe the future meaning.
universities must nurture the ability to interpret, to make critical judgments, to dare to askthe biggest questions, the ones that reach well beyond the immediate and the instrumental.we must stimulate the appetite for curiosity.
we find many of these questions in the humanities: what is good? what is just? how do weknow what is true? but we find them in the sciences as well. can there be any question moreprofound, more fundamental than to ask about the origins of the universe? how did we gethere?
questions like these can be unsettling, and they can make universities unsettling places. butthat too is an essential part of what we owe the future—the promise to combatcomplacency, to challenge the present in order to prepare for what is to come. to shape thepresent in service of an uncertain and yet impatient future.
we owe the future answers. we owe the future questions. we owe the future meaning. theharvard campaign, launched last september, will help us fulfill these obligations, and pay ourdebt to the future, just as the gifts of previous generations anchor us here today.
as today’s ceremonies so powerfully remind us, we also owe the future the men and women whoare prepared to ask questions and seek answers and search for meaning for decades to come.today we send some 6,500 graduates into the world, to be teachers and lawyers, scientists andphysicians, poets and planners and public servants, and—as our speaker this morning remindedus—to be in their own ways revolutionaries. ready to take on everything from water scarcity tovirtual currency to community policing. we must continue to invest in financial aid to attractand support the talented students who can build our future, and also we must invest insupporting the teaching and learning that ensures the fullest development of their capacities ina rapidly changing world.
if we fulfill our obligation, today’s graduates will have found the “education of questions”cherone described, a place where, as she put it, “ceilings are only made of sky.” but look aroundyou: we are there. this space is a “theatre” without walls, without a roof, and without limits. itis a place where extraordinary individuals have preceded us, a place that must encourage ourgraduates—of today and all the years past—to emulate those women and men, to look skywardand to soar.
thank you very much.
