Interim Chancellor David Ward’s remarks at the 2011 Chancellor’s Convocation

Interim Chancellor David Ward’s Welcome:

On behalf of the faculty and staff on stage with me, as well as those across the campus, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to UW–Madison.

The academic ceremony of convocation serves as a formal beginning of your student academic experience that will end with commencement. Whether you are a transfer student or a freshman, you are now officially a Badger. Congratulations! (Cheers and applause.)

The theme for this year’s convocation is the forward impact of the past on the present. Legacies. These legacies not only bind past students with the experiences and opportunities that you will create during your time here, but they will carry into the years to come for future classes of UW–Madison students.

One symbol of legacies at all universities and colleges, including UW–Madison, is the academic attire we are wearing today. The formal attire of academia is one of the oldest traditions in higher education, drawing from customs that originated when the first European universities were founded over 600 years ago.

Today the long robes and hoods and the unique colors they feature are symbolic of academic communities. They also represent a link to your future, because the next time you are likely to see them, you will be wearing your own regalia here for your graduation from UW–Madison – and make sure you do that.

Speaking of the past and present, I am in a similar position to all of you. This is the second time I have had the honor of serving as chancellor of UW–Madison. I was chancellor from 1993 to 2000, and so my past is now my present again.

I am experiencing some of the same things you are — – getting settled into new routines, finding bearings on a campus that used to be familiar to me, but these buildings are being really magnificent and they are changing the face of the campus.

We are also building new relationships with students, faculty, staff, community members who are around us.

I returned to UW–Madison in mid-July after spending a decade working at the national level on higher education issues, chairing and being president of the American Council on Education, the major association of college presidents.

During the next academic year that I will be chancellor, I look forward again to contributing to the legacy of this wonderful university.

It is a campus that can be described as energetic, creative, inquisitive, skeptical, passionate, vibrant and activist. It is everything, and as you begin your own Wisconsin experience, there is one important element in our legacy that I would like to introduce you to – the Wisconsin Idea. It is one of UW–Madison’s oldest and deepest traditions.

This guiding principle challenges all of us to use education to influence our lives outside the boundaries of the classroom. It fuels our sense of discovery and innovation by encouraging the notion that what we cultivate here has the potential to stretch beyond the campus and benefit the state, the nation and the world. This year, UW–Madison will celebrate the first century of the Wisconsin Idea. It was declared by one of my predecessors in the early twentieth century.

As we look to the future for this legacy, we must remember that each of us, as members of this UW–Madison community, we are all stewards of this principle and share a commitment to making sure it endures for another century.

Just as you have your own story of what brought you to the University of Wisconsin — Madison, so do the administrators, deans, program directors and faculty members who are joining me on stage today.

These individuals are representative of the faculty and staff who will help you, both in and out of the classroom. They will support your academic experience and help to shape the legacy you will leave when you graduate.

Now, I will ask my colleagues to rise, and would you please join me in extending our appreciation to them.

(Applause)

Interim Chancellor David Ward’s remarks:

Here we are in 2011, where you are now part of an influential, world-class, well respected institution – one that is recognized for achievements in research, scholarship and service, both at the individual and the institutional level.

Whether it is faculty members named to the national academies, or scholar athletes achieving national championships, UW–Madison is a truly remarkable institution.

We are among the leaders in producing not only CEOs for major corporations, but Peace Corps and Teach for America volunteers. We value our immediate surroundings and were recently awarded an “A” grade for sustainability of the campus itself.

Because of the reach of the university and the variety of opportunities available to you here, you will have a chance to have what I call the “total UW–Madison experience.”

It is one that offers as many opportunities for learning in the classroom as it does for learning through research. You might find yourself working alongside one of our world-renowned researchers, or designing and directing a project of your own. These academic and research pursuits are critical to your contributions to UW–Madison.

Some of you may have come here knowing what path you want to take or what course of study you want to pursue. Others may find themselves in an area of academic or curricular discomfort, not yet sure of a focus or wanting to sample a few potential tracks. Perhaps that challenge can create an opportunity as you take advantage of the diverse range of general education classes offered at UW–Madison.

It is these kinds of classes that are just as important than those that prepare you for specific professional skills.

And as I encourage your academic pursuit, it is equaled with my encouragement for you to explore activities outside the classroom.

A moment ago, I mentioned the amazing opportunities you can create for yourself when responding to academic challenges by pushing yourself to try new things. At times you may feel uncomfortable with this new experience of being at UW–Madison, but think of this as a positive aspect of your education.

This is the opportunity to engage with students from different backgrounds than your own. This exploration of differences and contrasts connects you with the vibrant community that is UW–Madison. It will, I am sure, enhance your ability to think critically and compassionately about the world around you.

Perhaps you might travel to Uganda to learn about medical and cultural issues. It might prompt you to run, walk or dance all night with a campus group to raise money for a cause that is important to you. It might mean you help shape socially conscious efforts or participate in an alternative spring break with projects ranging from fixing up apartments for homeless youth to caring for animals still displaced from Hurricane Katrina.

You will be a little uncomfortable from time to time, but you should know that you will find comfort as you grow and change and experience this campus. Expand your current knowledge by using the wealth of resources available to you, dedicating your talents and time to scholarship, service and engagement, and exploring civic and recreational interests.

We are not without challenges at UW–Madison. Our community faces fiscal strains and very stressful political discourse. I want to remind you that this campus embraces the debate of all views. We affirm our commitment to academic freedom and the ideas of free inquiry. At UW–Madison that is known as “the continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone truth can be found.”

Above all I encourage you to speak up or speak out whenever you feel that one of your fellow students is the subject of inappropriate abuse.

From many points on campus you can look towards the east and see our State Capitol. This proximity to the seat of government has allowed many within our campus to be active participants in the political process on all sides of any aisle.

Students can be involved in government in many ways, but locally the Associated Students of Madison, or ASM, is the student government. And this campus is proud of the commitment that we make to students, staff and faculty governance. They are, like many of the student-led groups throughout the campus, offering you a great wealth of opportunities where you can expand who you are through a shared experience.

Another way this campus fosters a shared experience is through the university’s “Go Big Read” program. Each academic year, students, faculty, staff and our extended community participate in this common reading program. Through the books, we engage in shared exploration, discussion and inquiry.

For the third year of the program, we have chosen to explore “Enrique’s Journey” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario.

The book recounts 16-year-old Enrique’s attempt to travel from Honduras to the United States to find the mother who left him 11 years earlier. She was trying to build a better life for her family and earn money to support Enrique and his sister back home in Honduras. But in doing so, she severed a bond with her son that prompted Enrique to embark on a treacherous journey to be reunited with her.

Through his story we learn of the trip that has been taken by thousands of immigrant children who cling to the tops and sides of freight trains as tightly as they cling to the dreams of reaching the United States and finding their parents.

We expect this book will prompt a debate on immigration – both legal and illegal. But we must also think of the message it captures about what children and adults are willing to endure in the pursuit of a better life and with reuniting a family.

It raises questions of race and class and of how we define family.

The book raises questions about government involvement in immigration matters, and asks readers and each of us to think about whether what they believe is fair and just.

But above all, I believe you will find it is a story of hope, even in the darkest of circumstances.

Today, as you depart the Kohl Center, you will receive your own copy of Enrique’s Journey. Some of you may find it a part of your curriculum. Others of you may form formal or informal reading groups to discuss it.

All will have a chance to be involved in and welcome Madison-born Sonia Nazario to campus on Thursday, Oct. 27, for a public presentation about her book.

You are all on a journey — one that involves the process of applying for admission to UW–Madison and which brought you here today.