A Wonderful Way to Begin the Year

The University of Washington’s  150th anniversary celebration got off to an inspirational start today as over 6,000 incoming students and  their families and friends  were welcomed to campus at the 28th Annual Freshman Convocation.
 

Professor of philosophy Ron Moore welcoming the incoming students, their families and friends.

On a magnificent stage, resplendent in purple and gold and framed by the four columns, President Michael Young, regents, senior administrators, deans, and members of the faculty, gathered to greet the newest members of the Husky family.
 
University Marshal and professor of philosophy Ron Moore served as the master of ceremonies.  In his opening remarks, professor Moore spoke about UW traditions, the traditions of higher education, and the purpose of ceremonies like Freshman Convocation.  Quoting John Dewey, Moore said that “value most readily accrues to experiences when we articulate them into episodes, with beginnings, middles and ends," and it is an important function of ritual events to "punctuate the inevitable flow of experience, to pause and reflect on where we are." He also encouraged them to apply Dewey's insight to their lives. Rather than thinking about breakfast while showering and thinking about a history class while gulping down breakfast, they should experience each moment of life to the fullest. "Enjoy the shower, with its beginning, and its middle and its end. And when it's over, then say to yourself, 'Now that was a shower!'"

ASUW President Conor McLean advised the students to put their hearts and souls into their UW experience, get involved, and not be afraid to make mistakes.  “The mistakes I have made in college,” he said, “have helped define who I am as much, if not more, than those that were right decisions.”

Ed Taylor, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. speaking at 2011 Freshman Convocation

Dean of Undergraduate Affairs Ed Taylor introduced the incoming class, who came to the UW from 50 states and 90 different countries.    He noted that 30% of them were the first in their families to go to a University.  Dean Taylor quoted W. E. Du Bois, who said, “Here is the chance for young men and women of devotion to lift up the banner of humanity and march toward a civilization that is free, that’s intelligent, that is healthy and unafraid.”   “That,” said Dean Taylor, “is what we wish for you.”

Interim Provost Doug Wadden presented the faculty, including the University’s newest MacArthur Fellow, Shwetak Patel, an assistant professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering, and three other faculty members who were recognized  for their work with undergraduates: Daniel Ratner, assistant professor of bioengineering, James Gregory, professor of history, and Erika Harnett, research assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences and the associate director of the Washington NASA Space Grant.   He spoke of the many opportunities for students, even as undergraduates, to be involved in important scholarship and research.

President Michael Young delivered the Convocation address.  Wearing several different hats – a cowboy hat, an academic tam, a UW hard hat, and a UW baseball cap – he told the new students of growing up wanting to be a cowboy and how he went to law school, served as a lawyer for the U.S. delegation that worked on the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, became a professor, then a dean, and then the President of two world-renown research universities, finding himself frequently “in charge of something about which I knew nothing.  But the opportunity to do that, the capacity to do that, was something that came because of education.”  He went on to tell the students that “… each of you sitting out here, will have at least three careers.  Not three jobs, but, on average, three careers in your life.  You will wear three different hats at least during your life.”  He urged them to use their skill, drive, intelligence and commitment to make the world a better place.

The ceremony concluded with the UW Glee Club and Wind Ensemble leading everyone in the school song, “Rise Up With Pride for Washington.”

It was a wonderful ceremony and, as Professor Moore said in his closing remarks, “a wonderful way to begin the year!”