������Ƶ

Play Video

Close video

Transcript

Hello, ������Ƶ College Class of 2029! You are bright-and-beautiful and YOU ARE HERE! And hello families near and far, here in ������Ƶ and out in the country and the world through our livestream! Parents and families, my heart is with you: our youngest just started his second year of College and I’m here to say, we’ve got you! And your wonderful child! And every emotion is ok! (And if you need one, I’ll be giving out free hugs on the lawn during the reception after this ceremony as we approach your goodbyes!). 

My name is Anne Harris, and I have the honor of serving as the 14th president of ������Ƶ College and the joy of standing before you today to welcome you to ������Ƶ and to begin our lifelong adventure together. We do so in place as a residential college where we learn with and from each other. We do so in vibrant and dynamic places shaped by your experiences in your classrooms, your residence halls, our community, and – yes – all the places you will go. 

I’d like to pause with you on this word “place” – its origin is from the Latin “platea” meaning broad street, avenue, or courtyard. At its origin, then, the word “place” fosters gathering – gathering to walk down a broad street or an avenue, gathering in a courtyard. And that is our invitation to you today – that you gather in this place of free inquiry, in this place of intellectual joy, in this place of marvelous people, in this place of discovery and wonder, this place of world-altering ideas and mind-bending words. 

As was said about this place by alumnus Lester Aleman, class of 2007 – “Never underestimate the power of the prairie” – you are in a place of rolling hills and open sky, a place that opens itself to your imagination, that pushes at the horizon, that will call you to gather with stargazers and dreamers (and your astrophysics faculty members!!!) when the Northern Lights dance over us.

You are in a place animated by a state flag featuring a flying eagle holding a scroll in its mouth that proclaims “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain” - !!! It was designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt, who was born, lived and died, in Knoxville, Iowa about an hour from here. As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she designed it in1917 so that soldiers from Iowa fighting overseas in WWI could find each other, could gather under its emblem and its promise. 

You are in a place gladdened by campus and community collaboration, where we are all known as “������Ƶians.” I am inspired to read from of one of the songs of the fantastic ������Ƶian musical “The Beast That Wasn’t” that was brought into being through the brilliant collaboration of student Libby Albright [wave, Libby!], theatre professor Karie Miller, and community member and director of the ������Ƶ School of Music Erin Bustin. So I need you to imagine 8–12-year-old ������Ƶians singing the following words: “������Ƶians ought to stick together! ������Ƶians should all be friends! Everyone shares all the stuff we gather; Everyone collaborates rhizomatically-in-a-non-traditional-non-hierarchical-system-of-governance-in-which-everyone-is-treated-equallyyyyyy!” It’s a great message about the place we want to be, the place we reach out to each other to become.

You will shape a place where our college and our community newly gather in the Weingart Civic Innovation Pavilion in Renfrow Hall. Just last fall, we gathered to dedicate Renfrow Hall and honor the resplendent Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith, an educator and community leader, and the first Black alumna of ������Ƶ College, graduating in 1937 – and celebrating her 111th birthday this past summer. (And she said in a video to our community that it was her best one yet!  ) This fall, we are opening the Weingart Civic Innovation Pavilion, a unique space where college and community members can gather to collaborate and celebrate, dedicated to the memory of Katherine Howell Weingart, class of 1961, by her brother Steven Howell, class of 1963. There is great love in this place. Sayings by Mrs. Renfrow Smith are on the walls throughout Renfrow Hall, including one of her favorites, from her mother, which I share with you now: “No one is better than you. You are unique and you are you. So never forget how important you are.” At ������Ƶ, you live in the legacy of our incredible alumni – and it’s a beautiful place to be.

And so, in this moment together – in this place we share – we make our pledge to you: that ������Ƶ College offers itself to your imagination: that the care, and brilliance, and passion of the faculty, staff, students, and administrators who have dedicated their time and lives to knowledge and its ability to foster and safeguard human dignity and global societies are gathered here from all over the world, eager and ready to co-create this place, this College and, yes, this world with you.

Delight in learning together; savor your good moments and let them be respite and renewal to you for the tough ones; dwell in this place and shape it with your experiences and partnerships. Know – dear students, and dear families – that we are here, that we believe in you, and that we are in place together to foster community and a world reborn with you. Dear ������Ƶians – you are here, and we are glad. Welcome to ������Ƶ, class of 2029!