White and dark. High, low and in between.
Each note struck separately in its own place and moment in time.
Groups of notes combining in a unified purpose.
The individual differences creating the whole. The pieces
forming the piece. The notes combine
to fill the hall as the faces of this place have sought to enhance the world.
One by one, individuals together making a multitude.
I am the face of the University of Guelph.
The University of Guelph's origins are born of a desire to enhance Canadian society
by making better and more efficient use of the land and its animals.
This original aspiration was extended through the formidable
influence of social reformer Adelaide Hoodless
who brought concern for improving the lives of women and children
by providing them with enhanced educational opportunities.
Forty years after her death, her own McDonald Institute
combined with the Ontario Veterinary College and the Ontario Agricultural
College
to form the University of Guelph in 1964.
Her fervently held belief in engagement
and in the importance of teaching people to care about their neighborhoods
and their environment remain the cornerstone of the institution.
As we celebrate our first 50 years
the University of Guelph has been recognized as the world's most caring
University
That caring is her legacy and our future.
We've been volunteering here for probably more than fifty years.
My dad gave Pat a scholarship cheque for a thousand dollars
from the OAC alumni foundation when she graduated from high school.
So out of the blue he phoned one night and said you don't know me but my father gave you a
thousand dollars would you like to go for coffee?
Our first date was in 1961.
We graduated in 1964 and we got married
that same year. And we've been involved here in one way or another ever since.
If you talk to alumni
going back to the very first graduates, they'll tend to emphasize their
volunteerism,
their involvement in the community. That's what distinguishes this
University from all the others.
Since its inception Guelph has always been focused on
what's real.
People are always asking me about the University of Guelph
and why it seems to be different
than many other institutions that they know of. I always respond by saying that
in a sense you don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been
and this institution knows where its been
and knows its roots
and has hung onto those roots and the spirit that goes with that
for many, many years. As each new college was founded
the emphasis was insistently external rather than simply theoretical.
No matter how abstract a field of study at the University of Guelph
there was always a lifeline to questions of how does this fit into the larger
picture?
How does it benefit the world?
We're helping animals return to their normal active lives after injury or
surgery
through innovative rehabilitation techniques that may also
lead to better health care for humans.
We're using tobacco plants to make antibodies that fight cancer.
Through this first year seminar
we're helping students think through some pretty serious
ethical and political issues. We've been teaching troubled kids to improvise music.
When kids are given a new language they're given a new way to look at themselves
and at the world they live in. I'm working on the DNA barcode project
what an awesome place to walk into every morning.
We've been working on ways to help disabled people get on with their lives
using robotics. I'm in the business program
and like everything else here at the University of Guelph we put her own spin
on it.
Here there's a real emphasis on social and ethical responsibility,
a commitment to neighbourhoods, to sustainability
and to making this a better planet. When I got back from studying in the
Caribbean
I couldn't believe how many of us have been away, and to how many
incredible places. Last year Guelph students took classes
in 34 countries and a bunch of us volunteered in developing nations.
We've got students studying here from 83 countries
and graduates from Guelph, they're in 144 countries
from Antigua to Zimbabwe.
The University of Guelph is a moving changing experience.
Its grown from strong stable roots into the remarkable institution we see today.
And we know it's always defind itself as more than a teaching university
and more than just a research institution because of course it's both.
In 2002 with our partners at Humber College in Toronto
we created the University of Guelph-Humber
which today has more than 3,500 students
and combined with the 22,000 on the main campus
and students at its three regional campuses across Ontario
there are more than 27,000 University of Guelph students enrolled
across the province. Each of whom is committed in one way or another
to changing lives and improving life. And of course the University in turn
is committed to the success of each and every student.
From The BetterPlanet Project
to Project Serve, I don't know of another Canadian University
that places such a value on serving others.
There's a tradition here of making a difference
in the community. The Gryphons field 23 varsity teams
and we send competitors to nearly every Olympics
but even among non-athletes here there's a real focus on healthy living and
keeping fit.
Students choose the University of Guelph because they share the Canadian ideal
of a rich social fabric woven together with strands from
every imaginable origin and of every conceivable colour.
We're an intricate web of engaged thinkers
and doers. The intricacy
the intimacy about linkage is what creates the multifaceted face
of this University.
Starting with Adelaide Hoodless and flowing through our history
our humanity is what connects us.
The consistency. The inevitability of this connects communities back to the land.
It is what draws students from such diverse backgrounds and unites them.
It has made us, over the past 50 years
a University with truly global reach.
This is the only university in the world that could get me to mars
I am the face I am the face I am the face I am the face
I am the face of the University of Guelph, and we've made commitments
we intend to keep.
The University of Guelph is uniquely positioned to address the biggest
challenges facing our planet.
The faces of this place
will enhance the world.