[MUSIC PLAYING]
VICTORIA E PRINCE: Welcome.
It is my honor to declare open the 535th Convocation
of the University of Chicago.
Today, we come together to celebrate the inauguration
of Paul Alivisatos as the 14th president
of the University of Chicago.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
D MAURICE CHARLES: Presidential inaugurations
are occasions of renewal for the entire community,
and especially during these challenging times,
when we are reminded that each breath is a gift,
anticipated, but never promised.
It is fitting that we begin with a word
of thanksgiving for the joy of sharing this occasion.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
EVE L EWING: When we use our aptitude for critical
questioning to face inward and demand better of ourselves
and one another, the University of Chicago,
not the abstract institution, but the people who comprise it,
we are capable of tremendous collective good.
So to paraphrase Audre Lorde, President Alivisatos,
I beseech you, live and work each day in your presidency,
conscious of our debt to all of the people who have made
the life of the mind possible.
And in the spirit of courageous leadership, dream with us.
So that we may answer the beckoning of history
toward a University worthy of their sacrifice.
VISHRUTH VENKATARAMAN: In a nod to UChicago's
own expansive listening habits, because we hear voices
from all over the world, I will close with a quote
from my own mother tongue, Tamil,
which as Professor Whitney Cox will remind you,
has been studied at Chicago for decades, from the first century
poet Thiruvalluvar.
[SPEAKS TAMIL] He says, the greatest of all wealth
is the wealth obtained by listening.
And for your wisdom, insight, and the wealth
of listening that you bring, President Alivisatos,
we bid you welcome.
JENNIFER KENNEDY: I am very honored
to represent the staff of the University of Chicago
in welcoming President Alivisatos home.
President Alivisatos, your reputation as a collaborator
is well known.
And the staff of the University of Chicago
are poised to work with you to realize
the full potential of this university we love so much.
My advice to you is to utilize this wellspring of talent
as you shape the future of our institution.
And in the meantime, as you revisit cherished areas
of campus and discover all that is new since your days
as an undergraduate student, I encourage
you to stop by and meet the staff members who
support these programs and spaces,
and let us welcome you back home.
MARGARET M. MUELLER: What a momentous day for UChicago
alumni.
This is only the second time in our university's history
that one of our very own esteemed alums
has returned home to the storied institution as its president.
It is a thrilling moment for the entire alumni community.
We could not envision anyone better suited
to lead the University at this pivotal moment
and into the future.
Not only do you have a true, clear love
of this great institution, you are a global citizen
with a humanist perspective and a brilliant scientific mind.
Since its inception, the University of Chicago
has been a paragon of intellectual curiosity,
scientific discovery, academic rigor, and public discourse.
We are known as the place where great minds come
to learn how to lead and solve the most critical problems
that we face.
Racial equity and social justice, quantum computing
and mechanics, impact investing, upholding democracies,
and on, and on, our alumni go on to change the world
in countless ways, from being leaders
and activists in their local communities
to receiving Nobel prizes.
As you know firsthand, President Alivisatos,
that the profound role the University has played
in the personal and professional trajectories of our incredibly
accomplished alumni cannot be underestimated.
I admire your bold vision to create
the most engaged community in the history of our University.
UChicago alums are ready to help make your vision a reality.
As your listening tour of all of us continues,
we are all listening to you.
A student spends a number of years on campus.
But they are an alum for life.
So as we approach 200,000 alumni around the globe,
with lifetimes to give, I call on you
to consider the role alumni play in moving us forward.
And we will be ready for your call.
JULIAN DESHAZIER: And if I would offer any advice coming in,
it would be to look at everything that is being done
by the University right now.
And if any of it is being done to the community,
consider doing it with the community.
The body has 12 systems, right?
Muscular, nervous, digestive, et cetera, and if any of them
stop working, the body is in trouble.
It won't matter how well the rest of the system
is functioning if it does not contribute
to the health of the rest, if it is not
made vulnerable by the rest, if it does not love the rest.
To the extent that there is no rest or outside community,
us and them.
That doesn't exist, because there's
such mutuality such interdependence in our life
together.
Mr. President, our bodies teach us
what is true about this moment right now.
That our communities will thrive when all of its systems
work better together.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SRIKANTH REDDY: Today, I'll be reading the opening
pages of a long narrative poem titled "Underworld Lit," which
follows a year in the life of a fictional Professor
at a fictional University, who's experiencing
fictional issues with tenure, and who ends up going to hell.
I'm not so sure the inauguration committee actually
read the book before inviting me to this event.
For the past several years, I've taught an introductory course
on world literature at the University
where I am presently employed.
The offering has frequently proven
to be a disappointment both to myself and to the students,
some in headscarves, some occasionally dressed
in fatigues, who register for this seminar
in order to satisfy their humanities requirement.
As far as classes go, it was an almost painless experience.
The instructor is fairly intelligent and enthusiastic
about the material, but is unreceptive, even intolerant,
of anything that is not a poem or a poem in prose form.
That one was real.
Made me question things, including
the value of higher learning.
[LAUGHTER]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CAROL T CHRIST: I'm honored to be invited
to speak on the occasion of Paul Alivisatos's inauguration
as the 14th president of the University of Chicago.
The words that keep echoing through my mind
are from Catullus, ave atque vale, hail and farewell.
But they're not quite apt.
Catullus uses them to begin a eulogy.
This is more of a commencement, both a completion
and a beginning.
I worked with Paul very closely when
he served as Executive Vice Chancellor and provost
of the University of California at Berkeley from 2017
to this past summer.
We were two in a box in the geometrical metaphor
of executive leadership.
We shared vision.
We shared strategy.
We solved problems together.
We wanted those we worked with to receive consistent answers
and advice, no matter which of us they talked to.
In my years of working with Paul,
I developed profound admiration for him.
He has far reaching vision, vision for what he often called
transformational partnerships.
In my work with Paul, I came increasingly
to appreciate how deeply the University of Chicago
had shaped him.
I saw it in many ways, his deep seriousness
about the aims of education from questions of curriculum,
to who the University should educate,
to the public role and purpose of institutions
of higher education.
I could see the shaping influence
of the University of Chicago in Paul's habit of inquiry,
his deep listening skills, his characteristic willingness
to think of things in a new way.
And I could see the influence of the University of Chicago
in his appreciation of the humanities of literature, art,
and music.
STEVEN CHU: People think we're here to teach the students.
That's partially true.
But I would say that students do more the teaching
to the professors, even in the undergraduate level.
And when you teach the students, and you listen to the students,
and they ask a question, all of a sudden,
they're putting something in a frame you might not
have ever thought of.
And this back and forth of us teaching each other,
you've got a great president.
Because when people say he listens,
he listens, and he learns, and grows from that.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOSEPH NEUBAUER: On behalf of the Board of Trustees
of the University of Chicago, I would
like to welcome you to another significant turning
point in this university's illustrious history.
Today marks the formal investiture
of the University of Chicago's 14th president, Paul
Alivisatos.
Despite COVID restrictions, many important guests
from faculty to students, representing the student
body, our local community, as well as
from the city and the state, and leaders
of other esteemed institutions have gathered here
to bear witness and to celebrate with us.
In a world wrestling with polarization, intransigence,
and attacks on truth, we're here to reaffirm our principles.
The purpose of this great university
is knowledge, seeking it, creating it, testing it,
and sustaining and disseminating it.
The best way to achieve this goal,
indeed, the only way is to insist
on free, robust deliberation, discussion, and debate.
We're, at once, vigorous, but always respectful.
The so-called Chicago Principles have led, over many years,
to our university's eminence and desirability
as a place of knowledge.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
PAUL ALIVISATOS: An inauguration is about far more
than welcoming a new president.
It is an occasion that is both solemn and joyous.
It's a moment for our community to reaffirm
the foundational values that have shaped this university.
It is a time to reflect on the arc of a common journey
and to commit to bringing our collective imaginations,
talents, and diversity of experience and perspective
to bear in new and innovative ways.
The word investiture, when used synonymously with inauguration,
has its origin in ceremonies of clothing,
in the robes of a new office, but also reflects
the meaning of invest, as in to clothe or commit our capital.
How should we invest together?
This morning, as I accept the great responsibility
of the presidency of the University of Chicago,
I want to acknowledge and honor our university's enduring
values, as well as the leaders before me, who
have brought us to this moment.
I would like to address why now is the right time, in fact,
it is imperative, that we fully engage
with the world around us.
It has been a true joy for me these past two months
to immerse myself once again in the University of Chicago
that I knew so well from my undergraduate studies of 40
years ago.
The remarkable energy and vitality that courses
through this university is what first drew me here
as a student.
And it has remained with me throughout my life.
It is what drew me back here as president.
I am now immersed in a listening tour that
extends throughout the University
and to many of our external partners.
It's an extraordinary privilege to share
in the full and astonishing scope of our work.
In settings both formal and informal,
I have borne witness to our familiar intertwined ways
of thinking, teaching, and learning
and an inspiring academic culture like no other.
An engaged University of Chicago will foster entrepreneurship
and innovation in creative ways and will see itself
as an active partner with other universities,
as well as with the broader ecosystem of the economies
and cultures of Chicago, the region, the nation,
and the world beyond.
At the University of Chicago, some
of the world's best thinkers, scholars, researchers,
educators, analysts, advocates, artists, entrepreneurs,
and creators are unified by a distinctive culture
and a set of core values.
That is our capital.
When we engage it and connect it to the world at large,
we will reconnect with and build upon Harper's inspiring
vision and the beneficial works of my predecessors.
By working to realize the engaged University of Chicago,
we will reach higher levels of achievement than ever before.
And we will bring entirely new benefits to humanity.
Thank you once again for allowing
me to be your president on this next arc.
[APPLAUSE]
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[MUSIC - UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ALMA MATER]
CHOIR: Today, we gladly sing the praise of her whose daughters
and whose sons now loyal voices proudly raise
to bless her with her benisons.
VICTORIA E PRINCE: This now concludes the 535th Convocation
of the University of Chicago.
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