[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH MARGARET FOR THAT VERY GENEROUS
INTRODUCTION.
FIRST LET ME SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES.
WELCOME BACK TO OUR ALUMNI, GOOD AFTERNOON, TO EVERYONE,
COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS.
LOVED ONES, AND OUR MOST SPECIAL GUESTS, OUR EMINENT SPEAKER.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO ADDRESS YOU THIS AFTERNOON AND TO OFFER A
FEW REFLECTIONS AS I APPROACH THE END OF MY FIRST YEAR AS
PRESIDENT.
I REALIZE, HOWEVER, THAT I'M LITERALLY THE LAST THING
STANDING BETWEEN YOU AND THE SPEECH THAT YOU'VE ALL ACTUALLY
COME HERE TO HEAR.
SO WHILE I CAN'T PROMISE TO BE MESMERIZINGLY ELOQUENT, I CAN AT
LEAST PROMISE TO BE MERCIFULLY BRIEF.
WE GATHER THIS AFTERNOON, BUOYED BY THE ASPIRATIONS OF OUR
GRADUATES.
SOME 7,100 PEOPLE WHO HAVE DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES IN
NEARLY EVERY FIELD AND EVERY DISCIPLINE IMAGINABLE.
WE WELCOME THEM INTO THE VENERABLE RANKS OF OUR ALUMNI
AND WE SEND THEM FORTH INTO OWORLD THAT IS VERY MUCH IN NEED
OF BOTH THEIR MINDS AND THEIR HEARTS.
DURING MY BRIEF TIME IN OFFICE, OUR WORLD HAS REMINDED US DAILY
OF THE NECESSITY AND THE URGENCY OF OUR WORK.
WE'VE WITNESSED THE COARSENING OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE AND THE
VOLATILITY OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.
WE'VE MOURNED WHEN GUN VIOLENCE HAS CUT FUTURES SHORT AND
GATHERINGS OF THE FAITHFUL, JEWISH, MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN
HAVE ENDED IN BLOODSHED.
WE'VE CONTINUED TO CONFRONT THE EXISTENTIAL THREAT POSED BY
CLIMATE CHANGE AND WE'VE REELED AS EXTREME WEATHER HAS DESTROYED
HOMES AND CLAIMED LIVES.
AND WE'VE GROWN INCREASINGLY AWARE OF THE SCOURGE OF SEXUAL
HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HAVE STRUGGLED TO CONSIDER
HOW INSTITUTIONS, HARVARD AMONG THEM, CAN PREVENT AND ADDRESS
BEHAVIOR THAT THREATENS INDIVIDUALS AND WEAKENS
COMMUNITIES.
TO BE SURE THERE IS MUCH IN THIS WORLD THAT RIGHTLY TROUBLES US.
BUT THERE'S EVEN MORE THAT GIVES US CAUSE FOR HOPE.
IT'S THAT SPIRIT OF HOPE, THE WILLINGNESS BOTH TO SEE THE
WORLD AS IT IS AND TO CONSIDER HOW WE CAN HELP MAKE IT BETTER
THAT IS IN MANY WAYS THE SPIRIT THAT DEFINES THIS UNIVERSITY AND
I BELIEVE JOINS US ALL TOGETHER.
SINCE I TOOK OFFICE ON JULY 1, I'VE SEEN THE VALUE OF BOTH
KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION AT WORK IN THE WORLD.
I'VE SEEN THE GOOD BEING DONE BY OUR FACULTY AND OUR STUDENTS, BY
OUR ALUMNI AND OUR STAFF AND OUR FRIENDS AND I'VE SEEN
EXPRESSIONS OF COMPASSION AND PATIENCE AND KINDNESS AND WISDOM
THAT HAVE MOVED ME DEEPLY.
I HAD THE BRIDGE OF HELPING TO CELEBRATE MEMBERS OF OUR
COMMUNITY WHO WERE RECENTLY SWORN IN AS NEW UNITED STATES
CITIZENS.
GRADUATES OF THE HARVARD BRIDGE PROGRAM, THROUGH THEIR OWN HARD
WORK AND WITH THE GENEROUS HELP OF VOLUNTEER STUDENT AND YOUHAM
MY TUTORS THEY CAN NOW ENJOY THE FULL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF
CITIZENSHIP AND THE FULL SENSE OF BELONGING THAT COMES WITH IT.
IT WAS TRULY AN INSPIRING CEREMONY.
AT A TIME WHEN SO MANY PEOPLE ARE DISPIRITED BY THE DEEP
DIVISIONS IN OUR COUNTRY, WHEN OUR POLITICS SEEM SO
DYSFUNCTIONAL, OUR GRADUATES ARE TAKING UP THE CAUSE OF PUBLIC
SERVICE BY RUNNING FOR OFFICE IN RECORD NUMBERS.
THE WORLD NEEDS THEM AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE GIVES ME
HOPE.
[APPLAUSE] AS MARGARET NOTED THIS PAST YEAR
I TRAVELED TO MEET ALUMNI WHO ARE HELPING TO STRENGTHEN
COMMUNITIES IN DETROIT AND DALLAS AND HOUSTON.
IN MIAMI, PHOENIX AND NEW YORK.
IN LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, AND SAN DIEGO; IN CHINA, JAPAN
AND ENGLAND.
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ONLY LAUNCHING AND BUILDING
BUSINESSES AND CREATING OPPORTUNITY, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE
ALSO TEACHING, VOLUNTEERING, ADVANCING IMPORTANT LEGISLATION,
WORKING FOR NONPROFITS, AND SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD.
I HAVE YET TO MEET ANYONE WHO THINKS THAT THIS WORLD THAT WE
LIVE IN IS PERFECT.
THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT.
IT'S EQUALLY TRUE OF LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, DEMOCRATS AND
REPUBLICANS.
AND IF YOU DON'T THINK THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN IS PERFECT, THE
ONLY WAY IT GETS BETTER IS IF GOOD PEOPLE WORK TO REPAIR IT.
OUR STUDENTS, OUR FACULTY, OUR STAFF AND ALUMNI ARE DOING THAT
DAILY AND IT MAKES ME SO PROUD.
THIS YEAR I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO MEET AND TO BE MOVED BY NOT JUST
ONE, BUT TWO OF THE NATION'S PREEMINENT POETS, THE UNITED
STATES YOUTH POET LAUREATE, OUR OWN AMANDA AND THE UNITED STATES
POET LAUREATE OUR OWN TRACY K. SMITH.
[APPLAUSE] I HAVE ALSO HAD THE CHANCE TO
MARVEL AT ARTISTS WHO EVERY DAY BREATHE LIFE INTO OUR CAMPUS
WITH THEIR PERFORMANCES AND THEIR CREATIVE WORK.
IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THE TALENT THAT IS REPRESENTED ON THIS
CAMPUS AND AMONG OUR ALUMNI, OUR FACULTY AND STAFF.
AND EVERY DAY I'VE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE REMARKABLE EFFORTS OF
OUR FACULTY TO IMPROVE THE WORLD.
ALISON SIMMONS AND BARBARA GROSS WERE MAKING SURE THAT THE NEXT
GENERATION OF COMPUTER SCIENTISTS IS PREPARED TO
ADDRESS THE ETHICAL QUESTIONS POSED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES.
-- HIS HOUSE ZERO, WHICH IS DEMONSTRATING THE POSSIBILITIES
OF ULTRAEFFICIENT DESIGN IN NEW BUILDING TECHNOLOGY TO RESPOND
TO THE THREAT OF CLIMATE CHANGE -- REVEALING HOW MARRIAGE
AND PARENTHOOD AFFECTS WAGES IN HELPING US UNDERSTAND WHY
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY PERSISTS ACROSS GENERATIONS AND ALSO HOW
WE MIGHT BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY.
I'VE ALSO COME TO KNOW ABOUT THE WORK OF CONNOR WALSH WHO'S
HELPING PEOPLE WITH NEURODEGENERATIVE AND
NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES WALK AGAIN WITH SOFT EXOSUITS THAT
USE THE LATEST ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY TO HELP IMPROVE
MOVEMENT.
OF SARAH WHO'S HELPING TO ADDRESS THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC, BY
CONSIDERING HOW CHANGES IN PUBLIC POLICY CAN REDUCE
CONSUMPTION OF HIGH CALORIE FOODS AND SOFT DRINKS.
OF TONY JACK, WHO'S CHANGING HOW COLLEGES THINK ABOUT SUPPORTING
DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS IN IMPROVING THEIR PROSPECTS, NOT
JUST IN COLLEGE, BUT THROUGHOUT LIFE.
OF ARLENE SHARP AND GORDON FREEMAN WHO ARE GIVING HOPE TO
CANCER PATIENTS BY HARNESSING THE BODY'S OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM TO
TREAT DISEASE.
-- WHOSE SUPERRESOLUTION IMAGING IS ENABLING SCIENTISTS TO LOOK
INSIDE CELLS WITH UNPRECEDENTED CLARITY AND SEE HOW MOLECULES
FUNCTION AND INTERACT.
OF ANDREW WHO HAS CULLED MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF DATA FROM OUR TRIAL
COURTS TO CHANGE HOW WE THINK ABOUT OUR SYSTEM OF CRIMINAL
JUSTICE AND HOW WE MIGHT ACTUALLY IMPROVE IT.
I'VE MET FACULTY ACROSS OUR SCHOOLS WHO ARE EXPANDING
RELIGIOUS LITERACY, WHO ARE EXPLORING THE ROLE OF THE ARTS
IN PROMOTING JUSTICE, WHO ARE CONFRONTING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
FROM EVERY ANGLE, WHO ARE WORKING TO MAKE STATE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT MORE EFFECTIVE.
THEIR WORK IS NOTHING SHORT OF INSPIRING AND I'VE COME TO KNOW
OUR STUDENTS.
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING STUDENTS, TO THE PARENTS WHO ARE HERE, THANK
YOU, THANK YOU FOR SENDING THESE REMARKABLE YOUNG PEOPLE TO US.
THEY ARE NOTHING SHORT OF INSPIRING.
[APPLAUSE] INTERACTING WITH THEM IS ONE OF
THE GREAT PRIVILEGES OF LIVING AND WORKING ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS.
ADELE AND I HAVE HAD DINNER WITH THEM IN THE HOUSES.
WE'VE WATCHED THEM PERFORM ON THE STAGE AND ON THE PLAYING
FIELDS.
I'VE MET WITH THEM DURING OFFICE HOURS AND TALKED TO THEM AS I'VE
GONE RUNNING WITH THEM.
IF YOU SPEND TIME WITH OUR STUDENTS, YOU CANNOT HELP BUT
FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT OUR FUTURE.
THIS PAST WEEK I HAD LUNCH WITH 30 GRADUATING SENIORS.
IT WAS WONDERFUL TO HEAR HOW THEY THINK THEY HAVE CHANGED AND
MATURED DURING THEIR FOUR YEARS HERE.
I ACTUALLY ASKED THEM HOW IS YOUR CURRENT SELF DIFFERENT FROM
YOUR 18-YEAR-OLD SELF THAT ARRIVED HERE ON CAMPUS?
AND THE STORIES WERE MARVELOUS.
AND I'VE WITNESSED THIS PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION MYSELF.
I HELPED TO ADVISE THREE OF OUR INCOMING FIRST YEAR
UNDERGRADUATES THIS YEAR AND THEY HELPED ME EXPERIENCE AND
UNDERSTAND HARVARD THROUGH THEIR EYES, TO ANDREW, CLAIRE AND
KAREN, THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR FIRST YEAR FOR ME AND FOR
TEACHING ME SO WELL.
FOR EVERY PERSON I'VE NAMED, FOR EVERY EXAMPLE I'VE CITED, THERE
ARE THOUSANDS OF OTHER HARVARD CITIZENS, STUDENTS AND ALUMNI,
FACULTY AND STAFF, WHO ARE MAKING THE WORLD BETTER IN MORE
WAYS THAN WE COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE.
THAT IS THE POWER OF THIS INSTITUTION, NOT ITS BRAND, NOT
OUR BUILDINGS, NOT OUR POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, AS WONDERFUL AND
TERRIFIC AS THAT IS, THIS UNIVERSITY, HARVARD IS ITS
PEOPLE, THEIR ASPIRATIONS, THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, THEIR DIVERSITY OF
BACKGROUND, EXPERIENCE, AND THOUGHT, THEIR DESIRE TO SEE
BEYOND THEMSELVES AND THEIR DEVOTION TO SERVING OTHERS.
SO YES, I AM AN OPTIMIST.
I'M AN OPTIMIST BECAUSE I LIVE AND WORK AMONG ALL OF YOU
BECAUSE I SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO AND BECAUSE I KNOW THE BOUNDLESS
POTENTIAL OF WHAT YOU CAN DO.
MAY WE LOOK AT ONE ANOTHER FOR INSPIRATION IN THE YEARS TO
COME, MAY THE EXPECTATIONS PLACED ON US BE COMPETED ONLY BY
OUR ABILITY TO MEET THEM AND MAY HARVARD CONTINUE TO BE A
WELLSPRING OF HOPE FOR THE WORLD.
IT'S AN HONOR TO SERVE YOU AS YOU PRESIDENT.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWEST ALUMNI AND THANK YOU TO ALL.