(upbeat music)
- [Nicole] All right, Lafayette family.
It is time for another episode of "Need a Lift?"
And I am so excited, because
it is Commencement time here at Lafayette.
And we are about to pick up somebody very special.
Everybody get ready to meet my next guest.
That's right.
It's Chip Bergh.
- Hello.
- [Nicole] Hi, Chip. How you doing?
- Ah, this is amazing.
- [Nicole] Welcome to campus.
- [Chip] So great to finally meet you in person.
- I'm a hugger. - OK good.
- So you're getting a hug.
We're into that.
- I'm a hugger too. (Nicole laughs)
- Well, welcome back home.
- Well, it's so amazing to be back on campus.
- It is great to have you here.
- I am so excited.
I'm emotional about it actually.
- Wow.
- It's really been great.
And it's only been an hour and a half.
- I was about to say, we've only just begun.
- I know.
- So, we're gonna have some fun.
- It's amazing how much it's changed though.
So much has changed, but so much is still the same.
- Well, we're gonna drive you around, and you can tell me
about how much of it's changed or the same.
But uh...
- Just the fact that this is a street.
- Yeah, no, huge difference.
- This used to be a street.
- [Nicole] You were here graduating '79.
- [Chip] '79.
- [Nicole] And just to refresh everybody,
what did you study when you were at Lafayette?
- So, I majored in international affairs,
very much a liberal arts education.
So, my class, we graduated 33 different majors.
- Wow.
- Oh, but now it's like 55...
- Yeah, I know. We keep growing.
- This class, 53 or 55.
And majors that, you know,
didn't even exist back in the day...
- Yeah.
- when I was in school.
So it's really impressive.
The young woman who took us around
on our College tour today,
double major in bioengineering and theater.
And neither one of those existed as a major
back when I was here at school.
- Well, part of my "Need a Lift?" is we always stop
and get some coffee.
- Awesome.
- So, I think your coffee's coming right now.
- [Chip] I'm down for that.
(Nicole laughs) - [Nicole] Here we go.
- [Chip] Oh, they know what I like, even.
Look at that!
Now let me guess, four shots of espresso,
half-caf with Splenda?
- [Barista] Exactly.
- There you go.
- Unbelievable.
(Nicole laughs)
Thank you very much.
- Thank you. Good to see you.
All right. Well, cheers.
- That's awesome. - Cheers.
- Welcome home.
- Thank you very much. It's so great to be home.
- [Nicole] I keep talking about the power of
"and" at Lafayette, right?
So, power of "and" is, right, it's,
what you saw this morning with your tour.
- Yep.
- It's liberal arts and engineering, right?
- And science. - Right. It's not "or."
- It's education and athletics.
- You got it.
- It is...
Bingo.
- It is classroom and social activities.
- You got it.
And it's campus and community right?
- Right.
- So the idea that we are separate from Easton
is just not true.
We're profoundly part of Easton.
- Part of Easton.
- And Easton needs to be lifted up,
just as we need to lift up the College.
So, I'm very excited about re-imagining McCartney
and some of these areas that felt like boundaries.
We shouldn't have any boundaries, right?
- Exactly.
- We should be one group of people.
- One community. - Right, one community.
- [Chip] OK, I'm gonna bust myself a little bit here,
but, you know, this is South College.
This was my freshman dorm
48 years ago.
1975.
And I was on the third floor on the other side
of the building, on the back side of the building.
But, one day, in the fall of my freshman year,
somebody bought some surgical tubing.
(Nicole laughs)
And we created, I think, the world's largest sling shot.
And we were firing water balloons
off of this roof, over the geology building,
all the way to the Quad.
- That's amazing.
- We were also firing over the chapel.
It was hysterical.
- That's impressive. Well, so you should...
- What's amazing is we didn't get caught,
and we didn't get in trouble.
(Nicole laughs)
We got away with it.
That's what's amazing.
- Well, so one of the things that we do every episode,
I'm sure you are ready for this one,
because I know that you're somebody that can take all sorts
of interesting questions.
So, here we go.
Ready for our little speed round here?
- Sure.
All right. So your favorite word is?
- "Discipline."
- Nice word.
That's actually a really powerful word.
OK. Favorite song?
- OK. Favorite movie is "Top Gun."
- OK.
- Favorite song...
- There's about to be another one too, right?
- I know, coming out this summer.
- All right.
- Postponed for two years because of COVID.
But my favorite song
is a song from that movie
called "Playing With the Boys."
- Yes. The volleyball scene.
- And it is... - Isn't it?
Yes, it is the volleyball scene.
(Nicole laughs)
It's a Kenny Loggins song.
I'm dating myself.
- I'm dating myself too.
- But, every year, they have Fleet Week in San Francisco,
and the Blue Angels come.
And when they come, they practice for two days
right outside of my office.
And I just crank that song over, and over, and over again.
- It's an awesome song.
- I'm loving these answers, Chip.
OK. Last one.
When I say "Lafayette," you think?
First word that
comes to mind when I say "Lafayette"?
- "Liberal arts."
- Yep.
- It's who it was when I was here.
It's what Lafayette is to me.
Amazing education, lifelong learning,
fond memories.
- Well, it's back to the discipline
of who we are to the core.
So, I actually love that answer.
Because, you know, you can evolve,
but you can have that core.
And that core is still here,
which is really exciting.
- I kind of end my talk for tomorrow
talking about don't forget Lafayette.
Because, the longer I've been away from it,
the more I've realized the impact that it had on my life.
I didn't fully appreciate it when I graduated.
And the further removed from it I've been,
the more I realize how much
of an impact it had.
And the more I want to give back
and make a difference and, you know,
help propel the school to the next level of greatness.
And for the young generation today,
they wanna work at a place that shares their values.
You know, so they're looking for
a real alignment between their personal values
and wherever they're gonna wind up, you know,
committing themselves from a career standpoint.
And to prepare them for that,
giving them experiences is everything, you know.
The opportunity to travel and/or study overseas is huge.
That global perspective today is so necessary.
When I went to school, my class,
we had 10 international students.
- Wow. Wow.
- This graduating class,
there were people from 53 different countries.
- That's right. That's right.
- So, you know, almost by definition,
people have gone to school the last four years
and very likely have friends who grew up
in a completely different world and environment
than they did.
- That's right.
- And that diversity is, in itself, an experience.
- Well, it makes our classrooms stronger, right?
It makes our labs stronger.
- Totally, I say a diverse organization will outcompete
a homogenous one every single day.
When I came to school here,
this is in my talk too tomorrow,
We were mostly white,
mostly middle income, middle-upper income students,
from mostly Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York,
and 10 international students, as I said.
Now, I think it's 43 states, 53 countries?
It's like the United Nations here, almost.
And that diversity makes this school a better place.
Students come away from here,
because our our problems today are global problems.
They're not Pennsylvania problems, they're global problems,
and they're more prepared to face the world
having spent four years in such a diverse environment.
- Well, Chip, thank you for, for coming in the cart.
I know I got a lift, so.
(Nicole laughs)
- Well, this was so much fun. It was awesome.
And you're a pretty good driver too. Not bad.
- You know. It was part of the interview process.
No, no.
(both laugh)
No, this was a lot of fun,
and it's a great way to get to know you too.
And thank you so much.
- To great things ahead.
- Can I give you a hug goodbye?
- Absolutely. Anytime.
- Thanks for the lift.
- Yes.
- I really appreciate it, and how do I get outta here?
- There you go.
(Nicole laughs and claps)
- All right.
Thank you, Nicole.
- See you later.
(upbeat closing music)