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President Scott S.
Cowen SETTING THE STANDARD It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to today's convocation and the opening of the academic year. Today also marks the official beginning of my inaugural year as the 14th president of Tulane University. In my short time as president, I have come to realize that this is the second-best job I have ever had. What was the best? The best job I ever had was being president-elect of Tulane University! I enjoyed that six months so much that I think the position should be institutionalized throughout higher education. What made being president-elect so special? I was welcomed at Tulane with open arms, intently listened to and rarely disagreed with. I had no responsibility, and was free to say or do virtually anything without being held accountable. I couldn't do anything wrong! At the same time, my old colleagues at Case Western Reserve University began to treat me with the respect and reverence afforded an elder statesman. For some unknown reason, they could only remember the good things I did. The tears and kind words I received in the last few months were worth the years of long hours and periodic setbacks that invariably accompany change in the academy. So perhaps you can appreciate my mixed emotions as I stand here today--longing for the good old days of being president-elect, but eagerly and enthusiastically wanting to lead this outstanding institution into the next millennium. I am honored to be Tulane's President and thank you from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity. However, I should tell you that being president of a university was never one of my goals. I don't care much about titles or about position, but I care very much about institution-building--working to make whatever institution I am involved with the absolute best it can be. That is what motivates me. This is why I am here! As many of you know, the theme for my inaugural year is "Tulane: A Renaissance of Thought and Action." A renaissance is a rebirth, a rethinking. An opportunity for creative and expansive thinking today about what Tulane can become tomorrow. I want us to engage this year, and in the years to come, in an on-going dialogue about Tulane and what it aspires to be. I trust this dialogue will be deep and rich in its intellectual content and rigor, a real "soul-searching" founded on facts and in the context of the shifting needs of society and the changing environment that surrounds higher education. The outcome of this dialogue should be a sense of where this institution is headed, intellectually and academically. Once this is done, we must act to ensure that our ideas and dreams become reality. In building an organization, process and dialogue are not enough. As Ernest Hemingway once said, "Never mistake motion for action." We at Tulane must take the bold steps necessary to secure our future. We must take action, or we will find ourselves either falling behind or--at best--struggling to keep pace with those we now consider our peers. I want more than that for Tulane, and I know you do as well. It is an interesting time in the history of higher education to become a university president. The environment that nurtured truly influential university presidents such as Chicago's Robert Maynard Hutchins and Harvard's James Conant--scholarly visionaries who often set the tone for public opinion--has changed dramatically. Today, pressures both from within and outside the academy have tended to "marginalize" the role of a university president. The "age" of political correctness, higher education as "big business" and unrelenting public scrutiny and criticism have encouraged presidents to say as little as possible publicly for fear of alienating faculty or turning away prospective donors. "Keep your head down," "Avoid controversy," "Become the Teflon man--don't let anything stick to you," and, by all means, "Don't speak out on the issues of the day"--those are the nuggets of advice often given to a new president. So this is the environment in which I begin my presidency at Tulane, and I actually find this to be an exhilarating prospect, rather than daunting or intimidating. What better time to lead an organization like Tulane--already strong, but with unlimited potential--than now, as we prepare to enter a new millennium? We not only have the opportunity to chart the future of this fine institution but, in doing so, to provide direction for others seeking to redefine the "role" of a university in society. I believe--as do many others--that higher education is at a crossroads as our society evolves from an age based on machines and industry to one based on knowledge and information. What are this nation's priorities at the time of this transition and at the doorstep of a new millennium? This is the critical question currently facing higher education. It is critical that it be asked by every university aspiring to greatness in a future characterized by fierce competition both for academic acclaim and for the financial resources necessary to reach and sustain excellence. So, how will we at Tulane chart our future? Will it be "business as usual," content in the belief that we are already everything we need to be? Or will we have the courage and confidence to take a long, hard look at ourselves and make whatever changes are necessary to secure Tulane's future and realize its full potential? You can already suspect my answer. No university today--no matter its stature, reputation, or financial resources--can afford to be complacent, because to "stay the course" is to retreat. I believe Albert Einstein said it best when he stated: "Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results." As we embark on the renaissance that will determine Tulane's future, I can't help but reflect on the academic vision that guided this institution's beginnings with the creation of the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834, the founding of Tulane University of Louisiana in 1884, and the creation of H. Sophie Newcomb College in 1886. Throughout its lifetime, this institution has reflected its strong foundation in undergraduate education, adult education and research. It has been an agent of change and development for the state, the region and the nation. It was built with the classic vision of a university's fundamental purpose: to generate and transmit knowledge for the betterment of society. Such a simple concept, yet so difficult to execute well. You have made such wonderful progress in fulfilling this vision.
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