Discover Knowledge; Discover Yourself
Remarks - Ann Weaver Hart
Durham, N.H.,
September 2, 2002
What a pleasure it is for me to see you all here today. I hope that you are getting settled with your new roommates, have enjoyed your activities this weekend, and are ready for your first day of classes at the University of New Hampshire. This convocation is the official beginning of your college education and the beginning of your new, much more independent life. I, too, am new to UNH and hope that you will welcome and greet me when our paths cross. In many ways, we are in the same class; we will learn many things together, and we will celebrate together at your commencement ceremonies when you graduate.
You are the newest students of a great university; THE University of New Hampshire. We mean what it says on all those banners hanging around Durham. The people of New Hampshire began to dream of having a university of their own long before the Morrill Act established the funding base for the land-grant colleges in the mid-1800s. From the beginning, this precious resource has been an investment of the states' citizens in its future, an investment in you and students like you. Many of you have traveled far to attend UNH from homes across the United States and around the world, and you add the richness of life experiences and the multitude of points of view that will help make the next four years a globally authentic education for the rest of us.
What kind of education can you expect from this tremendous institution in the next few years? You can expect to receive the very best teaching from caring and attentive faculty members who advise and counsel as well as teach. When I wanted to know more about UNH before coming here, I talked with students, faculty, citizens, and alumni. They described with conviction and affection how much they loved their time at the University; you can and should expect to feel the same way when you leave here with your degree.
You can expect to learn as much from your experiences outside of the classroom as from experiences inside of the classroom. Your coursework is far more than listening to lectures or attending labs. And please reach out to embrace the tremendous and varied learning opportunities available to you here - find out about undergraduate research, take time to embrace an international study or research opportunity, seek out internships and community service to test your growing knowledge in the workplace and broader community, create and perform, begin immediately to give back to the University by joining in student organizations and professional societies, play together and celebrate together in intramural athletics, attend the many competitive athletic events and performances. Discover knowledge; discover yourself. We have worked to build a university that sets the stage and provides the ingredients for you to do so.
UNH also gives you access to the resources, energy and excitement of superb graduate and professional programs. These programs push the boundaries of human knowledge, soaring into realms of understanding and insight that shape the future in ways we can only now imagine while grounding new knowledge in the struggles of its application and in life.
The University also contributes to our broader community, and you should, too. Every day, through its statewide extension programs, UNH honors its past and its future as a land grant university. Our sea and space grant designations add to this heritage. The many partnerships that are part of extension combine to make UNH an economic engine for the state, even as it serves as a center of art, music, and culture, contributing to our overall enjoyment of a rich quality of life.
Many, many other programs at UNH give back to the community and are available to you. I offer only a few examples.
The marine science, fisheries, and coastal mapping programs at the University create a cohesive and rapidly growing body of research applied to practice. The AIRMAP Cooperative Institute and the New England Air Quality Study combine with other UNH initiatives to make New Hampshire a national center for the study of atmospheric and air quality. AIRMAP provides the current air quality information you see inside the main entrance on the third floor of the Dimond Library. Take a moment to look to the right as you walk in and find out what you're breathing! The Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space is another interdisciplinary incubator for world-shaping research and development transcending traditional academic boundaries.
New centers of excellence at UNH have grown out of the private fundraising as well. For example, the Hamel Center for the Management of Technology and Innovation will partner with New Hampshire businesses to provide educational and technical assistance for managing technological change and commercializing emerging technologies. The Carsey Institute for Effective Families and Communities will confront the challenging new environment for families and communities in the new century.
We all know that UNH also faces some challenges, and you will struggle with us to face them. Some of these include: assuring that the tradition of superb faculty intellectual leadership continues at UNH by recruiting and retaining the best possible faculty; assuring that the maintenance and quality of our physical facilities, especially our laboratory facilities in the sciences and engineering, are preserved; providing state-of-the-art instructional, cultural, and athletic facilities; equipment; computers; instruments; and laboratories; containing tuition growth and securing more financial aid support so that the very best higher education is assured for all qualified students.
As you get to know the campus, buildings, and facilities better, you will see how wonderful many of our facilities are, as well as how real and vivid some of these challenges are. Please know that we are working hard to address them.
You will hear and read in the next year about some immediate priorities and goals we are working together to achieve. The faculty is designing and evaluating a more coherent and state-of-the-academic-art undergraduate experience for you (with special attention to the first year experience and general education requirements) that will make your journey of knowledge discovery and personal discovery more powerful.
We are hoping to achieve a better integration between your academic and social lives to assure a rigorous education and the fulfillment of our promise of providing a unique and supportive undergraduate education truly integrated into a research, discovery-based, learning experience.
We seek to create a more effective structure and greater focus for our outreach and engagement within the state and the across the nation.
We continually strive for a more diverse faculty, student body, and staff to assure a world class educational environment and a globally-authentic education for all of you.
We must complete the implementation of a new administrative enterprise data base system, as well as other important initiatives in information technology that cut across academic affairs, research administration, security, e-commerce, and e-learning.
In the next few years, we will successfully complete building and renovation projects at Murkland Hall and Kingsbury Hall and aggressively seek to secure funding for the renovation and renewal of our outdated science and engineering buildings. We will raise funds for important academic initiatives, athletic facilities, and student scholarship support through our wonderful University Foundation.
And, we will work with you on the quality of your student life at UNH, including residential life, student-landlord relations, the Greek Life experience, and relations with our friends and neighbors in Durham. While we face these challenges, we pledge to provide you with the stellar education you deserve.
We also need your support as citizens of our state and nation. Higher education is facing a difficult period with economic, political, and philosophical challenges that could undermine our ability to achieve our potential and fulfill our promise to you. Take time to get involved in the issues of our community at all levels - local, state, and national - and to advocate strongly to protect our nation's traditional and vital commitment to higher education.
As you can see, there is no danger that you will be bored during your time at UNH. You are our new partners. The opportunities and challenges are remarkable in their scope and complexity, and all of us at UNH are eager to embark with you on our shared effort. We are very serious about our promise to provide a place of discovery for you that you will treasure the next four years now and for the rest of your life.
Welcome to our newest Wildcats. Enjoy.
