Let me be among the first to welcome you to the beginning of our 2022-23 academic year. I’d like to offer a special greeting to the members of our first-year class of more than 400 students, as well as new faculty and staff members. And, I want to say a word of welcome to our returning faculty, staff, and students as well.

For me, this is a particularly exciting convocation as it marks the beginning of my first full academic year as President at Guilford College. Opening convocations, like the one we are gathered for today, provide an opportunity to publicly set the tone for the new academic year. And this year, for Guilford, it is a conversation starter for setting the direction for the College. 

As you know, I started at Guilford in early January. My first semester at Guilford provided an opportunity for me to learn something new every day about this wonderful institution, meet many students and new colleagues, and reaffirm that this is a place that has an ongoing impact on so many people it touches. Now, I’m looking forward to spending this entire academic year with you.

In preparing for today, and knowing that many of the people in attendance are first-year students who are midway through their first week here, I’ve been thinking about messages that I wish I had received early in my academic journey.  

Let me preface these thoughts by admitting the following to members of our entering class: I am actually quite envious of all of you. You are at the beginning of a journey that will have a lasting impact on your lives. You will have an opportunity to take classes in new subjects — many of which you’ve likely never considered taking. You’ll have opportunities to see new parts of the world as you study abroad, or engage in exciting internships that will launch you into exciting careers. You will connect for the first time with people who will remain your closest friends for the rest of your lives. I can guarantee that each of you will look back, when you reach the end of this journey in a few years, and fondly reflect on the experiences that your college years have provided you.

I have six short points of encouragement about ways to get the most out of this journey: 

• First, take full advantage of your time in college. Soak in all of the learning from your classes, use this time to meet people who will continue to have a tremendous impact in your lives. This time will go by much faster than you will ever imagine — soak it all in. Get as much as you can from it — and be sure to enjoy it.
   
• Second, use this as a time to try and understand and appreciate different opinions. You will encounter people who view various hot-button issues differently than you do. College is a place to challenge our own assumptions and respectfully challenge the assumptions of others. 
  
  Purposefully spend time with people who have a different perspective, and show the world that people of differing opinions can interact in good spirit. I personally worry as I look at our various divisions in present-day society and wonder if we are losing the ability to look deeply at critical issues and work across our differences to find solutions. Can we build an impactful dialogue on important issues facing our nation today, such as economic divisions, racial and gender equity, educational opportunity, and so many others? Can we do so in a way that is not dependent on our increasingly polarized media, or an increasingly opportunistic and dividing political sphere? 
  
  This year at Guilford we will be having a series of Critical Conversations — discussions on issues that are important for our broader society, yet which we are not discussing. These conversations will enable us to look at issues from a variety of angles, and from an inclusive framework. I hope you will participate in them.
   
• Third, envision the type of college-community that you want to be part of – then commit to helping us create it. This year is going to be very much about setting our eyes on the type of place we want to be, and building it.
  
  In the spring semester we will complete a strategic planning process — a process that we refer to as Envisioning Guilford College 2027. This process is enabling us to think about where we want to see Guilford College in five years in several critical areas: Academic Engagement and Success, Communications, Community Building, Financial Stability, and Partnerships. In developing the plan thus far, we have gathered over 100 support documents, held over 40 input sessions, and engaged over 650 participants. This fall, we will continue gathering information, gaining perspectives, and drafting early components of the plan.
  
  We need all of you to be involved in the process — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Guilford. We need this plan to reflect our common vision for where we are taking this institution as we move into our next stages of development. Most importantly, as we complete our plan, we want you to be involved with its implementation. 
  
  As part of our planning process, we are exploring ways that Guilford can be more engaged with our community. Later this semester, we will be announcing our anchor institution framework which recognizes that we are a college in and more importantly of Greensboro. As such, Greensboro’s celebrations should be our celebrations and Greensboro’s challenges should be our challenges. When we see local issues around health, educational, and housing inequalities, we need to find ways that we can partner with our local institutions and citizens to ensure the well-being of our city.
   
• Fourth, leverage our diversity as an example for the nation. Guilford, like many other colleges and universities, is becoming far more diverse as an institution. One of our goals for this year is to identify longterm strategies for leveraging that diversity for the true benefit of Guilfordians past, present, and future ... as well as for the broader society. As our nation sadly continues to wrestle with rising incidents of intolerance, we need to recognize our continued importance in holding deeply the notion of seeing the Light in everyone, and doing everything that we possibly can to support each of our roles as vessels for the common good.
   
• Fifth, learn to appreciate the silence. But also learn to make some noise. As a Quaker institution, silence has a critical role at Guilford — it provides a Centering space that helps us to base our actions on a deep level of discernment and reflection. Out of that silence comes guidance on how and when to act to move our realities along a continuum of how things currently are to a more just and equitable place of where they should be. Along with honoring the silence, we should do an even better job of celebrating together the accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the institution as a whole.
   
• Sixth, appreciate the value of Guilford as a small liberal arts college. We are proudly small. Our size enables us to get to  know one another in some ways that are unique. We are also proudly a liberal arts institution. As such, we encourage people to think in ways that are deeply influenced by the humanities, the arts, and the sciences. We develop the critical and reflective thinkers that are so needed in our broader society today.
  
  We all have several responsibilities that we need to keep in mind. We are all part of this important community, whether as students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, or family members. As such, we all have a responsibility for the learning and well being of our students. I personally take the opportunities and success of each and everyone of our students to heart. I hope you will, too.

I also take the wellbeing of everyone who works for Guilford to heart. Whether you are an administrator, housekeeper, dining hall employee, faculty member, or staff member, your wellbeing, as part of this community, is critical for our overall health.

Over the past several months, I’ve been able to talk with dozens of alumni about their Guilford experiences — and I have heard so many people whose stories are very much part of the Guilford legacy. So much of our job is to continue to enhance the connection, and the experiences, and the roles of our alumni network to build upon those experiences and galvanize who we are as a broad community.

Guilford is evolving as an institution. We are building on our strengths and on the legacies of those who have come before us. I encourage you to embrace your role in shaping and making it a much stronger institution — one that builds on the experiences of all who have come before us, and all who are presently here.

I anticipate that in a short period of time we will be able to look at our shared experiences during this academic year — and proudly reflect on Guilford as a learning community and the continued impact of Guilfordians in Greensboro, other parts of the U.S., and other corners of the world. I am excited to be on this journey with each and every one of you. Thank you.
 

Related Links:

• Read more about Convocation 2022.
• Watch a slideshow of photos from Convocation 2022.