當地時間9月6日，哈佛大學新任校長克勞丁•蓋伊（Claudine Gay）發表了一個2分鐘的簡短開學致辭，隨後在哈佛紀念教堂晨禱儀式上又發表了一個7分鐘的演講。
在開學致辭中，蓋伊說道：作為個人和作為一個團體，我們將取得什麼樣的成就？我們如何迎接這個時刻?我們將如何迎接這個時刻？對我來說,，成為我們大學的一員最鼓舞人心的一面就是知道在哈佛,“能力”和“意願”之間的鴻溝很小。在同事和同學的鼓勵下，在非凡成就歷史的激勵下，我們敢於達成目標。
克勞丁·蓋伊此前任哈佛大學文理學院院長，是一位民主方面的學者。2022年12月15日，哈佛大學宣佈，克勞丁·蓋伊將成為該校第30任校長。她將是哈佛曆史上第一位非裔校長和第二位女性校長。 於2023年7月1日擔任哈佛大學新校長。
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歡迎,再次歡迎回到哈佛!
Welcome, and welcome back to Harvard!
每一個學年的開始都令人激動且充滿希望。
The beginning of each academic year thrills with possibility.
我們能夠取得什麼樣的成就?
What can we accomplish?
作為個人和作為一個團體,我們將取得什麼樣的成就?
What will we accomplish as individuals and as a community?
我們如何迎接這個時刻?我們將如何迎接這個時刻?
How can we, how will we meet the moment?
對我來說,成為我們大學的一員最鼓舞人心的一面就是知道在哈佛,“能力”和“意願”之間的鴻溝很小。
For me, one of the most inspiring aspects of being part of our university is knowing that the gap between can and will is narrower here at Harvard.
在同事和同學的鼓勵下,在非凡成就歷史的激勵下,我們敢於達成目標。
We dare to reach, encouraged by colleagues and by classmates, emboldened by a history of extraordinary achievement.
我們敢於改變,因為知道領導力和影響力需要創新。
We dare to change knowing that leadership and impact demand innovation.
自當選校長以來,我對整個社群存在的願景瞭解得更多。
Since my election as president, I've learned more about the aspirations that exist throughout our community.
這些願景不僅實現我們的使命,還擴大、充實並慶祝它。
Aspirations that not only fulfill our mission but also expand, enrich, and celebrate it.
在活動和會議上,在偶遇中和吃冰淇淋時,我瞭解到你們中的一些人,並理解是什麼驅使你們為大學做出貢獻和改變世界的動力。
At events and meetings, in chance encounters and over ice cream, I've gotten to know some of you and to understand what motivates your contributions to the university and your drive to change the world.
雖然我們的目標廣泛多樣,但我們都共享一些重要而本質的東西,那就是無窮無盡的好奇心。
Though our pursuits are vast and varied, we all share something important and essential, a boundless and probing curiosity.
作為校長,我對你們的雄心、樂觀、無畏和才華充滿敬畏,也對你們給予我的熱烈歡迎充滿了無限的感激,開始我的第一個學年。
I begin my first academic year as president in awe of your ambition, your optimism, your fearlessness, and your talent, and with enormous gratitude for the warm welcome you've given me.
在未來的幾個月裡,我祝你們一切順利,並期待我們將共同取得的一切。
I wish you well in the months to come and I look forward to everything we'll accomplish together.
再次歡迎,期待很快見到你們!
Once again, welcome and see you soon.
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Good morning.
Ever since I took office, people have been curious about who I am.
Not in the usual ways.
Not in the ways a CV could communicate the arcs and contours of my academic career.
Not in the ways a biographical sketch could fill in the blanks.
People are curious about who I am, what matters to me.
Because you are here this morning, I wanna share something with you that, that almost no one knows.
I wanna tell you about my very brief career in reality television.
Now, when this happened, it wasn't yet called reality television, it was called "Romper Room." And the premise, if you are unfamiliar with the program, was simple.
It was preschool-aged children singing songs, playing games, and learning lessons with the help of a cheerful and compassionate teacher.
There was also a bumblebee, Mr. Do-Bee, who modeled good manners.
And for 41 years, yes, 41 years, this program delighted young learners, including myself, across the United States.
So it was 1975, and I had just turned five, and was very excited to soon be heading to kindergarten.
And my family lived in Georgia at the time, and my mother somehow had landed me a spot on "Romper Room." And so that Monday morning, we arrived at our local television station, and I took my place with the other children, and things got off to a good start.
I could sing songs, I could play games, I could definitely learn lessons.
And thanks to my parents, my manners were impeccable, for a five-year-old, of course.
And then, the puppet show began.
And at first I was enthralled, sitting very still as the story unfolded before me, but my curiosity soon begged questions.
How are these things moving? What was happening back there, beyond the curtains? What wasn't I seeing? So I began to wriggle in my seat.
and eventually I left my seat and went backstage, and my cheerful and compassionate teacher intervened and I was returned to my seat.
And I was returned to my seat again, and again, and again.
And even unscripted local television has its limits- And with good humor and truly no hard feelings, I was ejected from "Romper Room." And so you know, I had forgotten most of this episode until earlier this year.
My mother, Claudette Gay, passed away just before commencement, and soon after, I found myself sorting through things that she had saved over the course of her rich, rich life.
And I found tucked among her papers, actually, it was right next to her college diploma, my "Romper Room" diploma, affirming that I was, and actually, I brought it today- I was, and I quote at, all times a good Do-Bee.
So there it is.
So this object is one of my mom's belongings, and the object is also evidence of my mother's belonging.
And I think of her, an immigrant woman less than a decade into her life in the United States, a young mother, a college student, navigating an unfamiliar landscape for the sake of an opportunity for her daughter.
I think of the time and effort she must have devoted to getting me on that show in the first place.
And I think of her pride and her joy in her achievement and my achievement.
So this is my first first day of school without my mother, and I share her with you to celebrate her, and also so that you may come to know me better.
So who am I? Obviously, you can read it right here, I'm a good Do-Bee.
And I hope to be a great colleague to all and a great leader for all.
How did I get here? Propelled by belief in the power of education, the power of curiosity and ideas, the power of attentive and industrious work instilled in me by my mother and father, nurtured in me by my teachers and my mentors.
When I helped at move-in day last week, I loved seeing families who never set foot on our campus before, who had never really even been here or anywhere like here.
And I loved seeing parents and siblings sporting their Harvard gear, brimming with pride and joy at their newfound association with this place and all that it means in the world.
And I thought about those belongings, about their belonging, and it reminded me of just how much our work in this place matter for more lives than we can count.
Harvard is not just for her students, not just for the people who are fortunate enough to be considered members of our community.
Our reach, our embrace, our obligation is wider than that, and can and should be wider still.
Each of us has a hand in deepening the connection between our mission and our society, and that connection is what matters to me.
And every year brings fresh opportunity to renew that commitment.
So thank you for sharing this time with me this morning, and welcome to the first day of school, and welcome to a new semester.
哈佛新任校長開學演講
敦促新生們無畏地迎接個人轉變
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It was a day of firsts.
Harvard President Claudine Gay welcomed the Class of 2027 and exhorted them to lean into the journey that brought them to the present moment and gear up for the transformations that await them in the next four years.
“Let your joy and your pride win out,” said Gay, Ph.D. ’98, who spoke at Tercentenary Theatre on Monday afternoon in the annual Convocation ceremony, officially marking the entry of first-year students into the Harvard community. “Each of you deserves it. Each of you has earned it. Each of you belongs here.
“Each of you will make Harvard stronger and better by being who you are, by sharing your perspective, and by contributing to our mission,” she said. “I know this because I have seen it myself. Year after year, as a faculty member, I witnessed extraordinary transformations in students, profound shifts in understanding and awareness across every dimension of being.”
Yesterday was also an extra special Convocation for Gay, marking her first as president of Harvard. Gay succeeded Larry Bacow, who stepped down in June, after serving as Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 2018. Gay, who was also Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and a professor of African and African-American studies, urged the students to be prepared to overcome feelings of self-doubt that may arise at times during their undergraduate years.
She noted such insecurities are difficult to avoid, recounting an incident that took place when she was a child. At the age of 11 she began to feel painfully “insufficient” because she lacked a middle name. She feared being thus incomplete might somehow preclude her from “the possibility of reinvention.” When Gay turned to her parents for advice, they simply responded: “Your name is enough.”
“I turned those four words over in my mind, and they have stayed with me all these years, a powerful statement about my inheritance, my identity, and my capacity,” said Gay. “Sometimes, even now, even as president, when I am pushing a pen across paper and signing my name, those four words surface in my mind.”
“At some point between now and Commencement — probably at several points between now and your Commencement — you will feel insufficient. Despite knowing better, you will feel as if everyone around you knows exactly what is going on, as if everyone around you understands something you do not, sees something that you do not. When that happens, I hope you remember this story — and my parents’ wisdom.”
In closing Gay asked students to be willing to be transformed by Harvard by exploring who they are and who they want to become. “You have been given a name, and that is all that you need, but from this day forward you will make a name for yourself,” she said.
“Who can you be? Who will you be?’ said Gay. “These are the questions that you will consider alongside your classmates; in conversation with faculty, proctors, tutors, and deans; and in connection to your own learning and scholarship.
“Take notice of work and ideas that energize and fulfill you. Take notice of your joy and your satisfaction. Take nothing for granted. Be willing to reconsider assumptions for the sake of your present happiness, but also for future contentment.”
Along with Gay, other University officials took part in the ceremony to salute the newest members of the Harvard community, including Thomas Dunne, dean of students at Harvard College. Representing students were Harvard Undergraduate Association co-presidents John Cooke ’25 and Shikoh Hirabayashi ’25.
Rakesh Khurana, A.M. ’97, Ph.D.’98, Martin Bower Professor of Leadership at the Harvard Business School, professor of sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Danoff Dean of Harvard College, encouraged students to make the best of their Harvard education by being “open to transformation” and “commit[ting] to something beyond yourself.”
“College is not a stop on the way to the rest of your life,” he said. “This is your life. And these four years of College are where the patterns for your lives will be set. If you spend these years taking no chances, reinforcing your beliefs, deferring any reflection on who you are and what you want, you will be doing the same thing in 20 years.
“In embracing your own transformation, you will be embracing the best that a liberal arts education has to offer,” said Khurana. “To embrace your own transformation may sound like a selfish pursuit when there is so much work to be done in our world. But it is the only way forward. We can only begin to change the world if we are open to changing ourselves.”
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