I am delighted to welcome and greet you all from the President’s Office, here in Westlands, as we gather virtually from around the globe to celebrate the Graduate Commencement of Sarah Lawrence College!
I hope that you will join me as we begin today with a big shout-out to the dedicated faculty and staff of the graduate program and across the College. As you know, faculty have worked tirelessly to reimagine courses and curriculum, adapting to the moment and maintaining the close classroom environment and student-faculty engagement that are hallmarks of a Sarah Lawrence education.
And I also want to recognize the families and friends who join us today, whose support, encouragement, and love has been so crucial to your success.
Graduates—class of 2021—today we celebrate you. Your accomplishments and the commitment that have led to this day. And the ways you will use your passions and education to make a difference in the world.
Sarah Lawrence is a small college, but we have a long history of innovation and an outsized influence on the arts, on education, and on health professions.
As the world recovers from the pandemic, the importance of compassionate healthcare providers and exceptional teachers is paramount. And the prolonged absence of Broadway and book tours, and live music and dance, has again highlighted our fundamental need for these inspirations that feed our souls.
It was a poet in January who captivated the nation. Reminding us that “while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.”
Teachers, who this year reimagined classroom design and course curriculum so they could continue to serve their students.
Dancers who built distance into their movements to reflect this moment.
Healthcare workers who, surrounded by sickness, brought humanity to their patients.
And theatremakers, with stages illuminated by only a ghostlight, who created and shared their art in ways previously unimagined and created entirely new ways of being together across time and space.
We are all at a moment of reflection, and as we are, I want to turn to something that most of you probably haven’t thought about very much, but which I can tell you I have thought about a great deal, and that is the College’s mission.
Our mission statement begins: To graduate world citizens …
And it concludes: ...[who will] thrive in a complex and rapidly evolving world.
And, of course, it says a lot in between because as you all know we are a place that loves words. But I want to take a moment to focus on that mission in capsule: To graduate world citizens … [who will] thrive in a complex and rapidly evolving world.
First, our responsibility to graduate world citizens... That has never been more timely nor more apparent, nor more necessary. Our connection to one another—across borders and boundaries, disciplines and backgrounds—is more evident today than at any time in recent history.
And then, that ending of our mission statement: “thriving in a complex and rapidly evolving world.” Even in your short time at Sarah Lawrence, you have used your creativity and intellect to adapt—to embrace and respond to a rapidly evolving world.
And today, you join a distinguished group of Sarah Lawrence alumni who in their lives and in their work make a difference in the world daily.
You are now part of a group that has shared a very special experience, place, and model of education. Some of the people from your time at Sarah Lawrence will remain close friends for the rest of your life, and still others will become valued colleagues—these include not only your classmates, but also the faculty, staff, and even the president of this college!
All of us share with you the special privilege that is associated with a Sarah Lawrence education. An education rooted in our motto, “Wisdom with understanding,” which is engraved in this (very heavy) presidential medallion I wear at commencement.
“Wisdom with understanding” points to the essence of a Sarah Lawrence education: discovering which questions to ask and how to follow them relentlessly, digging deep to pursue a possibility, bringing all of one’s creative energies to bear...
Even as crucially, it also signals a way of proceeding—with understanding—that reminds us of the necessity for empathy, for generosity and grace when encountering competing views, for an inclusivity that is itself deeply and openly inclusive.
Graduates: as writers, dancers, theatremakers, performers, activists, scholars, therapists, advocates, teachers, and counselors, this is precisely what you have prepared to do; this is what you will practice in the world.
The fortitude you have shown in balancing the hard work required to earn your degree with the demands of everyday life; the creativity you have brought to every aspect of your work; and your Sarah Lawrence education as global citizens have you well prepared to not only thrive yourself, but to lead the way so that all can thrive in this complex and rapidly evolving world.
A world that needs, more than ever, everything you are so uniquely prepared to bring to it.
And as you set forth to make your way in the world, I ask you to stay connected to each other and to this, your, College. Very (very!) shortly, you will officially be alumni of Sarah Lawrence College. And we can’t wait to see what you are going to do and to welcome you back to campus as the newest members of the Sarah Lawrence alumni community.
Graduates, I congratulate you on your achievement today!
Be safe. Stay Strong. Be well. Celebrate. And continue to be Sarah Lawrence in the world.
Remarks as prepared for delivery