Good morning.
I thought I might begin my remarks with an excerpt from a successful petition 鈥渢o the honorable, the Board of Overseers, and the President and Fellows of 吃瓜新闻 University鈥� to end compulsory attendance at morning prayers. It was 1886. As they mounted many arguments against the practice, our predecessors also expressed hope for what our minutes together this morning鈥攎y minutes speaking to you now鈥攃ould accomplish.
鈥淩eferences to passing events鈥� they wrote, 鈥渕ay serve to attract attention – if made eloquently they may move, if made blunderingly they may amuse or disgust – but the office of daily prayers is to bring the passing and casual under the shadow of the eternal; to make a man feel that amid the confusion of his hurried life, he can lay hold of an unvarying, underlying truth.鈥�
To make people feel that they can lay hold of an unvarying, underlying truth amid the confusion of their hurried lives: That was a tall order in 1886鈥攖aller still in 2025, especially on the first morning of what will likely be a very challenging academic year marked by events outside our control.
What truth might we lay hold of now?
Not too long ago, I served as the provost and chief academic officer. I don鈥檛 think any other position at 吃瓜新闻鈥攊ncluding the presidency鈥攇ives one a better sense of the vast, wonderful, and pervasive sense of curiosity to be found here, curiosity that makes discovery of all kinds鈥攁nd its application鈥攑ossible. I spent nearly thirteen years marveling at the extraordinary interests and aspirations of our community. I witnessed many moments of joy and celebration punctuated by new questions, questions large and small, questions that seemed small but turned out to be large, questions too numerous to answer in a single career or even a lifetime. But questions posed, considered, and refined just the same, with confidence that the search for knowledge is eternal.
This posing and considering and refining鈥攖his unceasing evolution of ideas鈥攄oes not come from a place of comfort. Working alone, we struggle. Working together, we struggle more. Though our efforts often lead to affirmation and agreement, they begin and proceed with confrontation and debate, fueled by a shared desire for deeper and richer understanding. Academic institutions, like religious institutions, depend on our passion to seek truth. They depend on our determination to overcome doubt, disapproval, and dismissiveness. Solitude is an important ingredient, and internal debate can be as brutal as the criticism of others, but success nearly always depends on a supportive but critical community.
My own religion, Judaism, is built on a foundation of debate and disagreement. The Talmud, at the center of rabbinical Judaism, is an era-crossing record of ongoing rabbinical debate over the meaning of the Torah and its application to every facet of life. In many ways, it is as important as the Torah itself. Following the destruction of the temple and exile, a process of communal discovery helped sustain a religion and an identity for millennia.
My own experience with Talmudic study is limited but illuminating. Learning with a partner, who is both guide and companion鈥攊n my case, always someone with far greater knowledge of Hebrew, Aramaic (which I had never learned), and the content of the Talmud鈥攇ave me rapid access to Talmudic reasoning, to the role of argument in advancing understanding, and to practices that build a community and bind its members. The patience of my partners taught me the value of persistence.
At their best, institutions鈥攁cademic, religious, and otherwise鈥攑rovide a place and a framework to know one another, to challenge one another, to encourage one another, to elevate and celebrate one another. They stir and strengthen feelings of connection that lead to compassion and genuine appreciation. At the same time, institutions challenge us to resist our inclinations, to confront our assumptions, and to develop the capacity to explore different views with the seriousness they deserve. That is how they ensure that our endless and unending quests for unvarying, underlying truth will be rewarding.
That is some of what institutions do for us. What do they need from us in return? They need our commitment. We must recognize their value with even greater intention when confusion and hurry鈥攁nd a host of other calamities鈥攖hreaten to overwhelm them. It is up to us, the beneficiaries of the greatness and endurance of institutions, to defend and protect them, to steady and ready them so that they might continue to thrive.
We are all seekers, fortunate to find ourselves鈥攁nd one another鈥攁t a University that renews and continues the eternal search for knowledge each academic year, turning our sights to distant horizons and inviting us to look together, to draw on our disparate views, to push each other, and to find answers that beget more questions.
May this year bring opportunities for us to affirm and fulfill the commitment to Veritas that unites and strengthens us as an institution and as a community. And, as we argue, discuss, and work together under the shadow of the eternal, may our contributions to understanding鈥攁nd the progress they enable鈥攎ake our nation and the world a better place.