Speeches & Statements
Leaving Your Mark
- Date: 08/16/2008
- Author: Luis M. Proenza (President, The University of Akron)
- Location: Commencement (a.m.)
Today, you leave The University of Akron armed with knowledge about how the world should work. And, I hope you are asking yourself how you will leave your mark on the future...how you can contribute to making the world a better place.
For as long as we've called ourselves a country, we Americans have distinguished ourselves by following our unique sense of adventure and discovery.
From our perspective, the skies have always been a little bluer - the horizons a little wider - the possibilities a little grander in America.
That curious, innovative, entrepreneurial spirit has made an emphatic mark on the world.
Americans invented bar codes, credit cards, and corrugated cardboard...the airplane, the airbag and aspartame...Kevlar, Morse code, and the light bulb.We landed on the moon. We ventured to Mars.
Ice hockey may have been invented across the Atlantic and modernized in Canada, but the key to its modern success, the Zamboni, is a triumph of the American spirit, as is modern-day agriculture. Farm science and practical innovations improved animal health, boosted crop yields, improved nutrition, and virtually eliminated dietary disease in the western world.
Scientific discovery and technological advancements have pulled the United States up the economic ladder and improved the quality of life for millions around the world.
But what now?
If trends continue, China's economy will rival ours by 2020. India's will catch up in the 2040s. And those two countries, with large populations and English-speaking educated workforces, are only two players on a global stage.
The massive international competition for technological and economic leadership is well under way. America still remains the "heavyweight champion" of the world, but a new generation of contenders has emerged.
The big question isn't where we are right now, but where we will be in 20 or 30 years as this global economy unfolds.
The bigger question is: Are you up to the challenge?
Are you up to the challenge in solving widespread environmental problems that threaten human health?
Are you up to the challenge in ensuring adequate food and clean water for an exploding global population?
Are you up to the challenge in developing clean, inexpensive, sustainable sources of energy?
Think what your generation can do to stop the spread of disease around the world...to care for aging populations and manage other demographic challenges...to find ways of settling regional and global conflicts without war.
Think about what it will take, and ask yourself if we can afford to rely only on past accomplishments - or if, instead, do we continually need to find new ways of thinking about the world around us...creative and innovative approaches we do not now possess.
Without doubt, solutions to the world's most difficult challenges will come from people with both intellectual skills and boundless imagination - people capable and willing to instill in the next generation of inventors, teachers, leaders and entrepreneurs the ethical, cultural and historical contexts needed for responsible decision-making.
People like you. As graduates of The University of Akron, this is your legacy.
Along the way, you'll be asked, in turn, to teach and guide the next generation of inventors, teachers, leaders and entrepreneurs. And they, in turn, will pass the same along to the next generation, and they to the next in a perpetual cycle that will have enormous implications for our country and for our world.
Granted, we will not all discover a cure for cancer . . . or help engineer a renewable and affordable energy source . . . or find a way to feed the world or achieve peace in our time - but you might be the one who does.
And, all of us can be a part of the solution by building an environment that allows and encourages people to come together and tackle those challenges and to solve some of them in our lifetime.
When it comes right down to it, this may be your most important task - helping to nurture and sustain a world in which personal discovery and innovation can flourish.
One such person, who has been a shining example of living this way, is Dr. William F. Demas whom we will honor in a few minutes. You will be hearing more about his accomplishments then, but at this time, I simply would like to extend my personal gratitude to him for his service to this university.
Graduates, thanks in part to the leadership of Dr. Demas and other Board members, your education at The University of Akron has given you the tools and the skills to start building your future...creating your future...inventing your future.
And I am confident it will be a bright future. And in that spirit, let me leave you with these words from the great German poet Goethe:
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it."
"Boldness has genius, power and magic to it."
"Begin it now!"
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- Relevance, Connectivity and Productivity: New Strategies for Success in Higher Education 11/08/2009
Remarks Abstract:
"Seismic rumbles of change" are transforming traditional paradigms for research and higher education-to say nothing about the relationships between academia, industry, government and the public. The sources of cataclysmic pressure are many, including competition among universities, shifting demographics and their accompanying shifts in priorities, resource constraints, public/government scrutiny of productivity and accountability in universities, the evolution of a global economy and the innovation ecosystem, and, most recently, the worldwide economic downturn. Like many industries, higher education is on the threshold of major, complex changes that must be directed to optimal outcomes. The University of Akron is innovating through a continuous process that seeks to enhance its relevance, connectivity and productivity.
Relevance: Institutions of higher education generally are place-based, and this means that the competitive and comparative advantages of universities are inextricably linked to the vitality and sustainability of their surrounding communities. Thus, universities must act to optimize their impact upon the regions in which they reside, and would be wise to extend their efforts collaboratively into like regions internationally. The complexities of the 21st Century knowledge and conceptual economy require that every academic discipline be collaboratively engaged with the relevant questions of the day in concert with other disciplines and partners on and off campus. In other words, relevance requires the integrated application of all disciplinary knowledge for the public good.
Connectivity: Connectivity is an extension of relevance and refers to engagement with others by universities in the myriad forms represented by partnerships and collaboration that are not limited by institutional, sector, geographic or disciplinary boundaries. In other words, connectivity means relevant engagement among some combinations of other academic institutions, government, business and industry. This becomes essential as governments become a smaller and smaller financial partner, requiring universities increasingly to generate their own financial revenue opportunities.
Productivity: Finally, higher education must move from measuring "excellence" by exclusion and expense to a set of productivity-based metrics that reflect outcomes and achievements in solving "real-world" problems and in enabling student success.
Universities now are being called upon to explore opportunities that will create innovative educational processes and campus cultures congruent with new realities. This will require a close and deep collaboration between universities and other public- and private- sector organizations, along with a willingness to experiment with new models and new alliances. As we increasingly work with partners accustomed to aggressive delivery schedules and product mixes that rapidly change according to market demands, the core of academic processes will be challenged, and adaptability must become integrated into institutional culture.
Filed in: Speeches - Revisioning the University 10/28/2009
As part of his 10th State of the University address, University of Akron President Luis M. Proenza promised to send this letter to the university community to ask that faculty, staff and students to "engage in timely and necessary conversations to bring... about (a mission- and vision-based university organizational structure). He said, "I am sure many lively and constructive ideas will be brought forward, but we must approach this with a sense of urgency because, as I have said before, doing business as usual is not an option."
Filed in: Statements to the Community - 2009 State of the University Address 10/27/2009
University of Akron President Luis M. Proenza underscored the successes of the past year and set in motion the process of steering the university toward the future during his 10th State of the University Address. As promised during his 2008 address, Proenza provided a progress report on the formal 10-year strategic plan, which he said "will chart the course to our new destination." As he outlined these plans, Proenza encouraged the audience to think about the origin of the name "Akron," derived from the Greek "akros," meaning "high place," in setting and achieving those goals.
Proenza outlined five strategic goals that will guide the university through the next 10 years and beyond:
- Strengthen Akron's historical commitment to inclusive excellence to enhance student access, transformation and success.
- Create vibrant, healthy, and diverse campuses that are deeply engaged with their surrounding communities.
- Establish selected cross-disciplinary clusters of academic distinction that are recognized nationally and internationally.
- Achieve national recognition for a curriculum in which entrepreneurship and 21st century global competitiveness skills are comprehensively embedded.
- Be a primary driver of economic competitiveness in northern Ohio and a leading contributor in the state.
Proenza also said that, in addition to budget challenges, an increasingly competitive environment for higher education and universities can't continue to operate with an educational model that is more than 200-years-old. He said he believes that the university must try even harder to be to bring down academic silo walls and build connections--emphasizing UA's relevance, connectivity and productivity.
Filed in: Speeches Statements to the Community - Five Myths of Entrepreneurship (morning commencement address) 08/15/2009
Filed in: Commencement Addresses - Challenging Fear (afternoon commencement address) 08/15/2009
Filed in: Commencement Addresses - Universities and Their Regions: The Akron Model 06/03/2009
Filed in: Speeches - Quarterly Letter to the Community 05/19/2009
Filed in: Statements to the Community - Connecting the Dots (May 2009 Commencement Address #4, Sunday) 05/10/2009
Filed in: Commencement Addresses - Graduation Advice (May 2009 Commencement Address #2, Saturday Morning) 05/09/2009
Filed in: Commencement Addresses - The Six-word Story (May 2009 Commencement Address #3, Saturday Afternoon) 05/09/2009
Filed in: Commencement Addresses
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