Speeches & Statements
A Lesson in Practicality
- Date: 05/12/2007
- Author: Dr. Luis M. Proenza (President, The University of Akron)
- Location: UA Commencement (p.m.), E. J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall
Experience is a great teacher, but only if you are willing to learn its lessons. Aldous Huxley once noted, "Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you."
(Morrow's International Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, edited by Jonathon Green, p.132)In fact, many of you may already have discovered that everything in life is only as reliable as the experience on which it is based, and that observation served as the basis of a newspaper column by Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune, in which she compiled a "Guide to Life for Graduates."
Next month marks the 10th anniversary of her classic column. And while many of you were in elementary or junior high school when the article first appeared, its lesson in practicality is as relevant today as it was on the day it was first published.
So, with one minor revision to reflect the current year, let me share it with you:
"...Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class of (2007): Wear sunscreen."
(Mary Schmich, "Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted On the Young," Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1997)"If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now."
"Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine."
"Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindsided you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday."
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
"Sing."
"Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours."
"Floss."
"Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself."
"Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how."
"Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements."
"Stretch."
"Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at (22) what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't." (And if you really want to know, I am still wondering what the future may hold for me when I grow up!)
"Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone."
"Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children. Maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the Funky Chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's."
"Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own."
"Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your living room."
"Read the directions, even if you don't follow them."
"Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly."
"Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future."
"Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young."
"Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft."
"Travel."
"Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders."
"Respect your elders."
"Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out."
"Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40 it will look 85."
"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."
"But trust me on the sunscreen."
(Based on the 1999 audio recording, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)," adapted from Chicago Tribune column, "Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young," by columnist Mary Schmich, June 1, 1997)
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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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