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I wasn’t tired or very poor, but I vividly remember sailing past the Statue of Liberty’s signature torch welcoming me from Old Amsterdam to New Amsterdam. I first came to the United States as an 18-year old exchange student. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, Perhaps, in these words of Geary and Odell, you hear echoes of Emma Lazarus, whose words are inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. The college, he said, “can be a citadel of light and learning, of faith and knowledge, for young people and the world they can serve.” A citadel of light. When our college began, one of its founders, the Reverend Edward Geary predicted that it would “one day be a beacon light to the whole Northwest.” A beacon light.Īnd when the school wholly relocated to Portland in 1942, its new president, Morgan Odell, also envisioned what was possible. We formally closed the commemoration during Alumni Weekend in June, but today I will cite our history yet again. I started last year as the college was celebrating its sesquicentennial-150 years since its founding in Albany, Oregon, in 1867. Thank you, as well, to all who have participated in today’s events: the academic discussions, the music, and this installation ceremony.Ĭall this day the liberal arts in microcosm-we’ve brought together people of different backgrounds and disciplines to expand our common understanding through exploration.Įxploring for the Global Good-the theme of this inauguration and our new Strategic Plan-is a declaration of who we are and what we do at Lewis & Clark and as Lewis & Clark. I am deeply touched that Presidents Gardner and Hochstettler are here, as well as Interim Presidents Paul Bragdon, Jane Atkinson, and David Ellis. So, too, have past presidents like Morgan Odell, Jack Howard, Jim Gardner, Mike Mooney, Tom Hochstettler, and Barry Glassner. Stephanie, I’m having fun, and I hope you are too!Īnd, of course, generations of faculty, students, parents, alumni, trustees, donors, and friends have brought us to this day. I told her that if it wasn’t fun, I wasn’t coming. Whenever I mentioned it would be fun to come here Stephanie would point out it would be a lot of hard work. Life Trustee John Bates, who was the first Lewis & Clark person I met, back in 2008 thanks, John for your continued friendship!īoard Chair Stephanie Fowler and the other Trustees, thank you. I want to thank Trustee Jon Jaqua, who co-chaired the search committee and was a relentless champion.

Yes, there were some days in the dark and damp of February that those months we were planning to spend in Spain seemed very attractive!īut neither of us has any regrets, and Alice, and our daughter Kelly, who just started in our Student Affairs program at the Graduate School, have fully embraced being part of the Lewis & Clark family. So I will take a moment for some important thank you’s.įirst of all, of course, Alice, who from the beginning encouraged me to pursue this opportunity, and agreed to postpone our sabbatical dreams. Of course, I did not reach this point by myself, and I will not move forward by myself. Well, as you probably know, the Corps of Discovery would encounter even more difficult circumstances as they made their way to the Pacific.Įven knowing from experience that calm waters may quickly become turbulent, I will tell you that I am more eager and excited than ever to lead our college community. So, after 16 months, it’s all downstream, right?

Louis-and it was the first time since then that they went with, rather than against, a river’s current. This was about 16 months after they left St. Sixteen months is a long time, and perhaps this ceremony feels a bit like having the wedding long after we’ve already been living together.īut let me turn back in time to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for some historical context.Īlmost exactly 213 years ago, on October 7, 1805, their expedition pushed five new dugout canoes into the Clearwater River near what is now Orofino, Idaho. We are gathering for this official ceremony some 16 months after the Board voted to name me president. Thank you for being here, and for your kind words. Let me echo our Board Chair in welcoming our distinguished speakers and all of you-our distinguished community and guests.