Brown 'will live with you forever,' says convocation keynote
Nicole Dungca
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Campus News
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The highly esteemed Weinstein followed President Ruth Simmons in welcoming new students to the University's 244th academic year.
After the new students poured through the historic Van Wickle Gates, Simmons heralded the 2,105 new members of the Brown community as a source of constant revitalization for a university that is always changing. The procession included 1,486 first-year undergraduate students, as well as Resumed Undergraduate Education students, transfer students and first-year students in the Medical School and Graduate School.
"Even for those of us that have been through this ceremony more than a few times before, it's hard to miss the excitement and symbolism of that procession through the Van Wickle Gates to this opening convocation," Simmons said.
The president touched on the various new additions to campus, mentioning the relocation of the Peter Green House, the temporary swim center and other projects that were undertaken during a construction-filled summer for the University.
"There are new courses, new services, new buildings. Even the walkways and the sod under your feet are in many cases new, and there is the promise of much more to come," she said.
Simmons also spoke of "less visible" changes on campus, such as research projects tackled by various professors and efforts from the staff and volunteers that enabled the Campaign for Academic Enrichment to reach the $1 billion mark.
Simmons explained that the University has never had a larger faculty - 43 new faculty members joined Brown this year.
"All of this effort and all of these improvements are in the service of one aim - to make possible at this university the highest level of scholarship with the highest degree of integrity. … So your march through those gates and your presence on this historic green renews our enthusiasm for the 244-year-old mission for this university," she said.