Installation Ceremony
April 8, 2005, Meridian Ballroom
Good afternoon, President Walker, Chairman Poshard, Trustee Sanders, Poet Laureate Redmond, Senator Haine, Madison County Board Chair Dunstan, Mayor Niebur, delegates of learned societies and institutions of higher learning, faculty, staff, students and honored guests of the University, it is both humbling and a great honor to be installed as the seventh Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The activities conducted throughout this week, along with this installation ceremony, celebrate SIUE and the place it occupies, both in its Illinois geographical location and in its position as a Premier Metropolitan University in American public higher education. The place SIUE occupies is central to our identity. It is revealed in the location of our campuses in East St. Louis, Edwardsville and Alton. It is embodied in the heritage we share adjoining the starting point of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and in the legacy of our own Mississippi River Festival. It is inscribed in our buildings, in this very room named for the 90th Meridian on which the University is located. And in our campus Religious Center, designed in 1970 by our former faculty member, R. Buckminster Fuller. It continues to be manifested in the construction of the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum in the new Spring Green Lodge and Conference Center, and in the developing Gardens at SIUE. And it is magnificently displayed on this spring day in the beauty of our expansive campus blooming in nature's glory. But place is also central to us because of the reasons that SIUE was founded and the events that led us to become the metropolitan university that we are today.
Like site-specific art that would lose much of its meaning outside the context for which it was created, SIUE would not be the same University in any other place.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville occupies its place based on a social compact with the people of Illinois to serve primarily the residents of the southwestern Illinois region. The notion of a social compact between the university and the public is the most distinctive feature of American public higher education. Our unique relationship with the state separates us from private, for-profit, and other forms of higher education. This unique heritage of American public higher education has its origins in the Morrill Act of 1862. This federal Act, named for Vermont Congressman Justin Morrill, was a remarkable piece of legislation. In exchange for land and support, public institutions of higher education established by the Morrill Act assumed the duty of being good stewards of the public investment placed in them. The Act specified an obligation to use public resources to address economic and social issues crucial to the welfare of all citizens.
The Morrill Act and its subsequent amendments provided about ten million acres of land for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges in order to found colleges of agriculture and mechanical sciences in the United States. The Act was the first to acknowledge how important it is for the national welfare that public higher education become as widely available as possible, and in that regard, the Act was a huge success. With additional funding from their respective states, many of those original "land grant" agricultural and mechanical colleges developed into large public universities that have provided higher education for millions of Americans who would have had no other financial means to obtain a college degree.
The Morrill Act also made its mark on American public higher education in that it provided that "practical," professional education be integrated with the liberal arts our founders sought to encourage as a bulwark of democracy. Thomas Jefferson put this notion most forcefully when he encouraged the study of history by students in his 1787 Notes on the State of Virginia: "History," he wrote, "by apprising them of the past will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views . . . . Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree." The Morrill Act recognized the wisdom of Jefferson by fostering the view that knowledge gained from both the liberal arts and "practical" education constituted a primary force of social progress.
The Morill Act also enabled the emphasis on research in American universities. By the late 19th century, a corporate and industrial society based on competing professions had taken the place of a largely rural, community-based society. These same forces contributed to the development of the large research university. Proponents of the Act, such as John Dewey, believed that it would democratize higher education by making it available to all. In 1890, the inaugural address of the Chancellor of the University of Kansas, Francis H. Snow, put this clearly and forcefully: "Let it be everywhere made known that at the University of the State, every son and daughter of the state may receive the special training that makes chemists, naturalists, entomologists, electricians, engineers, lawyers, musicians, pharmacists and artists, or the broader and more symmetrical culture which prepares those who receive it for that general, well-rounded efficiency that makes the educated . . . a success in any line of intellectual activity ten years earlier in life than the uneducated."
The development of public higher education initiated by the federal Morrill Act spawned the formation of other non-land grant institutions of higher learning in the states. The needs of Illinois resulted in the formation of Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1869. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's own social compact has its roots in events that took place just fifty years ago. These events consisted of an extraordinary effort to make it possible for residents of our metropolitan area to earn a university degree that would have otherwise been beyond their reach. In May 1955, the Edwardsville Chamber of Commerce organized a College Planning Committee. They constituted a group of local parents and business leaders determined to provide a better future for their children by waging an intensive campaign to raise funds to encourage the state to create our campus. By the next year, this small group became the Southwestern Illinois Council for Higher Education, and its members were made up of "representatives from almost every civic organization, governing body, public and private school, business and industry in our region."
In 1957, the Council issued a report indicating that in Madison-St. Clair Counties, with 600,000 residents, the largest population concentration in the State outside of metropolitan Chicago, only 3% of the adult population had completed four years of college. The area lacked the higher educational facilities and instruction to educate personnel for jobs in local business and industry, and to provide the education required for professional development. There was no conveniently located university in the two-county area and many students could not afford to pay tuition and live away from home.
The report stressed that "An investment in a central university campus would be a living endowment for this area. A continuing flow of graduates in many specialized fields will enable business, industry, government and other organized forms of human endeavor to function more efficiently and to grow creatively. Similarly, the area will profit from the educational enlightenment of people in all walks of life, whether their contacts with the university and its scholars be in the classroom, the laboratory, the concert hall, the conference room, or in their homes and communities." The Council also expressed high expectations of our faculty, stating that: "They will conduct the research that must precede sound human and physical development. They can bring their knowledge and university resources to bear on everyday problems and thereby brighten the intellectual climate of our communities."
It is small wonder, then, that SIUE's first "Chancellor," John Rendleman, said "[T]his community was itching for opportunity. The second most populous area of Illinois was also the most neglected from the point of view of availability of higher education. We came to end that neglect . . . . From its beginning, this institution was of, by, and for the community." For our metropolitan area, he continued, "we have been a promising beacon of hope . . . . [W]e have tried to open the doors of educational opportunity to anyone who sought to enter."
I believe Dr. Rendleman would agree that today at SIUE we are firmly in our place. We are keeping our compact with those who have supported us. Our continuing engagement with and commitment to our metropolitan area and our stewardship to improve the quality of life of the region's citizens is reflected in our Mission Statement that describes SIUE as: "a public comprehensive university dedicated to the communication, expansion and integration of knowledge through excellent undergraduate education as its first priority and complementary excellent graduate and professional academic programs, through the scholarly, creative and research activity of the faculty, staff, and students; and through public service and cultural and arts programming in its region."
The double emphasis on the liberal arts and "practical" education originating in the Morrill Act has shaped how we construe the value of American public higher education in this country. There are at least three key components of that value. First, we value a public higher education system that provides opportunities for all students to succeed. We are committed nationally, as we are at SIUE, to provide access to higher education that is as broad and diverse as possible. Compared to the rest of the world, the American commitment to educate its citizens has been exceptional. This dedication is part and parcel of "The American Dream." It is no accident that we do not use that expression of any other country. Despite all the positive aspects of those countries and cultures, we do not hear of "the English dream," "the Norwegian dream," "the Indian dream," the "Chinese dream," or "the Australian dream."
For millions of Americans, including me, access to public higher education means hope. I represent the first generation of my family to graduate from college. For me the only affordable choice was a nearby public university, represented here today by delegates from Montclair State University. I will always have the taxpayers of New Jersey and the faculty of Montclair State to thank for their commitment to the social compact between the public and higher education.
A second important aspect of the value of American public higher education is that, both abstractly and concretely, we add value to people's lives. Among other things, we provide students with deeper understandings of the humanities, the arts, the natural and social sciences, and the professions. We teach them the value of conserving the past, but also give them the ability to think critically and creatively as they find ways to respond effectively to social, economic and environmental changes.
We also add value to people's lives by furnishing them with a model of free and open inquiry in the pursuit of knowledge. In so doing, we seek to provide both an effective antidote to prejudice, fear, and narrow-mindedness, and to be that bulwark of democracy for which Jefferson argued so passionately. We also seek to develop within our students the irresistible curiosity to be life-long learners. As the English philosopher John Stuart Mill observed one year before the passage of the Morrill Act, "A cultivated mind … any mind to which the fountains of knowledge have been opened, and which has been taught, in any tolerable degree, to exercise its faculties-finds sources of inexhaustible interest in all that surrounds it: in the objects of nature, the achievements of art, the imaginations of poetry, the incidents of history, the ways of mankind, past and present, and their prospects in the future." Mill then said what the Morrill Act would effectively endorse: that there is no reason why the ability to be a life-long learner "should not be the inheritance of everyone born in a civilized country."
While we add value to people's lives, it does not follow that public higher education is only about helping individuals. Society at large also benefits from its compact with public colleges and universities. Therefore, a third important aspect of the value of public higher education lies in our development of the next generation of citizens prepared to function in a social and political democracy. Education helps everyone directly or indirectly through the development of the arts, cultural criticism, advances in medicine and in science generally, as the primary engine of economic development, and through encouraging good citizenship. And these contributions are profound. I do not know from where the cure from cancer will come, nor what great leader will next emerge to assist our nation, or who will write the next great American novel, but I do expect these people to be college graduates.
As James Bryant Conant, an American chemist, diplomat, and educator put it, "Education is a social process, perhaps the most important process in determining the future of our country." Conant added, "Public education is a great instrument of social change. Through it, if we so desire, we can make our country more nearly a democracy without classes. To do so will require the efforts of us all-teachers, administrators, taxpayers and statesmen." Education, as Conant knew well, is the primary catalyst for a successful democracy.
In the same vein, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities wrote, "Higher education is a common good that provides significant benefits to individuals and society as a whole. While the personal gains from higher education are widely acknowledged, the societal benefits are even more significant and lasting, thus warranting continued public investment." I believe these societal benefits include those resulting from educating students from other countries, many of whom stay in the United States after graduation and function as productive citizens. Since the events of September 11, 2001 the number of international students has declined dramatically due in large measure to concerns about national security. While we must be vigilant about homeland security, I believe we should also bear in mind that international students educated in American public universities who return to their homelands represent the best available method to export democracy to other nations.
All of the values articulated by SIUE-Citizenship, Excellence, Integrity, Openness, and Wisdom-express our commitment to keeping our social compact. We have been celebrating our values all week long with activities that demonstrate the various ways we have earned the trust and pride of our constituents. Our values support our determined vision "to be recognized nationally for the excellence of our programs and for the development of professional and community leaders." For those who are visitors to our campus today, I hope you will notice that banners expressing our values and vision hang in the Goshen Lounge of this building.
Our commitment to keeping the social compact is not mere rhetoric. It is real, dynamic, and growing. On this beautiful campus that we celebrate today, we have given our 82 thousand graduates a better place in society. The percentage of college graduates in Madison-St.Clair counties now stands at about 20%. Our community no longer feels, as in 1957, dis-placed from the American dream. We have for nearly 50 years served the residents of Illinois. We are the place where those who might have been disenfranchised from the American dream have benefited, and we still play that role. We have been the educational hope of both the economically challenged and the place-bound student.
SIUE also serves the external community in a variety of other ways, just as the Southwestern Illinois Council for Higher Education hoped we would. Because economic growth today is inescapably knowledge-based, through our grants, contracts, and other funds, we contribute substantially to the economic welfare of our region. We are one of the largest employers in Madison County. In addition, a sizeable number of our graduates choose to live in this area after they complete college. They become part of a highly educated, skilled workforce. We also sponsor innovative programs such as the Construction Leadership Institute, which is a partnership among the construction industry, and the Schools of Business and Engineering. Our faculty partner in the 2+2+2 Engineering Program with Lewis & Clark Community College to create a sound curriculum meeting student needs for workplace skills in areas of engineering technology and support.
Our East St. Louis Center provides an array of educational services and programs and responds as well to other non-educational needs and issues. The Center has provided opportunities for educational, pre-employability skills and homeownership training to residents in public housing to promote self-sufficiency, attaining employment and securing home ownership. It also sponsors performing arts productions, showcasing the talents of youth, as you will see for yourselves at the reception following this ceremony. For more than 45 years, the Center has been an important resource to Metro East citizens.
There are other examples of the positive impact SIUE has on the community. In FY04, we expended more than $20 million on grants, contracts, research, and development, not counting student aid. Our new School of Pharmacy will enroll its first class of 75 this fall and will grow to a total of 300 students. Southern Illinois and the rest of the state will benefit since Illinois is expected to need 500 new pharmacists per year in the future.
SIUE's dental school, located in Alton, has ranked in the top 10 in the United States for almost a decade in pass rate on the professional licensure examination. You will find our graduates practicing dentistry in towns and cities across the region and across the country. The Dental Implant Clinic, one of only eight such facilities in the nation, opened in 1997 in our developing University Park, and it continues to flourish. Our University Park, which currently hosts 14 outside tenants and 7 University units, is one of only six in the country associated with institutions with missions similar to that of SIUE. The National Corn to Ethanol Research Center is the only facility in the world that fully emulates both a wet-mill and a dry-mill fuel ethanol production plant. It tests commercial viability of the ethanol production process and its by products. Spring Green Lodge and Conference Center, to open in University Park this fall, will be the Edwardsville area's first upscale hotel and conference center and will draw local and regional conference business to the area. All these activities, programs, and resources provide our metropolitan area with evidence that we at SIUE take our compact seriously.
SIUE is a dynamic, vibrant academic community dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in this place. I believe in our University. I know that what we will do to realize our vision for national recognition will continue to enhance the economic growth and help fulfill the human potential of our metropolitan area.
Yet, I also know that we cannot rest or become complacent. There are serious challenges ahead. We must rededicate ourselves, and inspire the rededication of others to the social compact between public higher education and the citizenry. Over the last several years, tuition rates have risen in the face of declining state support. At SIUE we are becoming more state-assisted than state-supported, and I fear we are moving into a transition state toward further privatization. To the degree that this process continues, I am concerned that public policy needs will not be met. Consider, for example that this higher cost trend is occurring at a time when only about a quarter of Americans have earned at least an undergraduate degree and the need for higher education in all walks of life is increasing.
One of the ideals that we share is that no American should be denied the opportunity to pursue higher education due to lack of financial resources. Affordable public-sector tuition and need-based federal aid are important ingredients for realizing this ideal. Adequate state support is also a necessary condition, and this condition leads me back to the importance of the place of public higher education in contemporary society.
We need to rededicate ourselves at SIUE to ensure that Illinois citizens are as proud to support public higher education as were the members of the Southwestern Illinois Council for Higher Education whose hard work 50 years ago made it possible for us to be here, in this place, this afternoon. In his great work, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "I have lived much with the people in the United States, and I cannot express how much I admire their experience and their good sense." The devoted labors of the residents of Southwestern Illinois who did so much to help SIUE come into being displayed that good sense. As we gather to celebrate the place of SIUE in Southwestern Illinois and in public higher education in the United States, let us all pledge to keep this unique social compact between the public and higher education. It is our obligation, responsibility and, indeed, privilege to continue the noble work of those who labored before us. And it will be our gift to those who seek fulfillment of the American Dream in this place.
Thank you for your attention. On a personal note, it means very much for me that you have attended today to support the SIUE community in our work. To my family, my friends from other institutions and to my new family in southwestern Illinois, I am deeply appreciative. And Go Cougars!
