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	Chancellor John Silber and President-elect Daniel Goldin at Matriculation. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

By David J. Craig

John Silber welcomed freshmen for the final time as chancellor on September 1, in a Matriculation Ceremony at the Track and Tennis Center that also marked President-elect Daniel Goldin’s first address to students.

Silber, who was president from 1971 to 1996 and since has been chancellor, will step down when Goldin becomes president November 1 (see related story below). He urged students to pursue intellectual inquiry passionately and to take responsibility for their academic and personal lives.

In a speech peppered with his trademark dry witticisms, Silber said the class of 2007 is remarkably strong, with an average SAT score of 1297 and a grade point average of 3.54. Of the 3,935 freshmen, 60 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class, 92 percent in the top 25 percent, and all of them in the top 30 percent. “The genes are good, we’ve got no complaints there,” he said. “Your parents or those who have nurtured you have done their part. Now it’s up to you.”

The 3,935 members of the Class of 2007 gather in the Track and Tennis Center on September 1 for BU’s annual Matriculation Ceremony. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Growing up

Attending college is a rite of passage, Silber said, that requires young adults no longer simply to follow the directives of parents or teachers, but also to show initiative in their pursuit of knowledge. BU boasts four Nobel laureates and hundreds of other exceptional teachers among its faculty, “but there’s no point in our having this outstanding faculty,” he said, “if you don’t get to know them.” Among many bits of practical advice he offered students was to get to know personally at least three professors who, in addition to becoming mentors, eventually could provide strong letters of recommendation.

Silber also exhorted students to enroll in courses taught by the toughest professors because “they are the ones who will push you to your greatest development,” and to explore several disciplines before choosing a major. “Most of us . . . come to college interested in many things,” he said. “I hope you will use your first two years at Boston University to take a wide variety of courses. . . . Sample what we offer.”

Invoking Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s, famous recollection of his schooling, Silber told students: “I hope that you will be free from indifference, and that each of you will be touched by fire, and move through your years at Boston University with passion and intensity.”

He also stressed BU’s hard line on drug- and alcohol-related offenses, reminding students that the University offers no legal sanctuary for those who are caught abusing or unlawfully possessing such substances. “And when it comes to sex,” he said, “we’re not going to do anything to encourage you; we’re not going to pass out condoms, nor are we going to moralize about it. What you do with regard to sex . . . is largely a function of your own sense of dignity and your own sense of responsibility.”

Changing of the guard

In introducing Goldin, Silber praised the former head of NASA for “saving that institution” in a time of crisis and for overseeing 63 space missions, all completed safely. Silber said that Goldin has an intimate knowledge of university research as well as a deep appreciation for the arts -- during college, he played clarinet in a jazz band.

“ I, too, am a freshman, and I’m starting with you,” Goldin told the class of 2007. “I’m going to learn with you. I’ve had a career as a researcher, I’ve had a career in the private sector in corporate America, I’ve had a career as a government executive, and I’m interrupting my career as a high-tech entrepreneur to come to what I believe is the highest profession that I could undertake in my life.”

The son of an elementary teacher and principal, Goldin said he is determined to help prepare young people to solve the challenges of the 21st century -- challenges involving, for example, climate change, global economic inequality, loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States, and terrorism.

“ You will be the leaders of the world who will resolve these issues,” he told students, cautioning them to recognize that life is about more than the “accumulation of wealth” and “self-indulgence and pleasure. . . . Understand that you need to make a difference. You are a generation faced with unbelievable challenges, but you will change life for the better on this planet.

“ I’m very excited about this opportunity,” he continued. “Dr. Silber, in the 33 years he’s been at this institution, has created with his leadership and his vision a place that is different. I am so excited and so honored to have the chance to be the president of this great University, with this unbelievable staff, and students of the highest quality in every sense. Let’s work together, and let’s make this planet a place where your children and grandchildren can celebrate what you have done years from now.”

Welcoming the students at Matriculation on behalf of the faculty was literary critic Christopher Ricks, BU’s William M. and Sara B. Warren Professor of the Humanities. Carlin Woog (UNI’04) gave the undergraduate allocution; BU trustee Sharon G. Ryan (SAR’70) delivered the alumni allocution.

5 September 2003
Boston University
Office of University Relations