Matriculation 2026: The Search for Common Ground
Welcome, Class of 2030!
Today you officially become members of Boston University. This institution will challenge you in new ways, introduce you to new people and ideas, and further your understanding of what it means to be a citizen of our complex world.
Welcome to our community, our family, our home.
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Since its founding, Boston University has been a place for people with keen intellect and a commitment to bettering our world to come together and learn from one another.
And it has been a place for individuals like you to find common ground with people who come from different backgrounds, and who bring their own unique experiences and points of view to campus.
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Over our long history many people have made their way to Boston University.
But today, I will tell you about one person….
In the early 1900s, a young person grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida.
At age 14, this intrepid individual left a loving home to attend boarding school in Jacksonville, nearly 100 miles away…. because in Daytona Beach, Black children were not allowed to go to school.
The journey almost ended before it began—when this young person arrived at the train station to make the trek north to Jacksonville, he realized he didn’t have enough money to check his luggage.
His parents had already spared all that they could…. So what was a 14-year-old to do?
He was sitting there crying at the station, when a stranger approached, consoled him, and asked what was wrong.
The stranger then gave him the money to get to school.
That young person– was Howard Thurman, who would go on to become Boston University’s dean of Marsh Chapel, the first Black dean on any predominately white campus.
Thurman never forgot that act of kindness. Many years later, he dedicated his autobiography to that stranger, whom he said, had “restored his broken dreams.”
The path to Boston University was a long one marked by the hurdles of poverty and the opportunities of intelligence. I want you to know about Thurman because he has given so much to this University, and to society at large.
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But what was it about Boston University at that time that made it a fruitful environment for Thurman to grow?
Much of that has to do with our history, which is unique in higher education.
Boston University’s founding president, William Fairfield Warren, who was officially named to the role in 1873, described entry into the university as a “life membership in a society” dedicated to “realizing the highest known ideals in individual and social character and life and propagating these ideals from one generation to another.”
Under his leadership, all qualified students, regardless of background, were admitted to Boston University. From the beginning, this commitment to openness distinguished Boston University and has contributed to its excellence. In 1877, Helen Magill earned her PhD in Greek from Boston University, becoming the first woman to earn a doctorate in the United States.
We are fortunate that Warren, and many of the leaders who followed him, have held fast to their values, despite backlash….
Our founders knew that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.
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Thurman’s story is the classic hero’s journey. From such a boyhood, to later in life, when he would sit with Mahatma Ghandi and would conceptualize a philosophy of nonviolence.
I love his story because it is a story I see in each of you—the transformational power of education.
Once he arrived on our campus, Thurman transformed the lives of many others. His thinking on nonviolence would inform the American Civil Rights Movement and at Boston University he would mentor Dr. Martin Luther King.
He gave so much to this community including the idea of Common Ground, which he called his “lifelong working paper.”
Common Ground is his answer to forming a thriving community built on interpersonal kindness, regard, and respect.
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I imagine many of you came to Boston University hoping to find people who are similar to you and share your interests.
You probably wondered, “are there other students from my hometown or country, other athletes, or someone who shares my taste in music?” Of course there are, and those friendships will happen.
But the idea of Common Ground is different: It is about living in harmony with those who are different than you.
Thurman had a very clear view on how this works.
First, we must know and be ourselves beyond external roles, and social expression. Even as you join this wonderful community and meet new friends, you must continue to know yourself, your own heart, and your own mind.
Thurman says:
“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.”
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It is not easy… right. Traditionally we think of ourselves as our identity and how we compare to others: What do I share and how am I different in appearance, beliefs, ideologies?
But, that is not what Thurman means, he is asking us to look to a deeper self which in turn bridges the separation with others. He writes,
“I’m secure because I hear the sound of the genuine in myself and having learned to listen to that, I can become quiet enough, still enough, to hear the sound of the genuine in you.”
And, through knowing oneself, you come to see that all human beings are connected.
That is the key to finding Common Ground. You must learn when the rejection, the attraction, the anger, the fear, comes from something in yourather than something in them. Know yourself to know others….
These are challenging concepts to grapple with and particularly at a place like Boston University given our size and the complexity of our community. But here is how I think of it…
We delight in the fact that you come from different countries, cities, towns; have different ways of learning, hold different political viewpoints, practice different religions, and express your identity in a variety of ways. That is our strength as a community.
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Let’s do this…Look around you.
At first, it might seem as if you’re in one uniform sea of scarlet. But if you look a little closer, you’ll see so much more than that. In front of you is a rich, unique, diverse community of thousands of people who bring with them their own ideas and experiences, many of whom you will come to know.
Let me tell you a bit about who you are. You, the more than 3,700 members of the Class of 2030, were admitted from a pool of nearly 80,000 applicants.
You have come to BU from all over the world – the Class of 2030 represents 48 states, and 87 countries worldwide.
To our international students, who represent nearly a quarter of this year’s class: We’re excited to have you here, and glad you’ve made it despite all the challenges you’ve faced to get here.
One in five of you is the first member of your family to go to college. Many of you have transferred to this institution, and many of you have served in our military or will do so in your time at Boston University. Thank you for your service.
To all of you, know that we have supports, resources, and wonderful people to help you navigate your journey here. I am so honored that you have chosen us.
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At Boston University, our founders believed that broad diversity creates an intellectually rigorous community. And I want to be clear. Common Ground is not about being nice. I want you to listen, debate, argue, engage in discourse, express your ideas, even if others disagree with you or hate your ideas. But offer your ideas and argue with respect. Freedom of expression is the key to intellectual rigor, critical thinking, discovery, and lifelong learning.
In fact, that is what we are about. At Boston University, we are leaders in convergent research, crossing disciplines to create new fields to address societal problems. Indeed, our North Star vision is to be a place of convergence, where disciplines, communities, and realities merge to solve the world’s greatest challenges.
You should be convergent in your learning. Study broadly and be true Renaissance people who enjoy the humanities, arts, and sciences. At Boston University you can be both a musician and a neuroscientist, if you want to.
Being a convergent university requires us to be intellectually bold, and to not shy away or shut out ideas that challenge or even offend us. But, here we do so with respect and regard.
As Thurman writes,
“I have always wanted to be me, without making it difficult for you to be you.”
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Again, Thurman called finding Common Ground a “lifelong working paper” and so we create opportunities for you to practice.
Here, as you branch out through your classes and extracurricular activities, you will find many ways to pursue conversations that seek to foster common ground and understanding.
Our university has Shared Values, a commitment to Integrity, Inclusion, Collaboration, Community, Excellence, Learning, Service, and Global. These values were developed by our community, knitting us together, and guiding our actions. We also have the Civil Discourse Project—an initiative to hear different viewpoints and practice one’s skills in engaging across difference.
And know that we have created specific spaces for you to practice your search for Common Ground, too.
One place that you can do this is at the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground: there, you can explore the many perspectives that make our community so rich, through programs, lectures, discussions, films, events, and other resources.
Another way is through our Common Read initiative, a university-wide reading program to encourage conversation and foster new friendships.
The book we chose for this year is Inciting Joy, a collection of essays from Ross Gay, which encourages us to consider “what might be possible if we turn our attention to what brings us together?”
I think you will like this book, because it is a book about finding human connection during a time when loneliness and isolation are becoming increasingly common.
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Our Founders and Dean Thurman left us with a powerful legacy, and I acknowledge these ideas are not easy. As our own Dean of Marsh Chapel, Bob Hill, once said, Thurman was 100 years ahead of his time, so he is still 50 years ahead of all of us.
As you make your way along Commonwealth Ave or meander along the Charles River, know that he walked this path as well. We travel in his footsteps, these streets are our Common Ground—echoing the sounds of the Terriers that came before us, uniting us forever.
Thurman said,
“Meaningful and creative shared experiences shared between people can be more compelling than all of the faiths, fears, concepts, ideologies, and prejudices that divide;
And, if these experiences can be multiplied and sustained over a sufficient duration of time, then any barrier that separates one person from another can be undermined and eliminated.”
So, as you exit Agganis Arena today, newly matriculated members of the Boston University Class of 2030, I urge you to see the beauty and dignity in yourself and in all people…. and find Common Ground.
* As delivered on September 1, 2026 in Agganis Arena