Convocation Speech - September 5, 2002

Welcome to you all. Welcome to our Spiritan community, to our Chancellor, to the faculty and staff. Welcome to the start of another academic year and a new chapter in the history of our outstanding University.

This time of the year reminds us of the great gifts we enjoy by virtue of being members of this academic community. We have the remarkable gift of rhythm in our lives. Our years have definition; they begin and they end. They end predictably in the joy and pride of our students’ graduations. They begin—as this one has over the past two weeks-- with our students’ arrival and the excitement and renewal that it brings to all our projects.

We have the gift of community, of working with one another. We are a small city, an intimate and face-to-face town. Each of us plays an important role in the success of our common life. We rely on one another’s commitment to serve the common good. None of us succeeds in our individual tasks without relying on the hard work and good will of those working with us and around us.