Speeches

Encampment 2001

Encampment, an annual University event that dates back to 1952, brings together members of the University community to discuss and address challenges facing the University and the surrounding community.

Good morning and welcome to Encampment, our traditional beginning of the year gathering that we hope will encourage dialogue and help promote partnerships and cooperation throughout our community. The word community is actually derived from the Latin for fellowship, which entails a sharing of interests -- exactly what this day is about.

Although many of you may be new to this event, others of you have been attending this annual program for years. In fact, this event has been a tradition at Penn State since the 1950s, and this year's Encampment marks the 10th one I have attended. I have always found this day to be one of tremendous opportunity, especially if you choose to participate actively and lend your voice to the conversation. Encampment has proven to be a wonderful tool for gaining a greater understanding of those with whom we live, work and learn.

I'd like to thank our Trustees, faculty, staff and students, as well as the members of our larger community, for taking time out of your busy schedules to participate in this day-long event that I believe will help us all be better connected and focus on important challenges we must face in the future.

To better facilitate our discussions and interactions, the format for Encampment has changed over the years, and organizers have worked hard to ensure that you are provided with ample opportunity to participate, as well as to learn from one another. I value this time with you and I am eager to see how this Encampment may positively influence each of us.

Today actually marks an interesting day in history for it was on this day that the Summer Olympics of 1920 were being held in Belgium, where a record number of athletes, 2,600 in all, were participating. These games were the first to be played following World War I, which actually interrupted the Olympics four years earlier. It also was the first time that the Olympic flag, with its five multicolored, intersecting rings was displayed.

There is a little-known runner who won a gold medal during those 1920 Olympics. Allen Woodring was a last-minute entry into the 200-meter dash. He was a virtual unknown in the world of track. Woodring's performance was all done in shoes he had borrowed -- after misplacing his own. Anyone who knows much about the sport, knows that a runner's shoes are a critical component to an athlete's psyche and success. But Woodring snagged a gold medal while running in another person's shoes.

Today, we will be asking you to figuratively walk in another's shoes. And the results, I hope, will be just as significant.

You might recall from your letter of invitation that the theme chosen for this year's Encampment is "We Are Penn State." The phrase, "We Are Penn State" has been around for decades and was originally used -- as you may have guessed -- as a cheer during athletic events. Today, it still reverberates through Beaver Stadium, the Jordan Center and Rec Hall and informs competitors of exactly who they are dealing with.

However, over the years as the University has grown and gained national recognition, the "We Are Penn State" has come to hold a deeper meaning. It, like the University, has evolved and is now a powerful statement of Penn State's vast reach and influence both nationally and globally. The phrase,"We Are Penn State," now aptly conveys the significance of our contributions to humankind since our founding in 1855 and points to the richly diverse community that is Penn State. "We Are Penn State" embraces our differences and unites us as a community despite those differences. "We Are Penn State" is a proclamation of unity, backed by our resolve to come together for a common purpose. As an old Kenyan proverb so aptly reminds us, sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. Our strength as a community will come from our ability to accept our differences and unite against the forces that threaten to tear us apart. As a community, we must determine the qualities and characteristics that we cherish and then work both individually and collectively toward nurturing those values.

I was asked to speak briefly on the topics of unity and diversity, as a way to begin to set the tone for today's program and to provide you with some initial thoughts on these issues. It is always a challenge to address such subjects, because there are so many varied and sometimes conflicting ideas about what unity and diversity entail and how they should be fostered. For a few of you, exploring these topics may be a new experience.

For others, finding common ground may be difficult. Some may approach these discussions warily, with great skepticism; some may hold strong opinions on the subjects to be covered. Most of you, I believe, have already embraced your responsibility as leaders in this community to readily confront the challenges that are part of living in a diverse environment. These topics are particularly timely ones for our University community, and I am pleased that you, our community's leaders, recognize the important role open communication and education has always played and will continue to play in facing issues that jeopardize our solidarity -- issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia and intolerance toward people who are different. I am proud that we are not afraid to look boldly and critically into our own backyard, to learn from our mistakes, to collectively work toward equity, to challenge the status quo and to advance understanding and respect for all individuals. People who promote equality, who advance a climate of acceptance, who recognize the value of diversity and are committed to supporting these principles, all make a strong case for unity. I believe many of those people are in this room today. It takes a special effort to welcome people of diverse backgrounds into our workplace, our neighborhoods and our hearts -- to move outside of our comfort zone to embrace diversity and unity. As opera great Marian Anderson once said," As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might.

If we want to promote diversity, then we must accept the differences of others and welcome opportunities to learn about people, culture, religion, politics, and the myriad perspectives that fill this world. This is education at its best and it is a critical step in the elimination of intolerance, injustice and inequality. Every day, we are offered opportunities to adopt a world view that is more tolerant and caring; to accept individual differences and to support individual rights. We must not only seize those moments, we must carry them to every area of our lives and encourage others to do the same.

Today, as a community, we will benefit immeasurably from the different people who have gathered. Your voices will bring new meaning to the conversation, new ideas, and new ways of looking at the world through a broad range of intellectual and social perspectives. We cannot allow our diversity to divide us. Instead, we must work together to overcome barriers and build a more united, peaceful and caring community.

Please enjoy your day at Encampment. I hope you will find it rewarding and enlightening.