As former University President Henry Bienen placed the clanking and shining chain of office over University President Morton O. Schapiro’s neck, Northwestern’s presidency was officially transferred.
“I’ll wear this to breakfast, lunch, football games – this is mine!” Schapiro said, smiling.Along with Schapiro’s family, friends and colleagues, NU administrators, staff, professors, alumni and students welcomed NU’s 16th president in regal fashion Friday afternoon. The inauguration ceremony, held in the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion due to inclement weather, was filled with the requisite pomp, circumstance and grandeur heralding a “new chapter in Northwestern’s history,” said William A. Osborn, chairman of NU’s Board of Trustees.
“This is so much fun,” Schapiro said before beginning his speech. “I highly recommend it.”Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman addressed thousands as the guest speaker for his friend, Schapiro.
Friedman discussed three global trends in the Great Recession: economic, environmental and education. He said the world was growing in an “unsustainable way” and in 2008, “market and mother nature hit a wall.”
Friedman emphasized the connection between the health of the environment and the economy, comparing Citibank, Iceland’s banks and the ice banks’ mutual meltdowns in the same year of Bear Stearns and polar bears’ mutual near-extinction.
He referred to two acronyms all too common in society: IBG and YBG – “I’ll be gone or you’ll be gone,” he said. “It is not only our financial system that needs a reboot and an upgrade, but also our education system.”
Friedman emphasized “inventing new jobs for the 21st-century workplace.” And more of them supported by “the right education.”
Using Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive officer, as an example, Friedman emphasized lateral thinking in tackling the world’s challenges and inventing new ways of approaching them.
He drew a parallel between Jobs’ willingness to break the mold and study across disciplines and Leonardo da Vinci’s application of his wealth of knowledge, urging the audience to use these lateral thinkers as role models. Similar to an ideal liberal arts education, each specialty Da Vinci had “nourished” the other.
“Vanilla just doesn’t cut it anymore,” Friedman said. “It’s all about what chocolate sauce, whipped cream or cherry you can put on top.”
And while Schapiro said his first few weeks at NU have involved a lot of listening rather than talking, in his speech he presented ideas based on his knowledge of higher education that could be applied to NU.
He discussed diversity – making NU an inclusive campus – but acknowledged that it doesn’t happen overnight.
“People don’t want to be tolerated,” he said. “They want to be full members of a community.”
In his speech, Schapiro touched a personal note, thanking his thesis advisor, co-author, mentor and family, all of whom were in attendance. Former Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick Ryan, former Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton and representatives from nearly 100 colleges and universities were in attendance.
Schapiro went on to emphasize sustainability, drawing on his experiences living in the United States and traveling to Asia and Africa.
Throughout his speech, Schapiro was enthused by his own words, gesturing and pointing his finger in the air to punctuate his points.
“We can applaud…what makes us proud,” he said. “But we must never, never be complacent.”
