...An essential step in that process is to examine the events that open, fully divided our campus during the spring of 2024 and engage in a deliberate effort to which reconciliation and repair, so we may turn polarization into pluralism. I pledge to continue to listen to you as we work together to restore and reaffirm the bonds that define a true community.
At a time when many voices question the value of
universities, I submit that our value is indivisible from our values. The
values that I enumerated at the outset of this address should be our beacon. As
we navigate the turbulent waters of higher education, we must make sure that
they are not a mere declaration of good intentions, but a guide to the way we
connect to each other in everyday encounters, so that we may value both our
differences and our common sense of purpose.
There are two points on which I am sure we can all agree.
First, by recognizing the inherent dignity of every human being, we must
actively prevent and combat discrimination. Nobody on that campus should feel
unsafe because of who they are or what they believe in. Remember. Remember that
when one group becomes the target of bigotry, no one is safe.
This is why we have launched a comprehensive initiative
to combat antisemitism, which is an essential element of our determination to
end all forms of prejudice and intolerance on our campus.
We should respect each person's right to embrace all
dimensions of their identity. At the same time, we must avoid the corrosive
tendency to see people solely through identity based categories, assuming that
they are uniformly alike within those groups and losing sight of their
individuality. Such distortions flatten individual identities and lead to
rejecting entire groups as the other, this is the ultimate form of
dehumanization. History teaches us that stigmatization of groups, if left
unchecked, has led to the worst atrocities.
Fortunately, most members of our community share a common
ground of empathy and kindness to connect, to connect with each other beyond
the confines of faceless categories.
Second, we should agree that in a university, the way to
process differences is through reason and dialog, not hate and violence. Good,
good universities not only tolerate but cultivate diversity of thought.
These stand against dogma, conformity, and
indoctrination.
And we can disagree passionately, even mentally, but
always respectfully. Respect begins by never dismissing opposing perspectives
but instead listening to them and engaging in dialog across differences.
…Creating the space for such engagement is one of the key
roles that universities play as social institutions. To that end, I am
announcing the launch of a series of campus community conversations. This will
be a participatory process to build consensus around the fundamental questions
of our coexistence. What is each of usl to fellow members of our community, and
what can each of us expect from fellow members of our community? By undertaking
this kind of conversation, we will provide a valuable service not only to our
university and higher education, but to society as a whole.
At this time of extreme polarization, after my initial
listening exercise, I have concluded that the majority of us want to be part of
such a conversation. In doing so, we can become an exemplary institution.
As your new chancellor, I commit to engage passionately
with everyone so that together we can restore connective relationships to all
in our community.
For me, this work. This work. This work is profoundly
personal. The defining moment of my life happened when my paternal grandparents
were forced to leave Germany in the 1930s, along with their two children. My
father, who was six years old, and his sister, who was for a series of
coincidences, took them to Mexico, a nation that was poorer in material wealth
but richer in what mattered. Then and now.
Kindness to strangers. It is relatively easy to be kind
to people we know, but it is much harder to be kind to people who are
different. Yet it was such kindness that saved my family's life and made my own
life possible. Like all my siblings and cousins, I was brought up with a sense
of duty to reciprocate kindness to strangers.
As a result, we have all devoted our careers to public
service through science, medicine, music, identification. This has been the
pathway that brings me to you today. I am proud to be the first Latino
Chancellor of UCLA. Me siento orgulloso de ser el primer rector latino de la
UCLA.
While we are all proud of our respective heritages, we
must also acknowledge that each of us holds diverse identities. The resolve to
stand against the external forces of discrimination and intolerance can be
strengthened, if we embrace our own inner diversity. In this way, we can
counter and exclusionary definition of the others and find true connection, not
only with those we know, but especially with those we do not know, with people
who may be strangers but are not strange to our common humanity. Each of us is
all of us.
Exemplary universities must demonstrate to the larger world that such an enlightened pathway is indeed possible. I commit to share this university as everyone's chancellor…
Source of transcript (and entire speech): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3yKRqSM00M.
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The entire ceremony including the speech is at:
The full related ceremony on the day before the inauguration featuring brief lectures by faculty is at:
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