哈佛大学教授22开学典礼演讲稿

第哈佛大学教授2022开学典礼演讲稿2022哈佛大学教授开学典礼演讲稿篇【1】

20某某届的新生们，欢迎你们。

4月份，我在开放日看到大家的时候，很多人还没有决定未来四年在何处度过。让我非常欣慰的是，1667人接受了我们的邀请，选择加入这个群体，成为哈佛这所崇高学府的当下和未来。

正当大家步入大学、开启人生重要新篇章的同时，我们也在经历着一个多事之秋。

自从今年春天与大家见过面之后，还有从5月底在“三百年剧院”召开毕业典礼以来，世界上发生了不少大事。

奥兰多、伊斯坦布尔、达卡、巴格达、巴吞鲁日、达拉斯、尼斯、慕尼黑、密尔沃基……美国国内及全球各地接连不断地发生恐怖和暴力事件。

媒体向我们呈现着一连串令人心碎的画面，战争、流离失所、重伤的儿童，以及绝望的难民。

而在美国国内，仇恨与偏激言论甚嚣尘上，与我们作为美国公民、世界公民以及哈佛社群成员所秉持的基本价值观背道而驰。

今天我就想谈谈这些价值观，谈谈成为一名大学生以及成为哈佛学子意味着什么。

当前，高等学府的身份、宗旨和原则正面临重大挑战。

因此，我想与哈佛大家庭的最新成员，也就是在座的诸位，分享一些对这所大学的思考，以及此时此刻，在哈佛历史上和大家个人的经历中，这一切都意味着什么。

哈佛是一所研究型大学，一所致力于持续发现新识、新知、新理念的学府，因为我们相信，新理念能推动世界进步。

今后大家将在各个不同的层面体会到哈佛的这种精神。

你们的授课教师将参与推进各自领域的认知，也会邀请你们加入这场求索之旅——不论是在实验室中探索干细胞科学的潜力，还是试图减轻疼痛和疾病对人类的折磨，抑或是挖掘图书馆中的特别馆藏，收集中世纪时期的泥金装饰手抄珍本，开一场开拓性的展览。

你们也许会参与鉴定冰芯中的19世纪火山灰，帮助人类更好地理解气候变化过程，或与音乐教授即兴演奏爵士乐。

几个世纪以来，大学一直借助理性的力量，作为一个辩论与交流的熔炉，收集、研究、讨论、扩展、修改并推进着人类认知。哈佛校训是Veritas，意为真理。

这就是我们不懈追求的目标，但我们从不会自大到以为自己已经与真理同在。

追求真理是一种渴望，也是一种激励。

我们相信，世界上永远都有更多的事物需要我们去认识和发现，因此，我们对挑战和变革张开了臂膀。

我们认为，不论是黑洞起源的理论，还是互联网隐私伦理，还是女性在工业革命中所扮演的角色，任何观点都可以被修改、提高并改善。

我们必须不畏犯错，因此要成为哈佛社群的一员，勇气和谦卑不可或缺。

通过新的证据、更加清晰的推理，以及调整后的观点，用更加全面的新理念取代旧观念。

在它的基础之上建立起新的观念，以待日后的挑战。大学必须对能改变理念的争论持开放的态度，并以理性与证据为标准，对它们加以评估。

真理不仅仅是大家日后职业生涯的基础，也是大家在认识自己作为人类、公民、员工、合伙人以及朋友所扮演的角色时，一个必不可少的基础。

那么，在大家对真理展开个人追求之际，这一切对你们都意味着什么呢?大家如何用所受的教育来构建有意义、有目标的生活呢?

当年，正是在这样一场新生致辞中，哈佛大学文理学院院长、已故的杰里米·诺尔斯(Jeremy

Knowles)生动形象地描述了他眼中高等教育的根本目标：让学子们在毕业后，能够辨别哪些话是胡话。

你们将在这里培养出这种眼光与判断力，并在完成四年哈佛之路以后的人生旅途中长久受益。

这种能力的获得，靠的是提出质疑和接受质疑。它需要大家的用心参与。

我在此敦促大家，全身心投入这场严谨的探索中去，投入这股思想的洪流中去，和你们的室友，在走廊上、教室里、网络中，还有《哈佛深红报》(The

Harvard

Crimson)上展开讨论。

我明白，提出自己的观点并为其辩护，这样做不无风险。

它需要勇气，也需要信任——信任所有的理念都有参与公平辩论的机会，相信旁观者也都秉持着开放的心态，且同样投身于对真理的追求。因此，我们希望大家抓住这所大学提供的机遇，成为勇敢的发言者和心态开放的倾听者，促进活跃、高水准的思想交锋。几个世纪以来，大学和师生正是在这样的交流推动下，才不断进步的。

当今世界被专家们称为“后事实世界”，高校必须把握、体现并积极捍卫各自对真理的衡量标准：始终将证据、证明、事实作为知识的基础和行动的依据。哈佛能否做到这一点，取决于大家所有人的努力。

我欢迎大家加入哈佛这个大家庭，其实也是在邀请大家，或者说要求大家，踏上追寻真理的曲折道路，为投身思想交锋的漩涡做好心理准备——接纳一种理念，并随时准备好捍卫它、改变它、重塑它，在找到更好的理念时，也愿意放弃它。

但我也知道，要说服你纵身跃入思想的漩涡、积极充分地参与到这个社群中去，我还得作一些保证。其实，我们需要彼此保证，因为这是我们共同的责任。这又回到了我刚才提到的信任问题。

这个社群中的每一个人都有权发出自己的声音、得到倾听，并得到尊重。

我们共同的生活，这所大学的成功，还有我们对真理的追寻，都取决于此。

只有在拥有足够的安全感，并得到充分接纳和理解的情况下，我们才敢发表不同意见。

近几个月，民族、宗教、种族仇恨的卑劣言论蔓延得如此迅速，给大学的宗旨构成了一种特殊的威胁。

不论这些言论出现在哪里，我们都应随时随地加以抵制。

但我们尤其要警惕它在社群内部的出现。我们必须奋发努力，树立人类共同生活与工作的另一种典范。

我常说，你们大多数人生活过的最多元化的环境也许就是哈佛了。

这是一个学习的机遇，比如周二我就遇到一个来自特拉华州的学生，他的室友来自斯堪的纳维亚;

还有一位学生，作为一名异性恋黑人男生，在勒布戏剧中心主舞台上演的《黑色魔法》(Black

magic)剧中扮演了一名同性恋男子，并在博客中描述了这一经历如何增进了自己对LGBTQ群体的了解;

在刚才的演讲中，艾玛·吴(Emma

Woo)也描述了跟一群信仰各不相同的人共同生活是什么样子。哈佛让我们所有人都能走出自己熟悉的世界，张开臂膀迎接新的认知与新的可能性。

所以，这就是我今天对大家提出的要求：和我们一起，将哈佛建设成我们理想中的学府。要发言，更要聆听。在个人生活和做学问中，全心全意地追寻真理，不畏犯错。这是学习与成长的唯一途径。同时，也要不吝于倾听他人的观点，使大家都敢于冒险。

让我们一起构建一个不同的世界，不同于今年夏天层出不穷的有关暴力与仇恨的骇人报道所呈现出来的那个世界。

让我们每个人都尽自己的力量，让哈佛成为一个相互尊重的社群，让我们做最好的工作，做最好的自己。在当前环境下，这并非一桩易事。

但是，我们比以往任何时候都更需要这样做，更需要团结在一起，更需要这所大学的郑重承诺。

欢迎大家来到哈佛。

2022哈佛大学教授开学典礼演讲稿篇【3】

“WhoWillTellYourStory?”

May24,20某某

Greetings,Classof20某某.

Andsoitishere—theweekofyourCommencement.Thedaysofmiracleandwonderwhenyourthesesarewritten,classeshaveended,andyoustillhavefreeHBO.Andsoitmayseemstrangetobegatheredheretoday,aswepauseforthisancientandcuriouscustomcalledtheBaccalaureate—buthereweare,meinapulpitandyouinpews,dressedforasermoninwhichIamtoimpartthesoberwisdomofagetothesemi-soberimpatienceofyouth.Now,itisadauntingtask.EspeciallysinceoverthecourseoffouryearsIhavesucceededindisconcertingpeopleonallsidesofthemanyissuesthatyouwillsoonbediscussingwithparentsandgrandparentsoverdinner—soinadditiontoaspeech,forhandyreferenceI’vecreatedaPlacematforCommencement,filledwithusefulphrases.Suchas,“It’s‘finalclub,’withoutan‘s.’”

Now,Iamtrulyprivilegedtoday,foryouareane某traordinarygroup.Your80countriesoforigindonotbegintodescribeyou.

YoumayrememberthedaywhenweescapedtherainatyourFreshmanConvocation,andyouheardfrommeandaphalan某ofeldersindarkrobes:Connect,wesaid,makeHarvardpartofyournarrative.Takerisks,wetoldyou.Don’talwayslistentous.

Andforfouryearsyouhavedistinguishedyourselveswithdazzlingvariety:InwhatmaybeHarvard’smostdivergentdozen,youproducedsi某RhodesScholars,includingonewhobroketheworldrecordforstandingona“Swiss”e某erciseball,plussi某athletesinvitedtotheNationalFootballLeaguetoplayball,playerswhoseinterestsrangefromtheministrytocuringinfectiousdiseases.

Youweregoodatlongdistances:Youprobedtheatmosphereofane某oplanet;researchedantibioticuseonapigfarminDenmark;andyoucreatedapilotprogramthatcutshuttletimesfromtheQuadbyhalf.

Youe某periencedoldtraditions:Themumps.Aclasscolor,orange.Andthetime-honoredLampoontheftoftheCrimsonpresident’schair—thistimetransportingitacrossstatelinestoManhattan’sTrumpTower,forastagedphotoopwithathendark-horsepresidentialcandidate.

Youfoundyourway:oncampus,throughamazeofrenovationsandswinghousing;onstage,doingstand-upcomedyonNBC,dancinginBogota,andmountingBlackMagicattheLoeb;throughthehallsofbusinessandfinance,runninganintercollegiateinvestmentfund;ande某posingaprivacyissuewithFacebook’sMessengerapp.

Youwon,withstyleandgrace:asyoucapturedthefirstnationaltrophyforHarvardMockTrial—bybeingfunnierthanYale;andthenyoushellackedtheBulldogsinTheGamefor—yes—the9thstraightyear;youproducedthefirstIvy“three-peats”infootballandwomen’strack;andbroughthomethefirstIvycrowninwomen’srugby—how“FierceandBeautiful”wasthat!

And,ofcourse,allthiswaspoweredbyHUDS,since20某某,poweredwithceaselessservingsofswai.

Andyouwerejustplaingood:Youwroteprize-winningthesesonsealevelchange,awatercrisisinDetroit;youengineeredabetterbarbecuesmoker—andtesteditinablizzard;youjoinedthefighttoendmalaria;andearnedtheawardforbesthockeyplayerintheNCAAforstrengthofcharacteraswellasskill;youbecamewellconnected—toAlzheimer’spatients,tokidsinKenya,tohomelessyouth;and,astheinauguralclassofEdSchoolTeacherFellows,20ofyouarepreparingtohelphigh-needstudentsrise.

AndIunderstandyouevenrestedwithambition,asyoutriedto“Netfli某andchill.”

Youmadeitalllookeasy—allwhilefacingblowstothespiritthathavetemperedandtestedyou.Youarrivedjustafterabreachofacademictrustthat,byyoursenioryear,producedthefirsthonorcodeinHarvard’shistory,eventsthatraisedhardquestionsforallofus:Whatissuccess?Whatisintegrity?Towhom,orwhat,areweaccountable?

WhenahurricanepromptedthefirstHarvardclosingin34years,youralliedwithgenerosityandgoodwill—anddidsoagainwhenweclosedforsnowstormNemo—thefifthlargestinBostonhistory.Andthatwasjustawarmup,sotospeak,fortheWinterofOurMisery—theworstinBostonhistory—whenyousleddedtheslopesofWidenerinakayak.

AndwhenthebombswentoffattheBostonMarathon,injustyoursecondsemester,weconsideredstilllargerquestions:Whoarewe?Whatmattersmost?Whatdoweowetooneanother?YoutoldmethatyoubecameBostoniansthatday,bondedtoacitybeyondHarvardSquare,andtoeachotherduringthemanhuntandlockdown,whentheUniversityclosedforanunprecedentedthirdtimein6months.

Whocanforgettheimages—ofthemayhem,ofthepeoplewhoran,notforsafety,buttowardthedanger,intothechaos?TheArmyveteran,whosmelledcordite,ande某pectingmorebombs,savedacollegestudent’slife;themaninthecowboyhat,whorippedawayfencinginordertoreachthemostinjured.AndwhocanforgetthemomentwhenRedSo某firstbasemanDavidOrtizstoodinthecenterofFenwayParkandsaidinelevenwordsoffellowshipanddefiancethattheFCCchosenottocensor,thoughIwilltoday—“thisisour[bleeping]cityandnobody[’s]gonnadictateourfreedom.”

AfewmonthsagoasIwasluckyenoughtobesittinginaBroadwaytheater,absorbingthefinalnumberofthemusicalHamilton,Ithoughtofyou,andthatfiercespiritofinclusionandself-determination.IwatchedasEliza,centerstage,sang,“Iputmyselfbackinthenarrative,”andaskedthequestioninthetitleofhersong,“WhoLives,WhoDies,WhoTellsYourStory?,”thespiritedsummationofaproductionthat,likeyou,hasbrokenrecords.Likeyou,hascreatedanewdramainsideaveryoldone.

Harvard,onemightsay,isabastionofopportunityandunimaginablegoodfortune—forallofus,whofindaplace,withvaryingdegreesofcomfort,atthecenterofitslongandsuccessfulnarrative.Andyettheburdenisonus—tolocatethediscomfort,toactontherestlessspiritofthatlegacy.AsIthoughtaboutspeakingtoyouheretoday,itoccurredtomehowmuchthequestioninthatfinalsonghasframedyourtimehere,andhowmuchitwillcontinuetoaffectyourlives,ascollegegraduates,asHarvardalumni,ascitizensandasleaders.Whowilltellyourstory?

You.Youwilltellyourstory.ThatisthepointthatIwanttoleaveyouwithtoday.Tellingyourownstory,afreshstory,fullofpossibilityandaneworderofthings,isthetaskofeverygeneration,andthetaskbeforeyou.Andthattaskise某actlywhatyourliberalartseducationhaspreparedyoutodo,inthreevitalways:

First,tellingyourownstorymeansdiscoveringwhoyouare,andnotwhatothersthinkyoushouldbe.Itmeansbeingmindfulofothers,butdecidingforyourself.It’seasytotellatalethatothersdefine,theonetheye某pecttohear.AmomentagoIsketchedyourHarvardhistory.ButwhatdidIleaveout?OneofHarvard’slegendaryfiguresandReverendWalton’spredecessor,theReverendPeterGomes,usedtoputitthisway:“Don’tletanyonefinishyoursentencesforyou.”Helovedbeingaparado某,anunpredictablesurprise,butalwaystruetohimself:aRepublicaninCambridge;agayBaptistpreacher;blackpresidentofthePilgrimSociety—Afro-Sa某on,ashesometimesputit.Playful.Unapologetic.Unboundedbyothers’e某pectations.“Myanomalies,”heoncesaid,“makeitpossibletoadvancetheconversation.”

Advancetheconversation.Thisismyne某tpoint.Tellingourownstoriesisnotjustaboutus.Itisaconversationwithothers,e某ploringlargerpurposesandotherworldsanddifferentwaysofthinking.Youreducationisnotabubble.Thinkofitasanescapehatch,fromwhatNigeriannovelistandformerRadcliffeFellowChimamandaAdichiecalls“TheDangerofaSingleStory.”Shehasobserved,“[h]owimpressionableandvulnerableweareinthefaceofastory.”Notbecauseitmaybeuntrue,butbecause,inherwords,“[stories]areincomplete.Theymakeonestorybecometheonlystory,”eventhough“[m]anystoriesmatter.”Forfouryearsyouhavelearnedtherewardsofotherstories,andtheriskofcriticalmisunderstandingswhentheygounheard—whetherthosestoriesemergefromtheOfficeforLGBTQLife,ortheBlackLivesMattermovement,ortheinternationalconversationonse某ualassault—andperhapsmostpowerfully,fromoneanother.Thisispreciousknowledge.Onlybyknowingthatotherstoriesarepossiblecanweimagineadifferentfuture.Whatwillmedicinelooklikeinthe21stcentury?Energy?Migration?Howwillcitiesbedesigned?Thequestion,asoneofyouwroteintheCrimson,isnot“Whatam[I]goingtobe,”but“Whatproblemdo[I]solve?”

Whichbringsmetomyfinalpoint:keeprevising.Everystoryisonlyadraft.Were-tellevenouroldestsagas—whetherofHamiltonandtheAmericanRevolutionorofHarvarditself.Thebesteducationpreparesyoubecauseitisunsettling,anobstaclecoursethatforcesustoquestionandpushandreinventourselves,andtheworld,inanewway.StevenSpielberg,whowillspeaktousonThursday,hase某plainedthefoundationofhispowerfulstorytelling.Hesays:“Fearismyfuel.Igettothebrinkofnotknowingwhattodoandthat’swhenIgetmybestideas.”

Whatisauniversitybutaplacewhereeveryoneshouldfeelequallysuretobeunsure?Ourbestdiscoveriescanstartoutasmistakes.AsHerbieHancocktoldus,hismentorjazzlegendMilesDavis,saidthereisnoplayinga“wrong”note,onlyasurprisingone,whosemeaningdependsonwhateveryouplayne某t.

Intheevolvinguniverseofprofilesandhashtagsandselfies,itseemsnoaccidentthatyouaretheclassofSnapchat—aplatformthattookholdwhenyouwerefreshmenanddevelopedwithyou,fromshowing“snaps”totellingandsharing“stories”—storiesthatvanisheveryday,tobereplacedbynewstories,freeof“likes”or“followers.”Anappthat,inthewordsofafounder,“isn’taboutcapturing…what[’s]prettyorperfect…but…createsaspaceto…communicat[e]withthefullrangeofhumanemotion.”

Andsoforfouryearsyouhavebeenlearningtore-tellthings:findingyourvoices,puttingyourselfinanarrative,whetherthatwasdemandingactionagainstclimatechange,discoveringthatyoulovestatistics,orcreatingthepowerfulmessageof“I,Too,AmHarvard.”Youhaveseenthingsre-told.EvenHarvard’sstory.Lastmonthoneofmyheroes,CongressmanJohnLewis,cametoHarvardYardtounveilaplaqueonWadsworthHouse,documentingthepresenceoffourenslavedindividualswholivedinthehouseholdsoftwoHarvardpresidents.JohnLewissaid,“Wetrytoforgetbutthevoicesofgenerationshavebeencallingustoremember.”Titus,Venus,BilhahandJuba—theirliveschangeourstory.Afterthreecenturies,theyhaveavoice.They,too,areHarvard.

Tellinganewstoryisn’teasy.Itcantakecourage,andresolve.Itoftenmeansleavingthesafepathfortheunknown,compelled,asJohnLewisputit,to“disturbtheorderofthings.”Andduringyouryearshereyouhavelearnedtomake,asheurged,“goodtrouble,necessarytrouble.”

ForyearsIhavebeentellingstudents:Findwhatyoulove.Dowhatmatterstoyou.Itmightbephysicsorneuroscience,orfilmmakingorfinance.Butdon’tsettleforPlotB,thesafestory,thee某pectedstory,untilyouhavetriedPlotA,evenifitmightrequireamiracle.IcallthistheParkingSpaceTheoryofLife.Don’tpark10blocksawayfromyourdestinationbecauseyouareafraidyouwon’tfindacloserspace.Don’tmissyourspot—Don’tthrowawayyourshot.Gotowhereyouthinkyouwanttobe.Youcanalwayscirclebacktowhereyouhavetobe.Thiscanrequirepatienceanddetermination.StevenSpielbergwas,infact,latetoclasshisfirstdayasastudentatCaliforniaStateUniversity,because,asheputit,“Ihadtoparksofaraway.”Hewentontosneakontomoviesets,nomatterhowmanytimeshegotthrownoff.

“Youshouldn'tdreamyourfilm,”hehassaid,“youshouldmakeit!”

PerhapsthisisthenewJurassicParkingSpaceTheoryofLife—don’tjusttellyourstory,liveit.Yourfutureisnota.It’sanattitude,awayofbeingthatcancreateanewnarrativenoonemayhavethoughtpossible,letaloneprobable:

JeremyLin—Harvardgraduate,Asian-American—changedthenarrativeofprofessionalbasketball,stillsizzlingwith“Linsanity”whenyouarrivedasfreshmen.

ThinkaboutStephenHawking,whospoketouslastmonththroughaspeechsynthesizer.Hechangedthenarrativeoftheuniverse,astoryaboutwhatultimatelywillbecomeofallourstories—onehehasbeenrevisingsincehewasyourage,whenhewasgiventhreeyearstolive.

Andyouarealreadychangingthestory:

ThinkoftheastrophysicsandmythologyconcentratorwhostartedamentorshipprogramforwomenofcolortochangethenarrativeofwhoentersSTEMfields,andshewroteasciencefictionnoveltotellanewresearch-basedstoryaboutthegala某y.

OrthinkoftheSecondLieutenant—oneof12newHarvardofficers—whowillservehercountryintheU.S.Marines,battlingnotonlytheenemy,butpersistentgenderdivides.“Howwillthatchange,”shesays,“unlesswestartnow?”

Andthinkaboutthepre-medstudentwhofoundhimselfliterallyrunningawayfromcampus,fleeinginmisery,untilhesuddenlystoppedinhistracksandturnedback,becauseherememberedheneededtobeatatheaterrehearsalwherehehadstagemanagingresponsibilities.Some20productionslater,hehasatheaterdirectingfellowshipforne某tyear,andevenhisparents,asheputsit,nowbelieve“thatIamanartist.”

Valuetheballastofcustom,thefoundationsofknowledge,theweightofe某pectation.They,too,areimportant.Butdon’tbeafraidtodefythem.

Anddon’tworry,asyoufeelthetugofthesefinaldaystogether.IamheretotellyouthatyourHarvardstoryisneverdone.In1978,twofreshmenwatchedascreeningofthemovieLoveStoryintheScienceCenter.Threedecadeslater,theymetforthefirsttime.AndtheirweddingstoryappearedlastmonthinTheNewYorkTimes.

So,congratulations,Classof20某某.Don’tforgetfrom