I am pleased to welcome you, the Class of 2007, to what will be your home for the next four years. We are fortunate that you are joining us, and I look forward to greeting you in person soon. You come to Washington University at an interesting and exciting time. At the heart of our great University are the students, and we welcome you with enthusiasm as our newest community members. We are here to nurture your intellectual, emotional and social growth. We also anticipate with enthusiasm the many talents and interests you bring and the contributions you will make to this community during your time here.

This is a very special time, because we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the University during this coming academic year. The theme of our celebration is “Treasuring the Past. Shaping the Future,” and so our sesquicentennnial year will not only be a time of reflection on our rich history, but also a time to plan for the challenges of the 21st century. I hope you will join us for many of our sesquicentennial activities during the coming year, and I encourage you to take this opportunity to learn more about what has made-and continues to make-the University such a special place.

Indeed, a great university becomes so because of many creative and dedicated people, and our current well-being and future strength have been developed by many who preceded us and shaped our University as we know it today. The work we now do will contribute to shaping the University to serve future generations. Even our co-founder, William Greenleaf Eliot, knew that even the modest progress made during the first 20 years of the University foreshadowed the great University that would be developed over the next century and a half. In 1872 he said: “As our record now stands, and taking things as they now are, we have reason to feel encouraged. Very few institutions, under circumstances of so great difficulty, have accomplished more on the same time. University work has no limitation, and every step of progress opens the way to further steps beyond. Shall we succeed? Shall we see the work prosper in our own hands? I think, I believe, I feel assured that many of us will.”

But far more important than a year of celebration for the University, it is my hope that over the next four years, you will learn firsthand the power of a research university by taking part in the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Such work will enhance your involvement with our great faculty and stimulate your creativity. There is much to be gained from becoming involved in original scholarship. Knowledge you develop can bring important benefits to society, from curing cancer to new works of art. Of course, you will be involved in learning what others know in your classes and other academic activities, but being a contributor to new knowledge adds to your intellectual development in important ways and is a key element of the student experience at a research university.

I am confident that what you will find here is much more than a collection of beautiful buildings and scholarly men and women. What you will find here is a community of people dedicated to a world of learning without intellectual bounds, a place where the only limitations on ideas are those that you place on yourselves. The faculty and staff of the University-along with your upper-class colleagues-welcome you to this world and ask for your engagement to make it an even better place. You will meet and establish rewarding friendships with many new people, and our diverse community will enhance your educational experience. Your education begins in our classrooms, studios and labs, but it extends quickly to the many and varied opportunities that the campus offers for personal and social growth.

Again, welcome to the University. Welcome to the beginning of your future, and best wishes for continued success in this community of learning and discovery.

Mark Wrighton is the chancellor of Washington University. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]

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