Jeg vil tale om succes på mit universitet, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC, i at uddanne alle typer studerende, på tværs af kunst, humaniora, naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab. Det er gør vores historie så specielt interessant er at vi har lært så meget fra en gruppe studerende der typisk ikke er i toppen af den akademiske stige farvede studerende, studerende der er underrepræsenterede på bestemte områder. Og det der gør historien specielt unik er at vi har lært hvordan vi kan hjælpe afroamerikanske studerende, latino studerende, studerende fra lavindkomst baggrund, til at blive nogle af de bedste i verden indenfor naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab.
So I'll be talking about the success of my campus, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC, in educating students of all types, across the arts and humanities and the science and engineering areas. What makes our story especially important is that we have learned so much from a group of students who are typically not at the top of the academic ladder -- students of color, students underrepresented in selected areas. And what makes the story especially unique is that we have learned how to help African-American students, Latino students, students from low-income backgrounds, to become some of the best in the world in science and engineering.
Så jeg begynder med en historie om min barndom. Vi er alle produkter af vores barndomsoplevelser. Det er svært for mig at tro på, at der er gået 50 år siden jeg havde oplevelsen af at være et niendeklasses barn i Birmingham, Alabama, et barn der elskede at få topkarakterer, et barn der elskede matematik, der elskede at læse, et barn de sagde til læreren -- når læreren sagde, "Her er 10 problemer," til klassen, sagde dette lille fede barn, "Giv os 10 mere." Og hele klassen sagde, "Hold mund, Freeman." Og der var en udpeget sparker hver dag. Så jeg stillede altid dette spørgsmålet: "Jamen, hvordan kunne vi få flere børn til virkelig at elske at lære?"
And so I begin with a story about my childhood. We all are products of our childhood experiences. It's hard for me to believe that it's been 50 years since I had the experience of being a ninth grade kid in Birmingham, Alabama, a kid who loved getting A's, a kid who loved math, who loved to read, a kid who would say to the teacher -- when the teacher said, "Here are 10 problems," to the class, this little fat kid would say, "Give us 10 more." And the whole class would say, "Shut up, Freeman." And there was a designated kicker every day. And so I was always asking this question: "Well how could we get more kids to really love to learn?"
Og utroligt nok, en uge i kirken, da jeg virkelig ikke havde lyst til at være der og jeg var i det bagerste af lokalet og blev formildet af at løse matematik problemer, hørte jeg en mand sige dette: "Hvis vi kan få børnene til at deltage i denne fredelige demonstration her i Birmingham, vi kan vise Amerika at selv børn kender forskellen på rigtigt og forkert og at børn virkelig gerne vil have den bedst mulige uddannelse." Og jeg kiggede op og sagde, "Hvem er den mand?" Og de sagde hans navn var Dr. Martin Luther King. Og jeg sagde til mine forældre, "Jeg skal afsted. Jeg vil afsted. Jeg vil være en del af dette." Og de sagde, "Under ingen omstændigheder."
And amazingly, one week in church, when I really didn't want to be there and I was in the back of the room being placated by doing math problems, I heard this man say this: "If we can get the children to participate in this peaceful demonstration here in Birmingham, we can show America that even children know the difference between right and wrong and that children really do want to get the best possible education." And I looked up and said, "Who is that man?" And they said his name was Dr. Martin Luther King. And I said to my parents, "I've got to go. I want to go. I want to be a part of this." And they said, "Absolutely not."
(Latter)
(Laughter)
Og vi gik hårdt til den. Og dengang, svarede man, ærlig talt, ikke sine forældre igen. Og på en eller anden måde sagde jeg, "I ved, I er nogle hyklere. I får mig til at gå til dette. I får mig til at høre efter. Manden vil have mig til at gå, og nu siger I nej." Og de tænkte over det hele natten. Og de kom ind på mit værelse den næste morgen. De havde ikke sovet. De havde bogstavelig talt grædt og bedt og tænkt, "Lader vi vores 12-årige deltage i denne march og sikkert lade ham blive fængslet?" Og de besluttede sig for at gøre det. Og da de kom ind for at fortælle mig det, var jeg først opløftet. Og så begyndte jeg lige pludselig at tænke på hundene og vandslangerne, og jeg blev virkelig bange, det gjorde jeg virkelig. Og en af de punkter jeg nævner overfor folk hele tiden er at nogen gange når folk går noget modigt, betyder det ikke rigtigt at de er så modige. Det betyder simpelthen at de tror på at det er vigtigt at gøre det.
And we had a rough go of it. And at that time, quite frankly, you really did not talk back to your parents. And somehow I said, "You know, you guys are hypocrites. You make me go to this. You make me listen. The man wants me to go, and now you say no." And they thought about it all night. And they came into my room the next morning. They had not slept. They had been literally crying and praying and thinking, "Will we let our 12-year-old participate in this march and probably have to go to jail?" And they decided to do it. And when they came in to tell me, I was at first elated. And then all of a sudden I began thinking about the dogs and the fire hoses, and I got really scared, I really did. And one of the points I make to people all the time is that sometimes when people do things that are courageous, it doesn't really mean that they're that courageous. It simply means that they believe it's important to do it.
Jeg ville have en bedre uddannelse. Jeg ønskede ikke at have bøger der gik i arv. Jeg ville vide at den skole jeg gik på ikke kun havde gode lærere, men også ressourcerne vi havde brug for. Og som resultat af den oplevelse, midt på ugen, men jeg var der i fængslet, kom Dr. King og sagde med vores forældre, "Det I børn gør i dag vil have indflydelse på børn der endnu ikke er blevet født."
I wanted a better education. I did not want to have to have hand-me-down books. I wanted to know that the school I attended not only had good teachers, but the resources we needed. And as a result of that experience, in the middle of the week, while I was there in jail, Dr. King came and said with our parents, "What you children do this day will have an impact on children who have not been born."
Det gik for nyligt op for mig, at to tredjedele af amerikanere i dag ikke var blevet født i 1963. Så for dem, da de hørte om Children's Crusade i Birmingham, på mange måder, hvis de ser det på TV, er det ligesom når vi kigger på "Lincoln" filmen om 1863: Det er historie. Og det virkelige spørgsmål er, hvilke lektioner vi lærte? Jamen utroligt nok, det vigtigste for mig var dette: At børn kan bemyndiges til at få ejerskab over deres uddannelse. De kan læres at være passionerede om at ville lære og at elske ideen om at stille spørgsmål.
I recently realized that two-thirds of Americans today had not been born at the time of 1963. And so for them, when they hear about the Children's Crusade in Birmingham, in many ways, if they see it on TV, it's like our looking at the 1863 "Lincoln" movie: It's history. And the real question is, what lessons did we learn? Well amazingly, the most important for me was this: That children can be empowered to take ownership of their education. They can be taught to be passionate about wanting to learn and to love the idea of asking questions.
Så det er specielt vigtigt, at universitetet jeg nu står i spidsen for, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC, blev grundlagt det selvsamme år som jeg kom i fængsel med Dr. King, i 1963. Og det der gjorde den institutionelle dannelse specielt vigtig er at Maryland er syden, som I ved, og, ærlig talt, var det det første universitet i vores stat grundlagt i en tid da studerende fra alle racer kunne gå der. Så vi havde sorte og hvide studerende og andre der begyndte at gå der. Og det har været et eksperiment i 50 år. Eksperimentet er dette: Er det muligt at have institutioner i vores land, universiteter, hvor mennesker fra alle baggrunde kan komme og lære og lære at arbejde sammen og lære at blive ledere og at støtte hinanden i den oplevelse?
And so it is especially significant that the university I now lead, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC, was founded the very year I went to jail with Dr. King, in 1963. And what made that institutional founding especially important is that Maryland is the South, as you know, and, quite frankly, it was the first university in our state founded at a time when students of all races could go there. And so we had black and white students and others who began to attend. And it has been for 50 years an experiment. The experiment is this: Is it possible to have institutions in our country, universities, where people from all backgrounds can come and learn and learn to work together and learn to become leaders and to support each other in that experience?
Det der er specielt vigtigt ved denne oplevelse for mig er dette: Vi fandt ud af at vi kunne gøre mange ting i kunst og humaniora og samfundsvidenskab. Så vi begyndte at arbejde på det i årevis i 60'erne. Og vi producerede et antal mennesker indenfor juraen, hele vejen til humaniora. Vi producerede store kunstnere. Beckett er vores muse. Mange af vores studerende går ind i teaterverdenen. Det er fantastisk arbejde. Problemet vi står overfor var det samme problem som Amerika bliver ved med at stå overfor -- at studerende i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab, der bestod de sorte studerende ikke. Men når jeg kiggede på dataene, det jeg fandt ud af var, ærlig talt, at de studerende generelt, klarede store antal den ikke. Og som resultat deraf, besluttede vi at gøre noget der ville hjælpe, for det første, gruppen i bunden, afroamerikanske studerende, og så latinamerikanske studerende.
Now what is especially important about that experience for me is this: We found that we could do a lot in the arts and humanities and social sciences. And so we began to work on that, for years in the '60s. And we produced a number of people in law, all the way to the humanities. We produced great artists. Beckett is our muse. A lot of our students get into theater. It's great work. The problem that we faced was the same problem America continues to face -- that students in the sciences and engineering, black students were not succeeding. But when I looked at the data, what I found was that, quite frankly, students in general, large numbers were not making it. And as a result of that, we decided to do something that would help, first of all, the group at the bottom, African-American students, and then Hispanic students.
Og Robert og Jane Meyerhoff, filantroper, sagde, "Vi vil gerne hjælpe." Robert Meyerhoff sagde, "Hvordan kan det være, at alt jeg ser på TV om sorte drenge, hvis det ikke handler om basketball, så er det ikke positivt? Jeg vil gerne gøre en forskel, gøre noget der er positivt." Vi blev gift med de ideer, og vi skabte dette Meyerhoff Scholars program. Og det der er bemærkelsesværdigt ved programmet er at vi lærte en antal ting. Og spørgsmålet er dette: Hvordan kan det være, at vi nu er bedst i landet til at producere afroamerikanere der går videre til at fuldføre deres Ph.D.'er i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab? Det er en stor ting. Giv mig et bifald for det. Det er en stor ting. Det er en stor ting. Det er det virkeligt.
And Robert and Jane Meyerhoff, philanthropists, said, "We'd like to help." Robert Meyerhoff said, "Why is it that everything I see on TV about black boys, if it's not about basketball, is not positive? I'd like to make a difference, to do something that's positive." We married those ideas, and we created this Meyerhoff Scholars program. And what is significant about the program is that we learned a number of things. And the question is this: How is it that now we lead the country in producing African-Americans who go on to complete Ph.D.'s in science and engineering and M.D./Ph.D.'s? That's a big deal. Give me a hand for that. That's a big deal. That's a big deal. It really is.
(Bifald)
(Applause)
Ser I, de fleste mennesker er ikke klar over at det ikke kun er minoriteterne der ikke klarer sig godt i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab. Ærlig talt, taler man om amerikanere. Hvis man ikke ved det, mens 20 procent af de sorte og latinamerikanere der begynder med et hovedfag i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab vil faktisk dimittere i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab, kun 32 procent af hvide der begynder med et hovedfag i de områder klarer det faktisk og dimitterer i de områder, og kun 42 procent af amerikanere med asiatisk baggrund.
You see, most people don't realize that it's not just minorities who don't do well in science and engineering. Quite frankly, you're talking about Americans. If you don't know it, while 20 percent of blacks and Hispanics who begin with a major in science and engineering will actually graduate in science and engineering, only 32 percent of whites who begin with majors in those areas actually succeed and graduate in those areas, and only 42 percent of Asian-Americans.
Så det virkelige spørgsmål er, hvad er udfordringen? Jamen en del af det, selvfølgelig, er grundskolen. Vi skal styrke grundskolen. Men den anden del har at gøre med den kultur i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab på vores universiteter. Hvad enten man ved det eller ej, er mange af de studerende med høje SAT testscorer og et højt antal A.P. studiepoint der går på prestigefyldte universiteter i vores land som starter på medicinstudiet eller ingeniørstudiet, og de ender med at skifte hovedfag. Og den vigtigste årsag, finder vi ud af, ærlig talt, er at de ikke klarede den godt i første år på naturvidenskab kurserne. Faktisk , kalder vi typisk det første år i natur- og ingeniørvidenskab rundt om i Amerika, luge-ud kurser eller barriere kurser.
And so, the real question is, what is the challenge? Well a part of it, of course, is K-12. We need to strengthen K-12. But the other part has to do with the culture of science and engineering on our campuses. Whether you know it or not, large numbers of students with high SAT's and large numbers of A.P. credits who go to the most prestigious universities in our country begin in pre-med or pre-engineering and engineering, and they end up changing their majors. And the number one reason, we find, quite frankly, is they did not do well in first year science courses. In fact, we call first year science and engineering, typically around America, weed-out courses or barrier courses.
Hvor mange af jer her i dette publikum kender nogen der begyndte på medicinstudiet eller ingeniørstudiet og ændrede deres hovedfag indenfor et år eller to? Det er en amerikansk udfordring. Halvdelen af jer i lokalet. Jeg ved det. Jeg ved det. Jeg ved det. Og det der er interessant ved det er at så mange studerende er kloge og kan klare det. Vi skal finde på måder til at få det til at ske.
How many of you in this audience know somebody who started off in pre-med or engineering and changed their major within a year or two? It's an American challenge. Half of you in the room. I know. I know. I know. And what is interesting about that is that so many students are smart and can do it. We need to find ways of making it happen.
Hvad er de fire ting vi gjorde for at hjælpe minoritetsstuderende der nu hjælper studerende generelt? Nummer et: høje forventninger. Det kræver en forståelse for de akademiske forberedelser som de studerende -- deres karakterer, kompromisløsheden i kursernes arbejde, deres evne til at prøver, deres attitude, deres indre ild, passionen for deres arbejde, til at klare den. Så at hjælpe studerende med at forberede sig til at være i den situation, er meget vigtigt. Men lige så vigtigt, det kræver en forståelse for at det er hårdt arbejde der gør forskellen. Jeg er lige glad med hvor klog man er eller hvor klog man tror man er. Klog betyder simpelthen at man er klar til at lære. Man er begejstret for at læse og man vil stille gode spørgsmål.
So what are the four things we did to help minority students that now are helping students in general? Number one: high expectations. It takes an understanding of the academic preparation of students -- their grades, the rigor of the course work, their test-taking skills, their attitude, the fire in their belly, the passion for the work, to make it. And so doing things to help students prepare to be in that position, very important. But equally important, it takes an understanding that it's hard work that makes the difference. I don't care how smart you are or how smart you think you are. Smart simply means you're ready to learn. You're excited about learning and you want to ask good questions.
I. I. Rabi, en nobelprismodtager, sagde at da han voksede op i New York, spurgte alle hans venner forældre dem "Hvad lærte du i skolen?" i slutningen af hver dag. Og han sagde, i kontrast, sagde hans jødiske mor, "Izzy, stillede du et godt spørgsmål i dag?" Så høje forventninger har at gøre med nysgerrighed og at opmuntre unge mennesker til at være nysgerrige. Og som resultat af de høje forventninger, begyndte vi at finde studerende vi ville arbejde med for at se hvad vi kunne gøre for at hjælpe dem, ikke bare at overleve i natur- og ingeniørvidenskab, men at blive de allerbedste, at overgå sig selv.
I. I. Rabi, a Nobel laureate, said that when he was growing up in New York, all of his friends' parents would ask them "What did you learn in school?" at the end of a day. And he said, in contrast, his Jewish mother would say, "Izzy, did you ask a good question today?" And so high expectations have to do with curiosity and encouraging young people to be curious. And as a result of those high expectations, we began to find students we wanted to work with to see what could we do to help them, not simply to survive in science and engineering, but to become the very best, to excel.
Interessant nok, et eksempel: En ung mand der fik et 7-tal i det første kursus, og ville gå på medicinstudiet, vi sagde, "Vi skal bede dig om at tage kurset om, fordi du har brug for en stærk basis hvis du skal videre til næste niveau." Hver basis gør en forskel på det næste niveau. Han tog kurset igen. Den unge mand dimitterede fra UMBC, og blev den første sorte til at få en M.D./ph.d. fra University of Pennsylvania. Han arbejder nu på Harvard. Fin historie. Giv ham en hånd for det også.
Interestingly enough, an example: One young man who earned a C in the first course and wanted to go on to med school, we said, "We need to have you retake the course, because you need a strong foundation if you're going to move to the next level." Every foundation makes the difference in the next level. He retook the course. That young man went on to graduate from UMBC, to become the first black to get the M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He now works at Harvard. Nice story. Give him a hand for that too.
(Bifald)
(Applause)
For det andet handler det ikke kun om testresultater. Testresultater er vigtige, men de er ikke den vigtigste ting. En ung kvinde havde fantastiske karakterer, men hendes testresultater var ikke lige så høje. Men hun havde en faktor der var meget vigtigt. Hun gik ikke glip af en eneste dag i grundskolen. Der var en indre ild i hende. Den unge kvinde gik videre, og hun har i dag en M.D./ph.d. fra Hopkins. Hun er på fakultetet, en lang karriere i psykiatri, ph.d. i neurovidenskab. Hun og hendes rådgiver havde et patent på sekundær brug af Viagra til diabetes patienter. Stor hånd til hende. Stor hånd til hende. (Bifald) Så høje forventninger, meget vigtigt.
Secondly, it's not about test scores only. Test scores are important, but they're not the most important thing. One young woman had great grades, but test scores were not as high. But she had a factor that was very important. She never missed a day of school, K-12. There was fire in that belly. That young woman went on, and she is today with an M.D./Ph.D. from Hopkins. She's on the faculty, tenure track in psychiatry, Ph.D. in neuroscience. She and her adviser have a patent on a second use of Viagra for diabetes patients. Big hand for her. Big hand for her. (Applause) And so high expectations, very important.
For det andet, ideen om at bygge et samfund blandet de studerende. I ved at vi så ofte har en tendens i naturvidenskab og ingeniørvidenskab til at tænke morderisk. De studerende lærer ikke om at arbejde i grupper. Og det er det vi arbejder på at gøre med den gruppe at få dem til at forstå hinanden, at opbygge tillid mellem dem, at støtte hinanden, at lære hvordan man stiller gode spørgsmål, men også at lære hvordan man forklarer koncepter med klarhed. Som I ved, er det en ting at indbringe en topkarakter selv, det er noget andet at hjælpe en anden med at klare sig godt. Så at føle den ansvarsfølelse er hele forskellen. At bygge et samfund blandt de studerende, meget vigtigt.
Secondly, the idea of building community among the students. You all know that so often in science and engineering we tend to think cutthroat. Students are not taught to work in groups. And that's what we work to do with that group to get them to understand each other, to build trust among them, to support each other, to learn how to ask good questions, but also to learn how to explain concepts with clarity. As you know, it's one thing to earn an A yourself, it's another thing to help someone else do well. And so to feel that sense of responsibility makes all the difference in the world. So building community among those students, very important.
For det tredje, ideen om, det kræver forskere at producere forskere. Hvad enten man taler om kunstnere der producerer kunstnere eller man taler om mennesker der kommer ind på humaniora, uanset disciplinen -- og specielt i videnskab og ingeniørvidenskab, som i kunst, for eksempel -- man har brug for forskere til at trække de studerende ind i arbejdet. Så vores studerende arbejder regelmæssigt i laboratoriet.
Third, the idea of, it takes researchers to produce researchers. Whether you're talking about artists producing artists or you're talking about people getting into the social sciences, whatever the discipline -- and especially in science and engineering, as in art, for example -- you need scientists to pull the students into the work. And so our students are working in labs regularly.
Og et godt eksempel man vil sætte pris på: Under en snestorm i Baltimore for adskillige år siden, kom denne fyr på vores universitet med hans Howard Hughes Medical Institute legat bogstavelig talt tilbage til arbejdet i hans laboratorium efter flere dage, og alle disse studerende havde nægtet at forlade laboratoriet. De havde mad som de havde pakket ud. De arbejdede i laboratoriet, og de så arbejdet, ikke som skolearbejde, men som deres liv. De vidste at de arbejdede på AIDS forskning. De så på dette fantastiske protein design. Og det der var interessant var, at en af dem fokuserede på det arbejde. Og han sagde, "Det bliver ikke bedre end det her."
And one great example that you'll appreciate: During a snowstorm in Baltimore several years ago, the guy on our campus with this Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant literally came back to work in his lab after several days, and all these students had refused to leave the lab. They had food they had packed out. They were in the lab working, and they saw the work, not as schoolwork, but as their lives. They knew they were working on AIDS research. They were looking at this amazing protein design. And what was interesting was each one of them focused on that work. And he said, "It doesn't get any better than that."
Og til slut, hvis man har samfundet og man har de høje forventninger og man har forskere der producerer forskere, har man brug for mennesker der er villige som fakultet til at blive involveret med de studerende, selv i klasseværelset. Jeg glemmer aldrig et medlem af lærerstaben der kaldte de ansatte ind og sagde, "Jeg har denne unge mand i min klasse, en ung sort fyr, og han virker bare ikke til at være særlig begejstret for arbejdet. Han tager ikke notater. Vi skal tale med ham." Det der var bemærkelsesværdigt var, at den lærer observerede hver eneste studerende for at forstå hvem der virkelig var involverede og hver der ikke var og tænkte, "Lad mig se hvordan jeg kan arbejde med dem. Lad mig få de ansatte til at hjælpe mig." Det var det forbandt det. Den unge mand er i dag faktisk selv lærer med en M.D./ph.d. i neuroengineering på Duke. Giv ham en stor hånd for det.
And then finally, if you've got the community and you've got the high expectations and you've got researchers producing researchers, you have to have people who are willing as faculty to get involved with those students, even in the classroom. I'll never forget a faculty member calling the staff and saying, "I've got this young man in class, a young black guy, and he seems like he's just not excited about the work. He's not taking notes. We need to talk to him." What was significant was that the faculty member was observing every student to understand who was really involved and who was not and was saying, "Let me see how I can work with them. Let me get the staff to help me out." It was that connecting. That young man today is actually a faculty member M.D./Ph.D. in neuroengineering at Duke. Give him a big hand for that.
(Bifald)
(Applause)
Så det vigtige er at vi nu har udviklet en model der hjælper os med, ikke kun endeligt med evaluering, at bedømme hvad der fungerer. Og det vi lærte var at vi skulle tænke over at ændre kurserne. Så vi ændrede kemi, vi ændrede fysik. Men nu ser vi på at ændre humaniora og samfundsvidenskab. Fordi så mange studerende keder sig i klasseværelset. Vidste I det? Mange studerende, i grundskolen og på universiteterne, ville ikke bare sidde der og høre på nogen tale. De skal være beskæftiget.
And so the significance is that we have now developed this model that is helping us, not only finally with evaluation, assessing what works. And what we learned was that we needed to think about redesigning courses. And so we redesigned chemistry, we redesigned physics. But now we are looking at redesigning the humanities and social sciences. Because so many students are bored in class. Do you know that? Many students, K-12 and in universities, don't want to just sit there and listen to somebody talk. They need to be engaged.
Så vi har -- hvis man ser på vores hjemmeside på Chemistry Discovery Center, ser man mennesker der kommer fra hele landet til at se på hvordan vi ændrer kurserne, og har vægten på samarbejde, brug af teknologi, bruger problemer fra vores bioteknologiske firmaer på vores universitet, og giver ikke de studerende teorierne, men får dem til at kæmpe med disse teorier. Og det fungerer så godt igennem hele vores universitetssystem i Maryland, flere og flere kurser bliver ændret.
And so we have done -- if you look at our website at the Chemistry Discovery Center, you'll see people coming from all over the country to look at how we are redesigning courses, having an emphasis on collaboration, use of technology, using problems out of our biotech companies on our campus, and not giving students the theories, but having them struggle with those theories. And it's working so well that throughout our university system in Maryland, more and more courses are being redesigned.
Det kaldes akademisk innovation.
It's called academic innovation.
Og hvad betyder det alt sammen? Det betyder at nu, ikke kun i natur- og ingeniørvidenskab, har vi nu planer i kunst, i humaniora, i samfundsvidenskab, i lærer uddannelse, selv specielt for kvinder i I.T. Hvis man ikke er klar over det, har der været et fald på 79 procent i antallet af kvinder der har hovedfag i computervidenskab bare siden 2000. Og det jeg siger er, at det der vil gøre en forskel vil være at bygge samfund blandt de studerende, der fortæller unge kvinder, unge minoritetsstuderende og studerende generelt, I kan gøre dette arbejde. Og vigtigst, at give dem en chance for at bygge det samfund med fakultetet der trækker dem ind i arbejdet og os der bedømmer hvad der fungerer og hvad der ikke fungerer. Vigtigst, hvis en studerende har en selvfølelse, det er fantastisk hvordan drømmene og værdierne kan gøre hele forskellen.
And what does all of that mean? It means that now, not just in science and engineering, we now have programs in the arts, in the humanities, in the social sciences, in teacher education, even particularly for women in I.T. If you don't know it, there's been a 79-percent decline in the number of women majoring in computer science just since 2000. And what I'm saying is that what will make the difference will be building community among students, telling young women, young minority students and students in general, you can do this work. And most important, giving them a chance to build that community with faculty pulling them into the work and our assessing what works and what does not work. Most important, if a student has a sense of self, it is amazing how the dreams and the values can make all the difference in the world.
Da jeg var et 12 årigt barn i fængslet i Birmingham, blev jeg ved med at tænke, "Gad vide hvordan min fremtid bliver." Jeg havde ingen anelse om at det var muligt for denne lille sorte fyr fra Birmingham at blive rektor for et universitet en dag, der har studerende fra 150 lande, hvor studerende ikke er der bare for at overleve, hvor de elsker at lære, hvor de nyder at være den bedste, hvor de en dag vil ændre verden.
When I was a 12-year-old child in the jail in Birmingham, I kept thinking, "I wonder what my future could be." I had no idea that it was possible for this little black boy in Birmingham to one day be president of a university that has students from 150 countries, where students are not there just to survive, where they love learning, where they enjoy being the best, where they will one day change the world.
Aristoteles sagde, "Dygtighed er aldrig et uheld. Det er resultatet af store hensigter, oprigtig flid og intelligent udførelse. Det repræsenterer den viseste mulighed blandt mange alternativer." Og så sagde han noget der giver mig gåsehud. Han sagde, "Valg, ikke tilfælde, bestemmer ens skæbne." Valg, ikke tilfælde, bestemmer ens skæbne, drømme og værdier.
Aristotle said, "Excellence is never an accident. It is the result of high intention, sincere effort and intelligent execution. It represents the wisest option among many alternatives." And then he said something that gives me goosebumps. He said, "Choice, not chance, determines your destiny." Choice, not chance, determines your destiny, dreams and values.
Mange tak alle sammen.
Thank you all very much.
(Bifald)
(Applause)