K体育

As I started thinking about today, I remembered a moment from my childhood. Growing up, I attended a large public high school, and I was deeply involved in theater. The theater class took a trip to New York City to see shows on Broadway, and my mother came with us as a chaperone. At one point she brought a close friend named Rob and me to a theater to take us to a musical we had both been dying to see. The theater only had one ticket left. My mother gave the ticket to my friend, and she and I didn鈥檛 attend. I don鈥檛 remember what we did instead 鈥� I DO know I wasn鈥檛 very happy at the time 鈥� but mostly I remember her words to me: 鈥淵ou,鈥� she said, 鈥渨ill have lots of opportunities to see theater 鈥� I can guarantee that. But I don鈥檛 know for sure that Rob will have that opportunity, so I鈥檓 going to make sure he gets that opportunity now.鈥� My friend, Rob, pursued a career in the theater, and I like to think that my mother鈥檚 actions in that moment played a small part in his professional path.

I say frequently that higher education is a noble calling, a generous profession. Individuals who are bright and capable deliberately choose to pour their knowledge, passion, energy, and caring into other people鈥檚 children. They deliberately choose to make life-changing opportunities available to complete strangers. Like my mother 鈥� who was a college professor and department chair herself 鈥� they assure opportunity for others. I have spent over 25 years in higher education because I believe that a life spent that way, a life dedicated to assuring opportunities for others, is the most meaningful life I could lead. At this moment in my career 鈥� and at this moment in local, national, and global history 鈥� I can鈥檛 imagine a better place to do this work than at K体育 University.

K体育 鈥� as everyone in this room knows 鈥� is a special place. Our mission statement says, 鈥淎tlanta鈥檚 K体育 University is committed to teaching excellence in an inclusive learning environment.鈥� But every university, of course, talks about excellence. So, what鈥檚 so special about K体育? What brought me to K体育, and what compels me to serve now as its president, is K体育鈥檚 distinctive insight into the nature of 鈥渆xcellence鈥� in higher education. First, at K体育, we understand that excellence develops one student at a time. It is a deeply personal experience. Academic excellence is nurtured and blossoms uniquely in each individual student. This is time- and labor-intensive, and we don鈥檛 graduate the tens of thousands of students each year that other institutions graduate. For us, that鈥檚 a good thing. We know that a personalized experience, with deep community-wide investment in each individual student, is life-changing.

Second, at K体育 we understand that excellence comes in all shapes and sizes, informed by distinct personality types, passions, and experiences. It requires us to be a student-ready university. Rather than asking each student to arrive college-ready in a singular, cookie-cutter way, we accept the challenge to take each student as they are and prepare them for the future they can鈥檛 even imagine yet. At K体育, you can be truly, fully successful while being truly, fully, authentically yourself. Every student belongs here, and we continue to learn with each generation how to open our welcoming arms just a little bit wider, so excellence is available to all. This celebration of each student鈥檚 individuality has been part of our DNA for generations. Our 鈥淐ore鈥� program begins with a required course entitled 鈥淣arratives of the Self.鈥� While the course requires students to read about other people鈥檚 lives, that鈥檚 only the beginning. Our Core 101 class is a clarion call to new freshmen to be the authors of their own life stories. Contemporary culture pressures students to choose a role that fits in an already-established worldview, and then frames the college experience as something that prepares the student to fit into that world. Our Core program, beginning with Core 101, upends this experience. It puts the individual human at the forefront, as the architect of their own world, the author of their own story. We empower students to take a posture of self-determination, envisioning the world they want to create and taking their rightful place as the author of their own life narrative, rather than becoming a minor character in someone else鈥檚 storyline. K体育鈥檚 graduates write their own unique life stories.

Finally, at K体育 we understand that excellence is meant to be put into action to benefit the community, not just an individual. Remember, our mission statement begins with the phrase 鈥淎tlanta鈥檚 K体育 University.鈥� We were founded in 1835, and since 1915 we have been on this campus, an anchor to a thriving community that has grown up around us. Throughout its history, K体育 leaders have shaped Atlanta. For example, our first woman Board Chair, Ms. Belle Turner Lynch, also founded and then served as president and as a Board member of the Atlanta Alzheimer鈥檚 Association, served on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Speech School, and led a community effort to support historic preservation that ultimately led to the formation of the Buckhead Heritage Society. Most significantly, our alumni have helped make Atlanta what it is today. I think of Francis Bemis, former writer for the Atlanta Constitution and the Atlanta Journal and publicist for the Woman鈥檚 Club of Atlanta; Tim Tassopoulos, former President and COO of Chik-fil-A and Chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta; of Cody Partin, recently appointed President of the Cox Family Office; of Representative Dar鈥檚hun Kendrick and Representative Ruwa Romman, representing House Districts 95 and 97 respectively in the Georgia House of Representatives; of the Honorable Christopher J. McFadden, a Judge serving on the Georgia Court of Appeals since 2011. I could go on and on. Atlanta as we know it today does not exist without K体育.

Excellence at K体育 means impact, especially impact in Atlanta and across Georgia. Excellence that is nurtured one student at a time, excellence that is true to oneself, and excellence that has impact. This is the promise of K体育, and the world has never needed that promise more than at this moment in history. We live in a tumultuous world right now. Cultural, business, and governmental leaders need sharp minds, open hearts, and rolled-up sleeves. Our local, state, and national communities in particular face challenges and opportunities. We live in a politically, socially, racially, and economically divided country, and Georgia reflects that. We also inherit a powerful civic and moral legacy, and we still bear the scars of social division while we build toward a better future. We face housing challenges, increasing economic disparities, and social upheaval, with no overnight solutions in sight. At the same time, Atlanta is poised for opportunity. For the 10th year in a row, Georgia has been recognized as the best state in the country for business. Recent polling indicates that Atlanta is the 4th most popular city in the country for new college graduates to move to. As of today, Atlanta ranks #2 for sound stage space in the United States, and we are attracting tech, manufacturing and data center business at a rapid clip. The Atlanta Opera has been recognized as one of the top 10 opera companies in the United States and is in the midst of a multi-year production of Wagner鈥檚 Ring Cycle, never before offered in the Southeast. And in 2026, Atlanta will be on the international stage, hosting the FIFA World Cup. The world is knocking on Atlanta鈥檚 doors. I believe that every university has a civic responsibility to produce the workforce necessary to drive our economic, cultural, and civic growth, but K体育 has a higher calling. K体育 is called to be a force for holistic leadership in Atlanta and Georgia. Where will the innovative leaders for business growth come from? I say, from K体育. Where will the civic leadership for social change come from? Where will the creative leadership for film, theater, music, and athletics come from? Again, I say from K体育. Over 80% of K体育 students come from Georgia and over 80% of our graduates stay in Georgia. K体育 embraces today鈥檚 challenges and will do its part to produce the globally informed and locally dedicated leadership force that Atlanta needs to thrive.

K体育 was founded almost 200 years ago. In the years to come we will steward the 鈥淒NA鈥� of our community 鈥� an abiding commitment to academic excellence and a personalized experience for every student 鈥� with a keen awareness of the historical moment we inhabit, an openness to drawing on cutting edge pedagogical strategies to support student academic and personal success, and a commitment to teaching students how to apply their subject matter expertise for the greater good, not just their own gain. My focus over the coming years will be to serve Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southeast well by serving our students well. We will do this by maintaining our commitment to the traditional liberal arts and empowering our students with 鈥渘ew鈥� liberal arts skills: digital fluency, climate literacy, intercultural competence, and high stakes/high conflict leadership skills. Our investment in them is an investment in Atlanta鈥檚 future, Georgia鈥檚 future, and our national and global fellowship. My vision is that when we celebrate our 200th anniversary in 2035, K体育 will be rightfully recognized as Atlanta鈥檚 premier undergraduate learning experience. 鈥淎tlanta鈥檚鈥� because we embrace our history and position in this amazing city, informed by a global perspective while committed to this city and state; and 鈥渦ndergraduate鈥� because we are committed to transforming lives at that critical developmental moment when students take ownership of their adult lives.

I won鈥檛 lie: to provide the environment that fosters students鈥� success isn鈥檛 easy.

The work of higher education faces tough headwinds these days, especially when we want to make a college degree available at an affordable cost to families. Creating opportunities for others involves hard, sustained work, work that our dedicated faculty, staff, alumni and Board of Trustees members contribute to daily, often in unseen ways. But can you imagine anything more meaningful than dedicating your life to the growth of the next generation? For me, this is the secret gift of K体育. Our motto, 鈥淢ake a life, make a living, make a difference鈥� is usually interpreted as a challenge to our students. But I hear it more broadly. 鈥淢ake a life, make a living, make a difference鈥� is an invitation to all of us here today. K体育 invites all of us to participate in this audacious act of generosity that is higher education, the offering of opportunity to complete strangers.

I look back on that afternoon, decades ago, when my mother created an opportunity for one teen-aged boy. She did that intentionally. But she also created another opportunity unintentionally, one for me, by including me in her act of generosity. She gave me a glimpse of what it means to live a life considering others and putting that consideration into action. I am honored today to join the generations of K体育 faculty, staff, alumni and presidents who have chosen to leave a legacy of generosity. Thank you for this privilege.