Take Risks and Participate in the Adventure of Our Time
演讲人：Lawrence Summers 劳伦斯·萨默斯
Teremy，on behalf of everyone here，thank you for everything you have dne over many years for this university.There may be more furrows on Jeremy"s brow than they were 10years ago，and the Harvard faculty is contributing more to huaman progress and the advance of knowledgewe than it was ten years ago.And those things do not come easy-there are some things that are a lot harder than currency crisis and tax reform.Thank you，Jeremy Knowls.
T ha nk you a lso to t hose whom honored t his monring.As we have recognized their efforts of everyone in this room and，might I say everyone who is listening by simulcast in Spangler Hall on behalf of Harvard University.
You know，I under ta ke t his t r ust w it h g reat excitment，with great exhibration，with a great senceof Harvard"s promise，but also with a little sence of being daunted.Why daunted？Daunted in part because it occurred to me，as I stood in Tercentenary Theatre on that beautiful day a cuple of weeks ago，that in a world where much is very transient，I was only the 7th person to receive this trust since 1789，I was but the 27th president of Harvard since 1636.
And I was daunted in a different respect，and it was the magnitude of the trust-in part，the magnitude of the trust because of the importance of what Harvard dose-but in part，the magnitude of the trust because，as the size of the crowd there that day demonstrates，Harvard has so much meaing for so many people and there are so many people who，throughout their lives，go forth from this compus but always think of it as a kind of home，who care deeply about what it dose，who are prepared to be critical when they should，but who always retain a deep sense of loylty and to Harvard and its mission.
You know，it is common in moment like this，and I think inevitable and appropriate，to place whatever one says in the context of what I believe was a word changing event，on September 11th，Changing in a security sense for the United States，changing in a foreign policy sense for the United States.It was a tragedy of extraordinary proportions for those involved，for the city of New York.
But I believe，most fundamentally，an event which puts in question the things we took for granted；thenotions of hope for the future，optimism about the future，construction of a better world for the future，and building stronger，better and wiser communities.That was what was challenged on September 11th；that is what is at stake in the struggle in which we are all engaged.And that is Harvard"s struggle.It is Harvard"s struggle because what is called into question are the very things that Harvard is all about.The reason I was so excited to have the opportunity to hold the position I now hold is that I believe that Harvard"s two missions of teaching young people，preparing them to lead in our society，and developing a nd i mplement i n g new ide a s ，a r e t he t wo mo st fundamental things that will shape the century into which we are now heading.
And that"s why it is so gratifying to me that，in the face of an environment for travel that is more difficult，in the face of a mood that is more jittery，so many of you have been prepared to come to this compus and to be together with each other in this occasion.
Today Harvard is open to gentlemen and women from around the world.Today，Harvard is open to students of all faiths，students of all ethic classes，students of all states，students of all nations，students of all financial backgrounds.They do not pursue single lines of prescribed inquiry but they are free to sample from the widest intellectual array that I believe has ever been available to students anywhere.
Harvard today is asking，always，how it can be better for the years ahead.I had a chance to speak，at my installation，about what seemed to me to be the most crucial issues for the university in the years ahead.I highlighted four as being most important.The first，to which I"ll return in a few moments，is strengthening the undergrduate experience at Harvard College，because Har vard College is the center and always be the center of this University.
The second was the importance of bringing the university together in support of common university valus.In part，that"s a matter of more intellectual initiatives that knit together traditional displines；in part，that goes to what is a historic opportunity now available for the university with our new campus in Auston，We have servel Harvard yards"worth of academic space potentially available to us in-just across the Charles River.We are the only urban university in the United States that has capacity for significant expansion.
I can"t tell you yet what the right way to use this space for the university is，but I do know that it will define what Harvard is like，not just three decades from now，but in 2101to think about this university and its future.
There is another university-wide value that I think we need toincreasingly think about in university-wide terms.There are enormous complexities，and we"ll have plenty of time to talk aboutthem.But sometimes simple principles are helpful，We are very proud that any student can come to Harvard College regardless of their financial need.Harvard cannot say the same thing.There are students who want to come to Harvard to learn to be scholars or teachers or public health professionalsor doctors，who are not able to come because their family do not have money.That is a university-wide issue and it is one we will need to find ways to address in years ahead.
