Friends, you have already been welcomed by Tom, and regaled by the many histories and stories about 6 amazing Haverfordians. Each of their personal stories is fascinating. If we could all live our lives as fully and successfully as our honorees, the world would be a much better place. We should all be very proud that each of these people are members of the Haverford family.

Tom succinctly outlined a brief for what makes Haverford such a special place. That special ness was soundly reaffirmed by our entire community through your active participation in the capital campaign. Not just by raising an unprecedented amount of capital to support our programs, but by actively participating in far reaching discussion, planning and thought about what Haverford should be and how we should organize ourselves to be the very best that we can.

What does it mean to be “the very best that we can”? I’m sure you each have many varied thoughts about that. Each of us approaches the question from different vantage points. For me, it is most important that we keep asking that question. That we not become complacent with what we are, but rather intensely focus on what we want to be and how we are going to get there.

Ours is a very special institution within higher education in this country. Comparatively, we rank among the very best at delivering a liberal arts education. And it is an education coupled with a sense of purpose and role in the world. However, we are not alone in seeking the best students, the best faculty and defining the most relevant programs for the 21st century. I am a member of a not-so-secret group of Chairman of the Boards of the top liberal arts institutions. When we get together and discuss issues facing our colleges, and talk about how each of our institutions is responding, I am struck by two things:

First, that we have many worthy “competitors” who are seeking to attract the same faculty and students that we do, and to orient their programs along many of the same lines that we do.

Secondly, among the very best of these institutions, Haverford has a smaller base of resources with which to accomplish our goals.

Competition is good for all of us. It can bring out the best thinking and actions, and I have no doubt that we will thrive in this competitive environment. Scarcity of resources, however, over the long term, can be quite deleterious. The gap between our resources and those of our “peer” institutions remains quite large. Institutions such as Swarthmore, Pomona, Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, all have significantly great resources per student to expend on their programs than we do. Some have more than twice as much.

Now I know Haverford is Haverford. And we can do things better than they can. And we can stretch a dollar, in a most Quakerly manner, further than anyone else. But we all know from physics that as you stretch something it can loose its internal strength and character. We can not just keep “stretching” ourselves as our answer to closing this gap.

This gap is not just about dollars and cents on a chart. Rather it is about the day to day programs that we offer. It is about how those programs appeal to continuing to attract and retain the very best faculty and students. And while I emphasize those “above us” with greater resources, let us not forget the breadth of really good institutions seeking to be like and even surpass Haverford in attractiveness. In reality, our standing is probably more threatened from “below”!!

As you heard in Tom’s remarks, we are at a point of inflection for this institution. Informed and emboldened by the recent journey that we have now completed, there are important questions for us to ponder as we look to the future.

? What is it that we want Haverford to be?
? What programs are important to the Haverford education that we do not have today?
? What facilities will we need during the next 25 years to continue to attract the caliber of student and faculty that we want?
? What will be required for Haverford to remain among the very most competitive institutions in this country, presuming all the good ideas which that implies?
? And, finally, what are the resources and size that it will take to achieve all we envision?

As we adjourn to the tent on Founders Green, please take a moment to reflect upon what Haverford means to you. Each of us has a special connection to this College. For me, Haverford has always represented a defining moment in my life. It helped to shape my values, my sense of self, and how I see the world. I ask you to also reflect on what Haverford means to you. This weekend is a celebration of the many contributions of time, knowledge, ideas and gifts that the community has brought forth to make Haverford what we are today.

We should all feel proud for what we have accomplished. And we should look forward with excitement to the opportunities of tomorrow.