from the president Dear Friends: During this year’s Convocation, I shared that I have been giving a great deal of thought to what it means, and what it could mean, for us to be in this moment. Every moment is doubly charged with the past that shapes it and the future it anticipates. The past does not dictate the present, and the present does not fully determine the future. Each moment is part of the temporal continuum, yes. But the present need not merely replicate the past or pre-determine any particular promise or hazard in the future. Within the structural forces outside of our immediate control, the powerful determinants that shape history and that frequently frustrate the future ambition of our free human agency, there is always a small space left for us. An opening only we can fill. A word or line in the story that only we can write. A computation in the formula that only we can calculate. A moment. Our moment. Years later, when we look back at now, what is the story we would like to be able to tell? About how we responded to COVID-19, the persistence of racism, the challenges to our democracy, our economy, and our climate. Not only how we responded, but what we learned as individuals, as a community, a college, a society, a civilization? What contributions will we have each made? The answers to these questions both stand above and undergird everything we want to do right now. Within it and from a point in the future looking back, we find a special purpose to inspire us to learn through unprecedented challenges. Here, we cannot know the future but we can face it with confidence. Confidence built on the evidence of how we responded the past few months, evidence that is fully demonstrated by our CMC community featured in the pages of this very magazine. The sudden, sad, speedy, safe, successful departure from our campus last March. The immediate pivot to continue learning together, the adjustments, the generous support, and the resilience as we marked the moment with our graduating class. The innovative curricular designs and generous accommodations made by our faculty. The fierce dedication of our staff and alumni to reach out, to build community in new ways, especially with our first-years. And, of course, the remarkable response of our student body who chose not to wait it out on the sidelines and instead are here to learn and have fun on a new field of play this semester. Based on this record of accomplishment and commitment to our community building, we should all be confident we can respond to whatever the world throws at us this year. Think of all the stories we will write together. Stories like our Justice League alumni and students working for systemic change through the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights or Bart Evans ‘70 and his lasting legacy of opening CMC to Silicon Valley for multiple generations. Stories that will give purpose to our learning together. Stories that will make a difference. In our own lives and those of others. Thanks to all of you for co-authoring this. Our moment.
*Remarks adapted from CMC Convocation speech on 8/28/20
FALL 2020
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