哈佛大学校长Drew Faust毕业典礼致辞

哈佛大学Drew Faust：最好的教育即培养精神习惯

Faust于Memorial Church向身着方帽长袍的毕业生发表了一年一度的毕业班告别讲话。一年一度的毕业仪式在毕业典礼之前举行，包括祈祷、唱诗及校长为毕业班进行的告别演讲。

“牢记正是通艺教育为各位应对变革做好了准备，”Faust说。“更新我们的承诺并重新规划人生的机会是一项仅供少数几代人拥有的特权。而现时它不是一种可能，而是一种必要。”

这一几乎与哈佛大学同样古老的仪式可以追溯到1642年。当年的举行的第一次仪式使哈佛的工作人员及神职人员有机会在更安格按照流程进行的毕业典礼之前向毕业生发表讲话。

这一仪式由基督教道德Plummer 讲席教授及Memorial Church蒲塞牧师Rev. Peter J. Gomes主持，主要以儒学、伊斯兰教、印度教、犹太教及基督教读物为特色。

Faust的讲话是仪式的中心亮点。

她称哈佛大学强调通艺教育正是为了这样的危机时刻设计的。

“我们一直坚持最好的教育即培养精神习惯，一种分析的精神、一种评判及探究的能力，这能使你们胜任于任何环境或者选择任何职业方向，”Faust说。“这一理念怎能比现在这一时刻更为适合?”

Faust号召毕业生勇往直前应对挑战，指出尽管我们不喜欢不确定性，但是不确定的时代为个人成长及职业生涯成长都提供了机会。她引用了作家Joan Didion的话将应对生活形容为“严苛与安逸、束缚与自由、理智及直觉充满魔力的交汇处。”她也引用爵士音乐大师Charlie Parker的话，“掌控你的乐器、掌控音乐，之后忘情演奏。”

Faust指出，不确定性和应对对于要求准确性的领域如物理学和药学也是十分重要的。而在人文领域，应对是基于结构和研究的自然产生的表达。

Faust以回忆她的在1968年的毕业典礼作为演讲的结束。20世纪60年代末和70年代初的学生毕业于社会巨大变革成为可能性的时代。她指出，曾经失去许诺现今已经回归，并号召毕业生抓住属于他们的机遇。

“继续掌控你的乐器。继续掌控你的音乐。”Faust说。“不时回到学校让我们知道你进展如何。我相信在完成这项任务上没有任何一群人能比你们更值得我信任。”

Faust delivered the annual Baccalaureate Address Tuesday afternoon in the Memorial Church to cap-and-gown-clad graduating seniors. The Baccalaureate Service is an annual pre-Commencement rite, consisting of prayers, hymns, and the president’s farewell address to the graduating class.

“Remember that improvising in the face of change is exactly what your liberal arts education has prepared you to do,” Faust said. “The opportunity to renew our commitments and remap our lives is a privilege given only to some generations. And this time it’s not just a possibility, it’s a necessity.”

Almost as old as Harvard itself, the service dates back to the first Commencement in 1642, and gives Harvard officials and clergy a chance to address the senior class before the more scripted events of Commencement itself on Thursday.

The service, conducted by the Rev. Peter J. Gomes, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, featured readings from Confucius, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity.

Faust’s address was the service’s centerpiece.

She said that Harvard’s emphasis on a liberal education is designed for times such as these.

“We have insisted that the best education is the one that cultivates habits of mind, an analytic spirit, a capacity to judge and question that will equip you to adapt to any circumstance or take any vocational direction,” Faust said. “When did such principles better suit circumstances than now?”

Faust urged graduating seniors to follow their hearts and improvise, saying that though we dislike uncertainty, uncertain times provide opportunity for both personal and professional growth. Citing writer Joan Didion, Faust defined an improvised life as “that magical crossroads of rigor and ease, structure and freedom, reason and intuition.” She also cited jazz great Charlie Parker, who said, “Master your instrument, master the music, and then forget all that … and just play.”

Uncertainty and improvisation are important even in fields known for precision, such as physics and medicine, Faust said. And in the arts, improvisation is a spontaneous expression based on structure and research.

Faust ended her speech with reflections on her own commencement, in 1968. Students in the late 1960s and early 1970s graduated at a time when dramatic social change seemed possible. That promise was lost, but has returned today, Faust said, urging graduates to seize their opportunity.

“Keep mastering your instruments. Keep mastering the music,” Faust said. “And come back from time to time and let us know of your progress. There is no group to whom I would rather entrust this task.”