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Ciclope - La taverna (5) - da Ulisse di Joyce - Duration: 18:59.
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CMC Convocation 2017 - Duration: 49:38.
(music plays)
- Please remain standing for the invocation.
Your official entrance into the CMC community
makes me think of the Israelites exodus from Egypt.
My interpretation
is particular to the Jewish faith
but I hope that it has a universal message
that you can all appreciate.
In this story, the Israelites had just left Egypt,
only to realize that Pharaoh had changed his mind
and decided to come after them.
The moment of confrontation occurs
right when the Israelites had nowhere to flee
because they were standing on the shore of the sea.
You may know already the outcome of this dilemma.
Moses lifts his hand,
God parts the sea,
and the Israelites make their way safely across
the sea to reach freedom.
This moment of convocation
is a parting of the sea moment for all of you.
You're standing on the precipice of a new freedom.
Academic freedom to pursue your interest
and freedom to structure your work time
and social activities.
You worked hard to get to this moment.
Hopefully nothing is in pursuit after you,
although at times it might feel that way.
Either way, it is now time for you each to leap into CMC,
and how will each of you enter?
In Judaism, we have two traditions
on how it was decided who would jump in first.
In one version,
the Twelve Tribes argue with each other
because they all wanted to be the first ones
and lead the way.
In the other, everyone was afraid to jump in first,
and they were trying to convince the others
to go before them.
Either way, in both versions,
the Tribe of Benjamin is the one
who ignored all the arguments,
took action and jumped right in.
So I will again ask, how will you enter CMC?
Will you argue and fight about who will be first
out of either pride or fear?
Or will you skip past all of this
and realize that you're all in this together?
Let me give you fair warning.
Jumping into the sea
was not the end of the struggle.
The Israelites still had another 40 years
of wandering through the desert.
Even after each of you
takes your leap into CMC,
the next four years will challenge you.
My prayer for you
is that you'll take this leap together
without fear and with pride.
Embrace the challenges that you'll encounter.
Hold each other up in support
and seek guidance from the faculty, staff,
and the entire community.
I pray that you are kept safe throughout your journey.
And when you reach your Holy Land, your day of graduation,
you will be able to look upon this journey
starting from today's jump
as a time of immense growth,
both personally and academically.
As you jump into the sea
and begin your journey,
I'll leave you with an interpretation
of a prayer that is traditionally said before
imparting on a journey.
We ask God,
may you guide us in peace,
support us in peace,
and cause us to reach our destination
in life, joy and peace.
Save us from all troubles along the way.
May you confer blessings upon us
and grant grace, kindness and mercy.
Show us abundant kindness, peace and wholeness.
And let us all say together, "Amen."
You may be seated.
- Thank you, Rabbi Shapiro, for those very wise words,
and welcome, everyone.
Good morning and congratulations to you all.
First, I'd like to extend our support
to any of you or your families and friends
from Houston or other areas affected
by Hurricane Harvey.
Please let our deans or any of us know
if there's anything we can do.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone there.
I'm humbled this morning
by the extraordinary people in the Pavilion today.
The committed leadership,
the imaginative scholarship,
the promise to think harder
and to do better.
The social warmth of our community.
Rabbi Shapiro, Peter and Shana and Lee,
Mary, Ellen and Sammy,
and all the faculty and staff celebrating
years of service,
and our newest and returning students
you each inspire.
Let's take a moment.
Let's take a moment to see it.
Listen to it.
Soak it in, draw from it.
I'm humbled, too,
by the seemingly insurmountable challenges
we face in the world
and the opportunities at our fingertips.
I'm humbled by all we need to learn,
by the leadership we need to grow,
to put that learning to work,
as we bring ourselves together in a world
that seems to want to pull us apart.
A world that seems to want
to pay more attention to the negative
than the positive.
How do we counter these centrifugal dynamics
with a more powerful, positive, centripetal force?
As I put it to the incoming students
a week ago last Sunday,
the resolution of our most complex, wicked problems
and the pursuit
of our most exciting, transformational opportunities
all depend on one key capability:
our ability to learn
and to put that learning to work.
The power and creativity in our minds,
the compassion and warmth in our community,
the courage and humility in our leadership.
In response to events like Charlottesville,
we must condemn racism, anti-Semitism,
and other forms of bigotry as outrageous attacks
on our shared values.
Attacks on the intrinsic value of every
human being.
We must respect our constitutional freedoms
of expression and peaceful assembly,
and we must reject violence
and mourn the senseless loss of life.
And yet,
we, here,
we here at CMC are called to do more.
Not just to condemn what's wrong with the world,
but to understand and to help fix it.
To counter ignorance with the search for truth.
To bridge deep separations by bringing people together.
To counter bad,
even if protected speech, with better speech.
To replace ad hominem attacks
with the free exchange of ideas.
To substitute the conclusory with the well-reasoned.
To diagnose deeper causes for clues about the solutions.
To commit ourselves to effective action,
both drawing upon and transcending our diverse views.
Not just through petition or protest from the outside,
but also through engaged dialogue
in the trenches of institutional improvement
from the inside.
In an interview last week,
our 2017 commencement speaker Wes Moore
put it this way:
"Leadership," he said,
"is about finding a human pain
"or need and saying I'm gonna do something about it."
This holds, too, on the positive side of the ledger.
Leadership is also about finding a human joy
or opportunity and saying,
"We're going to do something to grow it."
Leadership is about extending patience and grace.
Leadership is about offering gratitude and friendship,
the small deeds of goodness,
that knit the social fabric of a shared community.
So when we look at our most exciting opportunities,
social or public solutions to violence or poverty,
applications of artificial intelligence
or computational science to cure disease
or create clean energy.
Entrepreneurship that creates jobs and economic growth.
Having a great idea is hardly enough.
We have to learn how to implement it.
How to channel proposed solutions into effective action.
How to grow small into scalable businesses.
How to build consensus in a world
that often appears not to want it.
And how to lead in diverse, even divisive,
polarized professional settings.
So as we approach is academic year,
we need to see the dual commitment
of thinking harder and doing better
in everything we pursue.
Our shared commitments to the rigorous classroom.
The perplexing problem set.
The elegant essay.
The competitive sport.
The impactful student enterprise.
The special qualities
of our impressive new students, faculty and staff
who contribute greater expertise and fresh perspectives
to our learning community.
The growth of student opportunities
and the special experiences you all bring back
from nearly a thousand summer internships.
The powerful learning opportunities,
dinners at the Athenaeum,
reflections in the Cube,
or cross-cutting conferences
in research in our institute centers and new labs.
The continual improvement in our learning environment
from Collins to the Care Center,
allowing us to break bread, transcend division,
learn and lead with incisive assessments
and imaginative solutions.
That is all done for you
so that you can thrive and contribute.
And you are each here for all of us
so that we can, too.
We are all here for one another.
We come together today to build on the moment we share
to face the problems, create the solutions,
mitigate the diverging forces,
reconcile the colliding ones.
Learn to do well and good.
Learn to do it all together.
So today I thank you each,
each of you for being here.
Be sure to hydrate through the heat,
lend a hand or a shoulder to our friends from Houston,
and get off to a great start this week.
Congratulations, here's to a successful year.
Thank you very much.
(applause)
- Good morning.
It now gives me great pleasure
to recognize
staff and faculty for their years of service
and Exceptional Staff Award recipients as well.
So the bios on the honorees
are included in the print program.
I will not discuss them here.
You can and should read them.
Learn them by heart.
And there'll be a small test on Friday.
Honorees will not come to the stage
but I do ask that you stand when your name is called
so that you can be recognized.
So, to begin, with 25 years of service,
Germaine Graham,
Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid.
(applause)
And beside her, Steven Graves,
Head Athletic Trainer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
(applause)
We move now to 30 years of service.
Now individuals who have served for 30 consecutive years
at the college will have their names inscribed on plaques
placed on the fountain in Butler Plaza,
just in front of Bauer South.
So that's the fountain thingy there.
When you lay sunning there,
know that you're laying on top of the names
of great people.
Happily, not on top of those people.
But okay.
So the first person is Lydia Aguiar,
who is the Administrative Assistant at
Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.
And she is not here.
(applause)
The second person is here,
and it is Asuman Aksoy,
the Crown Professor of Mathematics
at the college.
(applause)
Next comes June Alexander, Building Attendant.
(applause)
Next comes Lorenzo Herrera, Senior Maintenance Worker.
(applause)
James Higdon, Professor of Physics.
(applause)
John Meany, Director of Forensics.
(applause)
James Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Accounting.
(applause)
Randall Town, Associate Director of Athletic Operations.
(applause)
Robert Valenza,
Dengler-Dykema Chair of Mathematics and the Humanities.
(applause)
I thank you all for your service.
Thirty-five years of service,
she is however not here, is Barbara Maxwell,
Director of Budgeting and Grants Administrator.
(applause)
She too, by the way, will get a plaque, I think.
Does she get a plaque too?
No more plaque 'cause she got one
and we can't keep on adding plaques.
Forty years of service,
Janet Dryer,
Director of the Children's School.
(applause)
And finally, at 45 years of service,
but not attending today, is Colin Wright,
Norwood and Frances Berger Professor of Business & Society
and Professor of Economics.
(applause)
It also gives me pleasure, then, to recognize two persons
who have received the Exceptional Staff Award,
which was selected on the basis of recommendations
by staff, students and faculty,
and selected by a committee composed for that purpose.
The two persons are Lyn Hughes,
who is the Administrative Director
for the Dean of Students office.
(applause and cheering)
That says enough why she got it.
And the next one is Velda Yount,
who is the Program Administator and Assistant to the Dean
at the Keck Science Department.
(applause)
Once again, I thank and congratulate you all.
We couldn't do our work without all of you.
Thank you.
(applause)
- Hello, everyone.
My name is Shana Levin, Psychology Professor
and one of the Associate Deans to the Faculty.
It's my pleasure to recognize
the winners of last year's faculty awards.
Award winners, you know who you are.
Please stand up when I recognize your award.
I promise to be brief.
You won't be standing for too long.
The winner of last year's Presidential Award for Merit
was Amy Kind,
Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy.
(applause)
This prize is awarded by the President of the College
to a faculty or staff member
for significant service to the college.
Professor Kind is a true teacher-scholar leader.
A leader in her field as prolific scholar
and President of the Southern Society
for Philosophy and Psychology,
at CMC as Associate Dean of the Faculty,
in the Philosophy Department as Department Chair,
and above all, a dedicated teacher to her students
who rave about the rigor, fairness,
and special care she takes
to build their confidence
in the challenging classes she teaches.
Congratulations, Amy.
(applause)
Rod Camp,
Philip M. McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim,
received last year's inaugural Faculty Scholarship Award.
The award is given annually
to a full-time faculty member
in recognition of their outstanding research,
scholarship or creative work since coming to CMC.
Professor Camp is an internationally renowned scholar
of Mexican politics.
I could list all of his major achievements,
take up way more time than I have,
but instead I'm just gonna name one,
recently awarded.
He was just awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle,
which is the highest decoration awarded
by the Mexican government
to foreign nationals whose work
has benefited Mexico and Mexicans.
Congratulations, Rod.
(applause)
Last year's winner for the Crocker Award for Merit
was Professor of Physics, Adam Landsberg,
who unfortunately wasn't able to be with us today.
This prize is award to the professor
selected by the faculty themselves
as having made the greatest contribution
to the college that year.
Many of his colleagues have described Professor Landsberg
as a proactive significant contributor
to numerous labor-intensive committees.
His leadership in the Keck Science Department
is outstanding.
He brings a rare quality to
and engaged participation in each task he performs.
Thank you, Professor Landsberg, for your service.
(applause)
So our next two award winners
are also in the W.M. Keck Science Department,
both in the field of biology.
The Glen R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching
is given annually to the faculty member voted
by the student body
as the most effective teacher.
Last year, the winner was Emily Wiley, Professor of Biology.
(applause)
Professor Wiley regularly co-authors publications
with the undergraduates in her lab,
and students in her classes
attest to the intellectual growth
they receive as a result of her teaching.
Students rave about Professor Wiley's
"absolute vibrant passion," that is a quote, for biology.
Congratulations, Professor Wiley.
(applause)
Last year's G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award
went to Professor of Biology Jennifer Armstrong.
(applause)
This prize is awarded annually
to a full professor selected by a committee
who reviews nominations from juniors and seniors.
Professor Armstrong is renowned
for her dedication to students
who praise her interactive classroom,
superb organization,
and ability to make scientific concepts
gripping and relevant to them.
She works closely with student in her lab
and has co-authored numerous publications with them.
So if you remember anything from today's convocation,
take a class from a biology professor.
(laughs)
Congratulations to all of our faculty award winners.
(applause)
- Good morning, I'm Lee Skinner,
the other Associate Dean of the Faculty.
And I get to introduce our new tenured
and tenure-track faculty to you.
New faculty, when I call your name, please stand,
and at the end we'll,
we'll hold our applause to the end
and then give them all a big round.
So first,
joining us this year is Julio Garin,
who is an Assistant Professor of Economics.
Michael Gelman, also Assistant Professor of Economics.
Stay standing, please.
(laughs)
Ethan Van Arnam joins us
as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry.
Chelsea Wang joins us as Assistant Professor of History.
Ulysses "UJ" Sofia is the new
Weinberg Family Dean of Keck Science,
and is probably off at Keck Science doing something now.
And Jennifer Clark is
Assistant Professor of Physical Education
and the Head Women's Soccer Coach,
probably off with the team right now.
Welcome, new faculty.
(applause)
- So it now gives me pleasure to introduce to you
our convocation keynote speaker for today,
Professor Mary Evans.
Mary Evans is the Jerrine and Thomas Mitchell
Associate Professor of Environmental Economics
and George R. Roberts Fellow.
She is the co-editor of the Journal of the Association
of Environmental and Resource Economists,
and serves on the editorial council
of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
She is also a member of the
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA,
Science Advisory Board,
Environmental Economics Advisory Committee.
She is also the fearless leader
of our own institutional research board,
a great teacher and a great colleague.
And I am looking forward to hearing her talk.
Mary?
(applause)
- Good morning, everyone.
Thank you, Dean Uvin, for the kind introduction.
President Chodosh, Dean Uvin,
my faculty colleagues, CMC staff and students,
especially those of you for whom today
marks the beginning of your academic journey at CMC,
it's an honor to address you this morning.
I'd like to begin by noting
that I prepared my remarks for today several weeks ago.
A time that, at least for me,
felt somewhat more certain
and slightly less chaotic than today.
During your four years at CMC,
the world external to CMC will shift.
Sometimes in ways that bring turmoil,
and sometimes in ways that bring hope.
CMC cannot inoculate you against
the harms of the external world,
nor should it.
But you've chosen CMC
because you value a community
that embraces reason, dialogue,
and yes, even disagreement,
but rejects violence, threats and intimidation.
A community that embraces diversity and inclusivity
and rejects intolerance.
And a community that embraces the rights
as well as the responsibilities
associated with democratic engagement.
As the world external to CMC continues to shift,
our community, of which you are now a part,
will continue to adhere to these principles.
As I think was clear from my introduction,
I work in the field of environmental economics.
This field takes methods and concepts from economics
and brings them to bear on environmental questions.
You might think as I did
when I wandered into my first economics class
as a freshman in college many, many, many years ago,
that economics is all about interest rates
or the stock market.
But for me, the most interesting questions in economics
are those that tackle other problems.
Social problems like crime or pollution.
My own work has focused on questions that relate
directly to environmental policy.
Today I'd like to share with you four insights--
I've been told that three is the appropriate number,
but I'm going with four--
that are motivated by my field,
my research and my experiences
that I hope foster the excitement you no doubt
already feel as you begin your time at CMC.
In doing so, I also hope to suggest something
about what leadership means to me.
As you know, CMC emphasizes leadership.
Appreciating the various dimensions of leadership
is key to understanding CMC's unique mission
and to your role in fulfilling that mission.
Leadership often calls to mind
being able to get people to do something or to follow you.
Leadership is often frequently associated with titles,
like CEO or President.
But a title does not make a leader.
A leader need not be boisterous or even extroverted.
The leaders who I admire most
have higher objectives than to amass followers,
or be the loudest person in the room.
They seek to help others make good choices
by framing questions,
providing truthful and reliable information and analysis
and serving as an example.
They recognize the value that stems from diversity
in all of its forms in their organizations.
All across the country and the world,
there are CMC alumni who lead
according to these principles of leadership.
Your CMC education
will give you the skills to do the same.
The first insight is that the best outcome for society,
a group, or even an individual,
often lies somewhere in between the two extreme options.
The insight can help us move towards an informed decision
in settings where the optimal outcome
may not be immediately obvious.
Consider climate change.
Let's think about climate change
in terms of the optimal level of global carbon emissions.
At one extreme lies zero,
and at the other extreme lies the business-as-usual level
of emissions, or the status quo.
On the one hand,
a zero-emissions target would mean enormous cost
in terms of foregone consumption, production,
transportation and economic development.
On the other hand,
maintaining the business-as-usual level of emissions
also means significant cost
associated with changes in agriculture, crime,
coastal storms, mortality, and labor allocation.
Changes that would exacerbate
existing economic inequalities in the U.S.,
according to a recent study in science.
A recognition that the best outcome
likely falls somewhere in between the two extremes
can be a starting point for reasoned debate.
Debate informed by scientific evidence
and governed by the social norm of respect.
Such debate, a hallmark of our policy-making process,
characterized the formation and the adoption
of the major environmental laws,
like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act,
that continue to shape our environmental qualities today.
Debate over policy need not lead
to a unanimously agreed-upon outcome.
Indeed, it rarely does.
But the goal of the debate is to reach a decision,
while understanding the diversity of viewpoints involved.
As with many policy settings we as a society face,
there are significant uncertainties
associated with climate change.
However, these uncertainties do not
support arguments for the status quo that is for inaction,
and it's faulty logic to suggest that they do.
Uncertainty abounds and its presence
should not paralyze the policy-making process--
that's a lotta Ps--
nor should you allow uncertainty
to prevent you from making decisions.
How might this insight relate
to a decision you'll face this year?
Well, in about a month-and-a-half,
you will find yourself in the midst of midterm season.
A time of copious caffeine consumption
when you'll likely face multiple midterms in the same week,
or perhaps even on the same day.
You may find yourself facing a decision
similar to the following.
In the 24 hours leading up to my Intro to Psych midterm,
how many hours should I spend studying?
Recognizing that neither extreme--
that is, spending all 24 hours studying
or spending zero of those 24 hours studying--
is likely optimal,
will help you to move towards
the best allocation of your time.
To get to that point,
the second insight is helpful.
Trade-offs are unavoidable, in policy making and in life.
Sometimes evaluating trade-offs is uncomfortable.
But reacting to that discomfort by ignoring trade-offs
is ignorant and leads to flawed policies
and flawed decisions.
In health, safety and environmental policy,
trade-offs sometimes involved mortality risks.
To illustrate, consider the following example.
In the early 2000s,
the Federal Aviation Administration
considered proposing a regulation
that would require the use of child-restraint systems
for children under the age of two
on commercial airline flights.
The use of these child-restraint systems
would mean that each child under age two
would have to have their own seat on the plane.
Now if you've flown recently,
and been sufficiently unlucky--
or perhaps lucky, depending on your perspective--
to be seated next to an infant seated on an adult's lap,
you'll know that this regulation was never implemented.
At the time, the regulation was strongly endorsed
by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
After all, it would save the lives of children.
Why, then, was it never adopted?
To understand requires careful consideration
of the relevant trade-offs.
If implemented, the regulation would have reduced
the number of children under age two
who die while traveling by air
by about point four deaths per year,
according to one estimate.
But the regulation would also increase
the number of children
who die while traveling by car.
You see, the regulation would cause an increase
in the price of airline tickets,
such that some families would switch
from air travel to car travel,
the latter entailing significantly higher risks of death.
On that, more lives would have been lost than saved
as a result of this regulation.
If policy makers at the time
had failed to carefully consider these trade-offs
because talking about the deaths
of children is uncomfortable,
then they would have moved forward with a regulation
that was, on net, bad for society.
Of course, no one wants to think about these trade-offs.
And bringing them up in conversation at a party
will not win you any friends.
Trust me, I speak from experience.
But if we all agree that the aim, in this particular case,
is to save the lives of children,
not to avoid offending anyone,
then we need to have these kinds of analyses.
A second example comes from
my own work in environmental policy.
When we adopt a regulation that improves air quality
by reducing the amount of particulates we breathe,
we each face a lower risk of death.
The regulation, however, imposes cost on regulated firms.
To determine whether or not the costs
are less than or greater than the benefits,
requires knowing how much people actually value
reductions in mortality risks.
In many situations, it's relatively straightforward
to figure out how much people value a good.
Consider a cup of coffee that costs two dollars.
If you purchase the cup of coffee,
then I can infer that its value to you
is at least two dollars.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work so well
with mortality risks.
Because you can't go into a store,
or even onto Amazon--
apologies to Jeff Bezos--
and buy a lower mortality risk.
Fortunately, you do make choices every day,
like driving a car or going to work,
in which you trade off mortality risks and money,
or perhaps something else you value, like time.
Environmental economists like me
can then observe these choices and make inferences
about the value of mortality risk reductions.
Armed with this information,
we can then evaluate the costs and benefits of regulations.
These evaluations, while uncomfortable,
are fundamental to sound policy making.
This has applications for you as well.
This will be a year full of choices,
and some of those choices will involve
uncomfortable trade-offs.
Instead of avoiding them,
I encourage you to carefully evaluate those trade-offs
and let your evaluations inform your decisions.
The third insight is that information has power,
which can be harnessed to benefit or exploited to harm.
In environmental policy,
information can be used to encourage firms
to improve their environmental performance.
I'll illustrate with an example from my own work.
In 2004, the EPA created an internal watch list
to keep track of the most egregious violators
of the Clean Air Act.
These were facilities with severe violations
but facilities that had not yet received penalties
appropriate for those violations.
While the watch list was not created for public consumption,
its existence became public knowledge in 2011
as the result of a Freedom of Information Act,
or FOIA Act request.
Over the next year or so,
the identities of facilities on the watch list
also became public knowledge.
I studied how facilities responded
first to being on the watch list,
and second to their presence on the watch list
becoming public knowledge.
My research suggests that the public disclosure
was a more powerful driver of improvements
in facility compliance
than was their mere presence on the list.
This suggests that facilities
anticipated the information disclosure
to be even more costly than the penalties they might face.
There are several factors that might explain this.
One possibility is the concern
that consumers would vote with their wallets,
directing their purchases away from dirty firms
towards clean firms.
Information is a powerful tool.
And its use to discipline firms
that impose external cost on society
is not unique to the environmental realm.
We've begun a period in which
the formal enforcement of environmental regulations
is likely to be weakened,
at least at the federal level.
While I find this discouraging,
I'm also optimistic that effective
informal tools of enforcement,
perhaps those that harness the power of information,
will be implemented by state, local, tribal regulators,
citizen groups, and perhaps even some industry groups.
Innovations in information processing and dissemination
may yield additional informal tools
that do not currently exist.
CMCers are enthusiastic innovators,
so perhaps one of you will envision such a tool.
The final insight is motivated
more by my personal experiences than by my research.
I'm fortunate that in my life,
I've experienced love, friendship, happiness and success.
I've also experienced heartbreak,
sadness, disappointment, rejection and failure.
While I don't often publicize the latter experiences,
they're equally important in shaping who I am today.
In my field, professional success is often judged
by the number and quality of one's publications
in peer-reviewed journals.
If you go to my website, you can view my CV,
which lists my peer-reviewed publications.
Now, though, I'd like to share with you
a few items that might go on my anti-CV.
Over the years,
reviewers and editors have used the following words
to describe some of my papers:
a minor contribution,
odd,
obvious,
and my favorite, trivial.
This year, I finally published a paper
that I began working on almost a decade ago.
The paper was rejected by 12 journals before finding a home.
Just this summer,
I had two papers rejected in the same week.
I never get used to rejection.
It's soul-crushing every single time.
But, my response to rejection has changed over time.
I no longer take rejection personally,
and I no longer let it discourage me from moving forward.
I take risks in my research.
Sometimes that results in a quick--
well, relatively quick--
acceptance at a good journal.
Sometimes it leads to a long list of rejections.
But it's the combination of those experiences
that fulfills me.
I encourage you to choose a path at CMC
that allows you to experience the full range of outcomes.
Don't carefully curate your course schedule
to avoid courses that may challenge you.
You've chosen CMC,
a liberal arts college
with talented and committed professors
who seek to both challenge and support you.
Take full advantage.
My hope for you this year is not that you'll fail,
be rejected or disappointed.
But that when you do,
because you inevitably will,
that you use those experiences
as opportunities for you to grow in how you respond.
If you feel stuck and are struggling with how to respond,
ask for help from your family, chosen or otherwise,
your professors, staff and administrators.
Don't be ashamed of your failures.
Share your failures,
as well as your responses to those failures,
with your friends and classmates.
Doing so will not only help you push forward,
it will help others recognize that
although your Instagram may emphasize your accomplishments
and your moments of bliss,
your anti-Instagram looks just like theirs,
with failures, disappointment, and rejection.
When first thinking about speaking today,
I kept coming back to the notion of taking risks,
not recklessly but with intention.
I realized that my emphasis on taking risks
actually stemmed from my own fears of doing so.
Of putting myself in a position of discomfort
and at risk of failure
by serving as your convocation speaker here today.
Like many people, perhaps even you,
I have an extreme fear of public speaking.
So, when Dean Uvin invited me to be convocation speaker,
my initial reaction was one of sheer panic,
rather than being appropriately honored by his request.
While I can give a lecture or an academic talk
with only mild unease now that
I've done so hundreds of times,
this particular occasion
in which I would be tasked with setting the tone
for an incoming class of bright,
eager and engaged CMCers filled me with fear.
I immediately began to concoct various reasons
I might decline Dean Uvin's request.
Several of which were quite compelling, if I do say so.
Then it hit me.
The way forward for me and for you
was for me to give remarks today
and in doing so to take a risk.
I hope that you'll be motivated to do the same.
As you go through this your first year at CMC,
keep in mind Rule Number 45
from Kwame Alexander's The Playbook,
"Dribble, fake, shoot, miss.
"Dribble, fake, shoot, miss.
"Dribble, fake, shoot, miss.
"Dribble, fake, shoot, swish."
Keep shooting until you hear the swish.
Welcome to CMC.
(applause)
- Hi, everyone.
I'm Ellen Rentz.
When I'm not doing this,
I teach in the Literature Department.
It's time for a musical interlude.
I really hope you'll all join me.
If you open up your program,
you've got the lyrics in front of you.
And you'll notice that in the second verse,
there's some Latin,
so I thought that we would just review that together
very briefly.
If you don't mind, repeat after me.
Crescit.
Cum cummercio.
Civitas.
Okay, and it's okay to enjoy that a little bit.
It's maybe only once a year that you get to speak Latin.
So enjoy it.
If you'll all stand up, please.
We're gonna sing this together.
And
I want you to also enjoy
what it's like to sing as part of a big group.
And there's something really special about it,
and it's something that we don't get to do all the time.
So enjoy it.
I'm just gonna get our pitch here.
♫ This is our starting note
Ready?
♫ We're the sons and the daughters
♫ Of Claremont McKenna
♫ And proud of our famed alma mater
♫ With friends of our youth
♫ Seeking wisdom, seeking truth
♫ We will lead on from Claremont McKenna
♫ We have "Crescit cum cummercio civitas"
♫ As our motto at Claremont McKenna
♫ We always will be
♫ Part of of dear old CMC
♫ Ever loyal to Claremont McKenna
Bravo!
(applause)
- Salaam, CMC.
My name is Sammy Mollas
and I am extremely pleased to be welcoming you all today.
As we begin this new school year,
I want to take a moment
to talk to you all today about journeys.
After all, our time at CMC is a journey.
Every club you join,
class you take,
discussion you have
will affect your path.
As I reflect on my own journey through CMC thus far,
I remember both the unique and shared moments.
The lows,
for example, the knots I hit
when I didn't do two hot on a midterm or an exam,
and the highs,
late-night baking sessions,
the shared success of a group project well done,
and political debates with friends in Collins.
I remember the classes I've taken,
the challenging discussions I've had,
the times I could barely keep my head above water,
and the times I've been rejected,
and the times I laughed so hard I cried.
As I enter my last year at CMC,
I would do anything to go back to my first year
and re-walk this path
for the first time again.
Enjoy every minute of the journey
you are about to embark on,
or the one you're in the middle of.
First years,
your path has just begun.
As you begin your year,
your options are extensive
and I hope you're all excited to start your journeys at CMC.
Your first year is a time of trial.
Try that club, attempt that class,
engage in that late-night discussion,
challenge your professors and your peers.
These trials will help you find the path
that's right for you.
If you're scared of something, try it.
Worst case, you fail.
And believe me, everyone has tried many things and failed,
and gotten up the next day with the support of their peers
ready to try again.
Sophomores,
it's easy to look at this upcoming year as just
there.
Your first year, everything is new.
Junior year, many people study abroad
and have decided their major.
And senior year...
Well, it's senior year.
However, this year, sophomore year, is also important.
It is a time to ground yourself
and begin to solidify your path.
It is the year to strengthen friendships.
Think more about your classes
and by the end of the year, declare your major.
Juniors,
although many of your peers are abroad,
make the most of your time here.
Reach out to the underclassmen.
Help them grow as you have.
And learn the lessons from your senior friends
while you can still chat in person.
Three-twos, it's our last year here.
Let's make the best of it.
Let us continue to push ourselves.
Apply for that internship you don't think you'll get.
Let us challenge ourselves to be
the best humans we possibly can.
Seniors,
this is the end of the block that represents life at CMC.
You're almost there.
This year is a time of closure
and an opening of new beginnings.
It is the year to make memories
and apply for lots of jobs and fellowships.
It is the time of thesis
and a time to spent nights in Ryal and Poppa.
Remember how much those around you look up to you.
I certainly do.
But most importantly,
it is the time to spend as many moments as you can
with the incredible people
that are your peers.
Those that have gone on this journey with you.
Although each year embarks on different paths
with individual experiences,
a good part of our paths are also mutual.
A majority of us live on campus,
we share the same spaces,
and many of us have reciprocal goals.
I hope you will consider what you want CMC to look like
as you will inevitably shape it.
Support each other's paths
and celebrate each other's uniqueness.
If you see someone fall,
help them get back up
and help them shift their path.
Sometimes a few simple words of encouragement
or even just sitting down to listen
can make a world of difference.
I encourage you all to reflect
on your year at CMC
and decide how you want to carve your path.
A few years ago Clancy Tripp,
in an address to the senior class during commencement, said,
"You are CMC and CMC is you."
Each path you take,
each fork in the road shapes your experience at CMC,
and together the choices we make
and the journeys we embark on
define the CMC community.
At these junctures, I hope that you take a deep breath,
friends by your side,
and think to yourself about the kind of future
that you want for CMC.
And then follow that dream.
Good luck and thank you.
Please rise for the recessional.
(applause)
(music plays)
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Tablos daughter Lee Haru isnt a baby anymore. and we cant believe how grown up she looks now.
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So a few weeks ago I decided to pick up the DJI Spark. I'm currently working
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How to make a Doggo Diagram - Duration: 0:44.
This is a doggo diagram.
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How To Become A Millionaire (Pt 1)
1.
Develop a written financial plan
Saying you want to be wealthy isn't good enough.
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-------------------------------------------
Columbia Real Estate: Should you list your home this fall? - Duration: 2:33.
- Hi folks, it's Brent Downing with
The Downing Group at Century 21.
This week we're going to talk about
should I try and sell my home this fall.
(upbeat music)
Hi, we're here again this week.
Welcome to our episode regarding
should I sell my home this fall?
So, there's a lot of pros and cons on this subject,
and I hear it all the time that
maybe we should wait until next spring to sell our home.
I can tell you this, from my personal experience
demand remains strong throughout the fall
and even in the winter.
We at The Downing Group do a lot of business
during the fall and winter.
Basically if you have your house on the market
in the fall you have a lot less competition out there
because a lot of people buy into that myth.
But, you know, yeah, our people who are moving
during the summer to make sure their kid's in school,
are they moving then?
No, but, there's still the corporate relo,
the people moving up,
the people moving to the area not related to school.
So, I would say it's a great time to list your house.
And right now inventory is at an all time low nationwide,
and it's low here in the Columbia area also.
Of course with the V.C. summer layoffs recently
inventory in the Chapin area,
in that $200,000 price range is up about 25%.
So if you're in that category and you don't have to move,
maybe you wait a little while,
and let that all shake out.
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and in great condition, it'll sell.
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The first V.C. summer employee's homes
that we listed,
I sold the first one in one day.
It was a beautiful house, priced right,
and these people they bought it brand new last year.
So, I would say if you're considering selling,
the fall and winter are great times to sell,
just, we need to price it right,
and make sure it's in great condition.
So, if you would like to talk more about that,
feel free to call us or email us
or send us a direct message on our Facebook page,
and we'd be glad to help.
Have a great week.
(soft music)
-------------------------------------------
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CMC Convocation 2017 - Duration: 49:38.(music plays)
- Please remain standing for the invocation.
Your official entrance into the CMC community
makes me think of the Israelites exodus from Egypt.
My interpretation
is particular to the Jewish faith
but I hope that it has a universal message
that you can all appreciate.
In this story, the Israelites had just left Egypt,
only to realize that Pharaoh had changed his mind
and decided to come after them.
The moment of confrontation occurs
right when the Israelites had nowhere to flee
because they were standing on the shore of the sea.
You may know already the outcome of this dilemma.
Moses lifts his hand,
God parts the sea,
and the Israelites make their way safely across
the sea to reach freedom.
This moment of convocation
is a parting of the sea moment for all of you.
You're standing on the precipice of a new freedom.
Academic freedom to pursue your interest
and freedom to structure your work time
and social activities.
You worked hard to get to this moment.
Hopefully nothing is in pursuit after you,
although at times it might feel that way.
Either way, it is now time for you each to leap into CMC,
and how will each of you enter?
In Judaism, we have two traditions
on how it was decided who would jump in first.
In one version,
the Twelve Tribes argue with each other
because they all wanted to be the first ones
and lead the way.
In the other, everyone was afraid to jump in first,
and they were trying to convince the others
to go before them.
Either way, in both versions,
the Tribe of Benjamin is the one
who ignored all the arguments,
took action and jumped right in.
So I will again ask, how will you enter CMC?
Will you argue and fight about who will be first
out of either pride or fear?
Or will you skip past all of this
and realize that you're all in this together?
Let me give you fair warning.
Jumping into the sea
was not the end of the struggle.
The Israelites still had another 40 years
of wandering through the desert.
Even after each of you
takes your leap into CMC,
the next four years will challenge you.
My prayer for you
is that you'll take this leap together
without fear and with pride.
Embrace the challenges that you'll encounter.
Hold each other up in support
and seek guidance from the faculty, staff,
and the entire community.
I pray that you are kept safe throughout your journey.
And when you reach your Holy Land, your day of graduation,
you will be able to look upon this journey
starting from today's jump
as a time of immense growth,
both personally and academically.
As you jump into the sea
and begin your journey,
I'll leave you with an interpretation
of a prayer that is traditionally said before
imparting on a journey.
We ask God,
may you guide us in peace,
support us in peace,
and cause us to reach our destination
in life, joy and peace.
Save us from all troubles along the way.
May you confer blessings upon us
and grant grace, kindness and mercy.
Show us abundant kindness, peace and wholeness.
And let us all say together, "Amen."
You may be seated.
- Thank you, Rabbi Shapiro, for those very wise words,
and welcome, everyone.
Good morning and congratulations to you all.
First, I'd like to extend our support
to any of you or your families and friends
from Houston or other areas affected
by Hurricane Harvey.
Please let our deans or any of us know
if there's anything we can do.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone there.
I'm humbled this morning
by the extraordinary people in the Pavilion today.
The committed leadership,
the imaginative scholarship,
the promise to think harder
and to do better.
The social warmth of our community.
Rabbi Shapiro, Peter and Shana and Lee,
Mary, Ellen and Sammy,
and all the faculty and staff celebrating
years of service,
and our newest and returning students
you each inspire.
Let's take a moment.
Let's take a moment to see it.
Listen to it.
Soak it in, draw from it.
I'm humbled, too,
by the seemingly insurmountable challenges
we face in the world
and the opportunities at our fingertips.
I'm humbled by all we need to learn,
by the leadership we need to grow,
to put that learning to work,
as we bring ourselves together in a world
that seems to want to pull us apart.
A world that seems to want
to pay more attention to the negative
than the positive.
How do we counter these centrifugal dynamics
with a more powerful, positive, centripetal force?
As I put it to the incoming students
a week ago last Sunday,
the resolution of our most complex, wicked problems
and the pursuit
of our most exciting, transformational opportunities
all depend on one key capability:
our ability to learn
and to put that learning to work.
The power and creativity in our minds,
the compassion and warmth in our community,
the courage and humility in our leadership.
In response to events like Charlottesville,
we must condemn racism, anti-Semitism,
and other forms of bigotry as outrageous attacks
on our shared values.
Attacks on the intrinsic value of every
human being.
We must respect our constitutional freedoms
of expression and peaceful assembly,
and we must reject violence
and mourn the senseless loss of life.
And yet,
we, here,
we here at CMC are called to do more.
Not just to condemn what's wrong with the world,
but to understand and to help fix it.
To counter ignorance with the search for truth.
To bridge deep separations by bringing people together.
To counter bad,
even if protected speech, with better speech.
To replace ad hominem attacks
with the free exchange of ideas.
To substitute the conclusory with the well-reasoned.
To diagnose deeper causes for clues about the solutions.
To commit ourselves to effective action,
both drawing upon and transcending our diverse views.
Not just through petition or protest from the outside,
but also through engaged dialogue
in the trenches of institutional improvement
from the inside.
In an interview last week,
our 2017 commencement speaker Wes Moore
put it this way:
"Leadership," he said,
"is about finding a human pain
"or need and saying I'm gonna do something about it."
This holds, too, on the positive side of the ledger.
Leadership is also about finding a human joy
or opportunity and saying,
"We're going to do something to grow it."
Leadership is about extending patience and grace.
Leadership is about offering gratitude and friendship,
the small deeds of goodness,
that knit the social fabric of a shared community.
So when we look at our most exciting opportunities,
social or public solutions to violence or poverty,
applications of artificial intelligence
or computational science to cure disease
or create clean energy.
Entrepreneurship that creates jobs and economic growth.
Having a great idea is hardly enough.
We have to learn how to implement it.
How to channel proposed solutions into effective action.
How to grow small into scalable businesses.
How to build consensus in a world
that often appears not to want it.
And how to lead in diverse, even divisive,
polarized professional settings.
So as we approach is academic year,
we need to see the dual commitment
of thinking harder and doing better
in everything we pursue.
Our shared commitments to the rigorous classroom.
The perplexing problem set.
The elegant essay.
The competitive sport.
The impactful student enterprise.
The special qualities
of our impressive new students, faculty and staff
who contribute greater expertise and fresh perspectives
to our learning community.
The growth of student opportunities
and the special experiences you all bring back
from nearly a thousand summer internships.
The powerful learning opportunities,
dinners at the Athenaeum,
reflections in the Cube,
or cross-cutting conferences
in research in our institute centers and new labs.
The continual improvement in our learning environment
from Collins to the Care Center,
allowing us to break bread, transcend division,
learn and lead with incisive assessments
and imaginative solutions.
That is all done for you
so that you can thrive and contribute.
And you are each here for all of us
so that we can, too.
We are all here for one another.
We come together today to build on the moment we share
to face the problems, create the solutions,
mitigate the diverging forces,
reconcile the colliding ones.
Learn to do well and good.
Learn to do it all together.
So today I thank you each,
each of you for being here.
Be sure to hydrate through the heat,
lend a hand or a shoulder to our friends from Houston,
and get off to a great start this week.
Congratulations, here's to a successful year.
Thank you very much.
(applause)
- Good morning.
It now gives me great pleasure
to recognize
staff and faculty for their years of service
and Exceptional Staff Award recipients as well.
So the bios on the honorees
are included in the print program.
I will not discuss them here.
You can and should read them.
Learn them by heart.
And there'll be a small test on Friday.
Honorees will not come to the stage
but I do ask that you stand when your name is called
so that you can be recognized.
So, to begin, with 25 years of service,
Germaine Graham,
Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid.
(applause)
And beside her, Steven Graves,
Head Athletic Trainer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
(applause)
We move now to 30 years of service.
Now individuals who have served for 30 consecutive years
at the college will have their names inscribed on plaques
placed on the fountain in Butler Plaza,
just in front of Bauer South.
So that's the fountain thingy there.
When you lay sunning there,
know that you're laying on top of the names
of great people.
Happily, not on top of those people.
But okay.
So the first person is Lydia Aguiar,
who is the Administrative Assistant at
Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.
And she is not here.
(applause)
The second person is here,
and it is Asuman Aksoy,
the Crown Professor of Mathematics
at the college.
(applause)
Next comes June Alexander, Building Attendant.
(applause)
Next comes Lorenzo Herrera, Senior Maintenance Worker.
(applause)
James Higdon, Professor of Physics.
(applause)
John Meany, Director of Forensics.
(applause)
James Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Accounting.
(applause)
Randall Town, Associate Director of Athletic Operations.
(applause)
Robert Valenza,
Dengler-Dykema Chair of Mathematics and the Humanities.
(applause)
I thank you all for your service.
Thirty-five years of service,
she is however not here, is Barbara Maxwell,
Director of Budgeting and Grants Administrator.
(applause)
She too, by the way, will get a plaque, I think.
Does she get a plaque too?
No more plaque 'cause she got one
and we can't keep on adding plaques.
Forty years of service,
Janet Dryer,
Director of the Children's School.
(applause)
And finally, at 45 years of service,
but not attending today, is Colin Wright,
Norwood and Frances Berger Professor of Business & Society
and Professor of Economics.
(applause)
It also gives me pleasure, then, to recognize two persons
who have received the Exceptional Staff Award,
which was selected on the basis of recommendations
by staff, students and faculty,
and selected by a committee composed for that purpose.
The two persons are Lyn Hughes,
who is the Administrative Director
for the Dean of Students office.
(applause and cheering)
That says enough why she got it.
And the next one is Velda Yount,
who is the Program Administator and Assistant to the Dean
at the Keck Science Department.
(applause)
Once again, I thank and congratulate you all.
We couldn't do our work without all of you.
Thank you.
(applause)
- Hello, everyone.
My name is Shana Levin, Psychology Professor
and one of the Associate Deans to the Faculty.
It's my pleasure to recognize
the winners of last year's faculty awards.
Award winners, you know who you are.
Please stand up when I recognize your award.
I promise to be brief.
You won't be standing for too long.
The winner of last year's Presidential Award for Merit
was Amy Kind,
Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy.
(applause)
This prize is awarded by the President of the College
to a faculty or staff member
for significant service to the college.
Professor Kind is a true teacher-scholar leader.
A leader in her field as prolific scholar
and President of the Southern Society
for Philosophy and Psychology,
at CMC as Associate Dean of the Faculty,
in the Philosophy Department as Department Chair,
and above all, a dedicated teacher to her students
who rave about the rigor, fairness,
and special care she takes
to build their confidence
in the challenging classes she teaches.
Congratulations, Amy.
(applause)
Rod Camp,
Philip M. McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim,
received last year's inaugural Faculty Scholarship Award.
The award is given annually
to a full-time faculty member
in recognition of their outstanding research,
scholarship or creative work since coming to CMC.
Professor Camp is an internationally renowned scholar
of Mexican politics.
I could list all of his major achievements,
take up way more time than I have,
but instead I'm just gonna name one,
recently awarded.
He was just awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle,
which is the highest decoration awarded
by the Mexican government
to foreign nationals whose work
has benefited Mexico and Mexicans.
Congratulations, Rod.
(applause)
Last year's winner for the Crocker Award for Merit
was Professor of Physics, Adam Landsberg,
who unfortunately wasn't able to be with us today.
This prize is award to the professor
selected by the faculty themselves
as having made the greatest contribution
to the college that year.
Many of his colleagues have described Professor Landsberg
as a proactive significant contributor
to numerous labor-intensive committees.
His leadership in the Keck Science Department
is outstanding.
He brings a rare quality to
and engaged participation in each task he performs.
Thank you, Professor Landsberg, for your service.
(applause)
So our next two award winners
are also in the W.M. Keck Science Department,
both in the field of biology.
The Glen R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching
is given annually to the faculty member voted
by the student body
as the most effective teacher.
Last year, the winner was Emily Wiley, Professor of Biology.
(applause)
Professor Wiley regularly co-authors publications
with the undergraduates in her lab,
and students in her classes
attest to the intellectual growth
they receive as a result of her teaching.
Students rave about Professor Wiley's
"absolute vibrant passion," that is a quote, for biology.
Congratulations, Professor Wiley.
(applause)
Last year's G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award
went to Professor of Biology Jennifer Armstrong.
(applause)
This prize is awarded annually
to a full professor selected by a committee
who reviews nominations from juniors and seniors.
Professor Armstrong is renowned
for her dedication to students
who praise her interactive classroom,
superb organization,
and ability to make scientific concepts
gripping and relevant to them.
She works closely with student in her lab
and has co-authored numerous publications with them.
So if you remember anything from today's convocation,
take a class from a biology professor.
(laughs)
Congratulations to all of our faculty award winners.
(applause)
- Good morning, I'm Lee Skinner,
the other Associate Dean of the Faculty.
And I get to introduce our new tenured
and tenure-track faculty to you.
New faculty, when I call your name, please stand,
and at the end we'll,
we'll hold our applause to the end
and then give them all a big round.
So first,
joining us this year is Julio Garin,
who is an Assistant Professor of Economics.
Michael Gelman, also Assistant Professor of Economics.
Stay standing, please.
(laughs)
Ethan Van Arnam joins us
as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry.
Chelsea Wang joins us as Assistant Professor of History.
Ulysses "UJ" Sofia is the new
Weinberg Family Dean of Keck Science,
and is probably off at Keck Science doing something now.
And Jennifer Clark is
Assistant Professor of Physical Education
and the Head Women's Soccer Coach,
probably off with the team right now.
Welcome, new faculty.
(applause)
- So it now gives me pleasure to introduce to you
our convocation keynote speaker for today,
Professor Mary Evans.
Mary Evans is the Jerrine and Thomas Mitchell
Associate Professor of Environmental Economics
and George R. Roberts Fellow.
She is the co-editor of the Journal of the Association
of Environmental and Resource Economists,
and serves on the editorial council
of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
She is also a member of the
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA,
Science Advisory Board,
Environmental Economics Advisory Committee.
She is also the fearless leader
of our own institutional research board,
a great teacher and a great colleague.
And I am looking forward to hearing her talk.
Mary?
(applause)
- Good morning, everyone.
Thank you, Dean Uvin, for the kind introduction.
President Chodosh, Dean Uvin,
my faculty colleagues, CMC staff and students,
especially those of you for whom today
marks the beginning of your academic journey at CMC,
it's an honor to address you this morning.
I'd like to begin by noting
that I prepared my remarks for today several weeks ago.
A time that, at least for me,
felt somewhat more certain
and slightly less chaotic than today.
During your four years at CMC,
the world external to CMC will shift.
Sometimes in ways that bring turmoil,
and sometimes in ways that bring hope.
CMC cannot inoculate you against
the harms of the external world,
nor should it.
But you've chosen CMC
because you value a community
that embraces reason, dialogue,
and yes, even disagreement,
but rejects violence, threats and intimidation.
A community that embraces diversity and inclusivity
and rejects intolerance.
And a community that embraces the rights
as well as the responsibilities
associated with democratic engagement.
As the world external to CMC continues to shift,
our community, of which you are now a part,
will continue to adhere to these principles.
As I think was clear from my introduction,
I work in the field of environmental economics.
This field takes methods and concepts from economics
and brings them to bear on environmental questions.
You might think as I did
when I wandered into my first economics class
as a freshman in college many, many, many years ago,
that economics is all about interest rates
or the stock market.
But for me, the most interesting questions in economics
are those that tackle other problems.
Social problems like crime or pollution.
My own work has focused on questions that relate
directly to environmental policy.
Today I'd like to share with you four insights--
I've been told that three is the appropriate number,
but I'm going with four--
that are motivated by my field,
my research and my experiences
that I hope foster the excitement you no doubt
already feel as you begin your time at CMC.
In doing so, I also hope to suggest something
about what leadership means to me.
As you know, CMC emphasizes leadership.
Appreciating the various dimensions of leadership
is key to understanding CMC's unique mission
and to your role in fulfilling that mission.
Leadership often calls to mind
being able to get people to do something or to follow you.
Leadership is often frequently associated with titles,
like CEO or President.
But a title does not make a leader.
A leader need not be boisterous or even extroverted.
The leaders who I admire most
have higher objectives than to amass followers,
or be the loudest person in the room.
They seek to help others make good choices
by framing questions,
providing truthful and reliable information and analysis
and serving as an example.
They recognize the value that stems from diversity
in all of its forms in their organizations.
All across the country and the world,
there are CMC alumni who lead
according to these principles of leadership.
Your CMC education
will give you the skills to do the same.
The first insight is that the best outcome for society,
a group, or even an individual,
often lies somewhere in between the two extreme options.
The insight can help us move towards an informed decision
in settings where the optimal outcome
may not be immediately obvious.
Consider climate change.
Let's think about climate change
in terms of the optimal level of global carbon emissions.
At one extreme lies zero,
and at the other extreme lies the business-as-usual level
of emissions, or the status quo.
On the one hand,
a zero-emissions target would mean enormous cost
in terms of foregone consumption, production,
transportation and economic development.
On the other hand,
maintaining the business-as-usual level of emissions
also means significant cost
associated with changes in agriculture, crime,
coastal storms, mortality, and labor allocation.
Changes that would exacerbate
existing economic inequalities in the U.S.,
according to a recent study in science.
A recognition that the best outcome
likely falls somewhere in between the two extremes
can be a starting point for reasoned debate.
Debate informed by scientific evidence
and governed by the social norm of respect.
Such debate, a hallmark of our policy-making process,
characterized the formation and the adoption
of the major environmental laws,
like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act,
that continue to shape our environmental qualities today.
Debate over policy need not lead
to a unanimously agreed-upon outcome.
Indeed, it rarely does.
But the goal of the debate is to reach a decision,
while understanding the diversity of viewpoints involved.
As with many policy settings we as a society face,
there are significant uncertainties
associated with climate change.
However, these uncertainties do not
support arguments for the status quo that is for inaction,
and it's faulty logic to suggest that they do.
Uncertainty abounds and its presence
should not paralyze the policy-making process--
that's a lotta Ps--
nor should you allow uncertainty
to prevent you from making decisions.
How might this insight relate
to a decision you'll face this year?
Well, in about a month-and-a-half,
you will find yourself in the midst of midterm season.
A time of copious caffeine consumption
when you'll likely face multiple midterms in the same week,
or perhaps even on the same day.
You may find yourself facing a decision
similar to the following.
In the 24 hours leading up to my Intro to Psych midterm,
how many hours should I spend studying?
Recognizing that neither extreme--
that is, spending all 24 hours studying
or spending zero of those 24 hours studying--
is likely optimal,
will help you to move towards
the best allocation of your time.
To get to that point,
the second insight is helpful.
Trade-offs are unavoidable, in policy making and in life.
Sometimes evaluating trade-offs is uncomfortable.
But reacting to that discomfort by ignoring trade-offs
is ignorant and leads to flawed policies
and flawed decisions.
In health, safety and environmental policy,
trade-offs sometimes involved mortality risks.
To illustrate, consider the following example.
In the early 2000s,
the Federal Aviation Administration
considered proposing a regulation
that would require the use of child-restraint systems
for children under the age of two
on commercial airline flights.
The use of these child-restraint systems
would mean that each child under age two
would have to have their own seat on the plane.
Now if you've flown recently,
and been sufficiently unlucky--
or perhaps lucky, depending on your perspective--
to be seated next to an infant seated on an adult's lap,
you'll know that this regulation was never implemented.
At the time, the regulation was strongly endorsed
by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
After all, it would save the lives of children.
Why, then, was it never adopted?
To understand requires careful consideration
of the relevant trade-offs.
If implemented, the regulation would have reduced
the number of children under age two
who die while traveling by air
by about point four deaths per year,
according to one estimate.
But the regulation would also increase
the number of children
who die while traveling by car.
You see, the regulation would cause an increase
in the price of airline tickets,
such that some families would switch
from air travel to car travel,
the latter entailing significantly higher risks of death.
On that, more lives would have been lost than saved
as a result of this regulation.
If policy makers at the time
had failed to carefully consider these trade-offs
because talking about the deaths
of children is uncomfortable,
then they would have moved forward with a regulation
that was, on net, bad for society.
Of course, no one wants to think about these trade-offs.
And bringing them up in conversation at a party
will not win you any friends.
Trust me, I speak from experience.
But if we all agree that the aim, in this particular case,
is to save the lives of children,
not to avoid offending anyone,
then we need to have these kinds of analyses.
A second example comes from
my own work in environmental policy.
When we adopt a regulation that improves air quality
by reducing the amount of particulates we breathe,
we each face a lower risk of death.
The regulation, however, imposes cost on regulated firms.
To determine whether or not the costs
are less than or greater than the benefits,
requires knowing how much people actually value
reductions in mortality risks.
In many situations, it's relatively straightforward
to figure out how much people value a good.
Consider a cup of coffee that costs two dollars.
If you purchase the cup of coffee,
then I can infer that its value to you
is at least two dollars.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work so well
with mortality risks.
Because you can't go into a store,
or even onto Amazon--
apologies to Jeff Bezos--
and buy a lower mortality risk.
Fortunately, you do make choices every day,
like driving a car or going to work,
in which you trade off mortality risks and money,
or perhaps something else you value, like time.
Environmental economists like me
can then observe these choices and make inferences
about the value of mortality risk reductions.
Armed with this information,
we can then evaluate the costs and benefits of regulations.
These evaluations, while uncomfortable,
are fundamental to sound policy making.
This has applications for you as well.
This will be a year full of choices,
and some of those choices will involve
uncomfortable trade-offs.
Instead of avoiding them,
I encourage you to carefully evaluate those trade-offs
and let your evaluations inform your decisions.
The third insight is that information has power,
which can be harnessed to benefit or exploited to harm.
In environmental policy,
information can be used to encourage firms
to improve their environmental performance.
I'll illustrate with an example from my own work.
In 2004, the EPA created an internal watch list
to keep track of the most egregious violators
of the Clean Air Act.
These were facilities with severe violations
but facilities that had not yet received penalties
appropriate for those violations.
While the watch list was not created for public consumption,
its existence became public knowledge in 2011
as the result of a Freedom of Information Act,
or FOIA Act request.
Over the next year or so,
the identities of facilities on the watch list
also became public knowledge.
I studied how facilities responded
first to being on the watch list,
and second to their presence on the watch list
becoming public knowledge.
My research suggests that the public disclosure
was a more powerful driver of improvements
in facility compliance
than was their mere presence on the list.
This suggests that facilities
anticipated the information disclosure
to be even more costly than the penalties they might face.
There are several factors that might explain this.
One possibility is the concern
that consumers would vote with their wallets,
directing their purchases away from dirty firms
towards clean firms.
Information is a powerful tool.
And its use to discipline firms
that impose external cost on society
is not unique to the environmental realm.
We've begun a period in which
the formal enforcement of environmental regulations
is likely to be weakened,
at least at the federal level.
While I find this discouraging,
I'm also optimistic that effective
informal tools of enforcement,
perhaps those that harness the power of information,
will be implemented by state, local, tribal regulators,
citizen groups, and perhaps even some industry groups.
Innovations in information processing and dissemination
may yield additional informal tools
that do not currently exist.
CMCers are enthusiastic innovators,
so perhaps one of you will envision such a tool.
The final insight is motivated
more by my personal experiences than by my research.
I'm fortunate that in my life,
I've experienced love, friendship, happiness and success.
I've also experienced heartbreak,
sadness, disappointment, rejection and failure.
While I don't often publicize the latter experiences,
they're equally important in shaping who I am today.
In my field, professional success is often judged
by the number and quality of one's publications
in peer-reviewed journals.
If you go to my website, you can view my CV,
which lists my peer-reviewed publications.
Now, though, I'd like to share with you
a few items that might go on my anti-CV.
Over the years,
reviewers and editors have used the following words
to describe some of my papers:
a minor contribution,
odd,
obvious,
and my favorite, trivial.
This year, I finally published a paper
that I began working on almost a decade ago.
The paper was rejected by 12 journals before finding a home.
Just this summer,
I had two papers rejected in the same week.
I never get used to rejection.
It's soul-crushing every single time.
But, my response to rejection has changed over time.
I no longer take rejection personally,
and I no longer let it discourage me from moving forward.
I take risks in my research.
Sometimes that results in a quick--
well, relatively quick--
acceptance at a good journal.
Sometimes it leads to a long list of rejections.
But it's the combination of those experiences
that fulfills me.
I encourage you to choose a path at CMC
that allows you to experience the full range of outcomes.
Don't carefully curate your course schedule
to avoid courses that may challenge you.
You've chosen CMC,
a liberal arts college
with talented and committed professors
who seek to both challenge and support you.
Take full advantage.
My hope for you this year is not that you'll fail,
be rejected or disappointed.
But that when you do,
because you inevitably will,
that you use those experiences
as opportunities for you to grow in how you respond.
If you feel stuck and are struggling with how to respond,
ask for help from your family, chosen or otherwise,
your professors, staff and administrators.
Don't be ashamed of your failures.
Share your failures,
as well as your responses to those failures,
with your friends and classmates.
Doing so will not only help you push forward,
it will help others recognize that
although your Instagram may emphasize your accomplishments
and your moments of bliss,
your anti-Instagram looks just like theirs,
with failures, disappointment, and rejection.
When first thinking about speaking today,
I kept coming back to the notion of taking risks,
not recklessly but with intention.
I realized that my emphasis on taking risks
actually stemmed from my own fears of doing so.
Of putting myself in a position of discomfort
and at risk of failure
by serving as your convocation speaker here today.
Like many people, perhaps even you,
I have an extreme fear of public speaking.
So, when Dean Uvin invited me to be convocation speaker,
my initial reaction was one of sheer panic,
rather than being appropriately honored by his request.
While I can give a lecture or an academic talk
with only mild unease now that
I've done so hundreds of times,
this particular occasion
in which I would be tasked with setting the tone
for an incoming class of bright,
eager and engaged CMCers filled me with fear.
I immediately began to concoct various reasons
I might decline Dean Uvin's request.
Several of which were quite compelling, if I do say so.
Then it hit me.
The way forward for me and for you
was for me to give remarks today
and in doing so to take a risk.
I hope that you'll be motivated to do the same.
As you go through this your first year at CMC,
keep in mind Rule Number 45
from Kwame Alexander's The Playbook,
"Dribble, fake, shoot, miss.
"Dribble, fake, shoot, miss.
"Dribble, fake, shoot, miss.
"Dribble, fake, shoot, swish."
Keep shooting until you hear the swish.
Welcome to CMC.
(applause)
- Hi, everyone.
I'm Ellen Rentz.
When I'm not doing this,
I teach in the Literature Department.
It's time for a musical interlude.
I really hope you'll all join me.
If you open up your program,
you've got the lyrics in front of you.
And you'll notice that in the second verse,
there's some Latin,
so I thought that we would just review that together
very briefly.
If you don't mind, repeat after me.
Crescit.
Cum cummercio.
Civitas.
Okay, and it's okay to enjoy that a little bit.
It's maybe only once a year that you get to speak Latin.
So enjoy it.
If you'll all stand up, please.
We're gonna sing this together.
And
I want you to also enjoy
what it's like to sing as part of a big group.
And there's something really special about it,
and it's something that we don't get to do all the time.
So enjoy it.
I'm just gonna get our pitch here.
♫ This is our starting note
Ready?
♫ We're the sons and the daughters
♫ Of Claremont McKenna
♫ And proud of our famed alma mater
♫ With friends of our youth
♫ Seeking wisdom, seeking truth
♫ We will lead on from Claremont McKenna
♫ We have "Crescit cum cummercio civitas"
♫ As our motto at Claremont McKenna
♫ We always will be
♫ Part of of dear old CMC
♫ Ever loyal to Claremont McKenna
Bravo!
(applause)
- Salaam, CMC.
My name is Sammy Mollas
and I am extremely pleased to be welcoming you all today.
As we begin this new school year,
I want to take a moment
to talk to you all today about journeys.
After all, our time at CMC is a journey.
Every club you join,
class you take,
discussion you have
will affect your path.
As I reflect on my own journey through CMC thus far,
I remember both the unique and shared moments.
The lows,
for example, the knots I hit
when I didn't do two hot on a midterm or an exam,
and the highs,
late-night baking sessions,
the shared success of a group project well done,
and political debates with friends in Collins.
I remember the classes I've taken,
the challenging discussions I've had,
the times I could barely keep my head above water,
and the times I've been rejected,
and the times I laughed so hard I cried.
As I enter my last year at CMC,
I would do anything to go back to my first year
and re-walk this path
for the first time again.
Enjoy every minute of the journey
you are about to embark on,
or the one you're in the middle of.
First years,
your path has just begun.
As you begin your year,
your options are extensive
and I hope you're all excited to start your journeys at CMC.
Your first year is a time of trial.
Try that club, attempt that class,
engage in that late-night discussion,
challenge your professors and your peers.
These trials will help you find the path
that's right for you.
If you're scared of something, try it.
Worst case, you fail.
And believe me, everyone has tried many things and failed,
and gotten up the next day with the support of their peers
ready to try again.
Sophomores,
it's easy to look at this upcoming year as just
there.
Your first year, everything is new.
Junior year, many people study abroad
and have decided their major.
And senior year...
Well, it's senior year.
However, this year, sophomore year, is also important.
It is a time to ground yourself
and begin to solidify your path.
It is the year to strengthen friendships.
Think more about your classes
and by the end of the year, declare your major.
Juniors,
although many of your peers are abroad,
make the most of your time here.
Reach out to the underclassmen.
Help them grow as you have.
And learn the lessons from your senior friends
while you can still chat in person.
Three-twos, it's our last year here.
Let's make the best of it.
Let us continue to push ourselves.
Apply for that internship you don't think you'll get.
Let us challenge ourselves to be
the best humans we possibly can.
Seniors,
this is the end of the block that represents life at CMC.
You're almost there.
This year is a time of closure
and an opening of new beginnings.
It is the year to make memories
and apply for lots of jobs and fellowships.
It is the time of thesis
and a time to spent nights in Ryal and Poppa.
Remember how much those around you look up to you.
I certainly do.
But most importantly,
it is the time to spend as many moments as you can
with the incredible people
that are your peers.
Those that have gone on this journey with you.
Although each year embarks on different paths
with individual experiences,
a good part of our paths are also mutual.
A majority of us live on campus,
we share the same spaces,
and many of us have reciprocal goals.
I hope you will consider what you want CMC to look like
as you will inevitably shape it.
Support each other's paths
and celebrate each other's uniqueness.
If you see someone fall,
help them get back up
and help them shift their path.
Sometimes a few simple words of encouragement
or even just sitting down to listen
can make a world of difference.
I encourage you all to reflect
on your year at CMC
and decide how you want to carve your path.
A few years ago Clancy Tripp,
in an address to the senior class during commencement, said,
"You are CMC and CMC is you."
Each path you take,
each fork in the road shapes your experience at CMC,
and together the choices we make
and the journeys we embark on
define the CMC community.
At these junctures, I hope that you take a deep breath,
friends by your side,
and think to yourself about the kind of future
that you want for CMC.
And then follow that dream.
Good luck and thank you.
Please rise for the recessional.
(applause)
(music plays)
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