GRADUATE
STUDENT WELCOME 2001
The
Graduate and Professional Student Welcome Reception was held at
the Annenberg Center on September 6, 2001.
<<CLICK
HERE>> FOR PRESIDENT RODIN'S ADDRESS (BELOW)
Photographs
by Marguerite Miller
The
new Graduate Student Center at 3615 Locust Walk (above) includes
a lounge (below), a computer
lab, and meeting and event space equipped with state-of-the-art
audio/visual and presentation equipment. The Center will host programs
designed by graduate fellows for graduate students.
Opportunites to
Engage or Disengage and Enjoy
by President Judith Rodin
To
all of you who are new to Penn, welcome!
To
those of you who received your undergraduate education here, welcome
back!
It
is great to see all of you. Here. Now.
As
we raise our glasses this afternoon, toasting your past and
future successes
Or
in the new graduate student center on Locust Walk--just outside
this building--where you will have opportunities to engage in discussions
with students from other disciplines
or to disengage from academic
rigors to enjoy a cup of coffee or a fun movie.
The
Graduate Center is for you.
And
with its new director, Anita Mastroieni, you will have the opportunity
to help create the kind of programming you want all year long.
Of
course the Graduate Student Center is just one of many opportunities
you will have as a member of the Penn Community.
Let
me take a few minutes to mention just five:
First,
academic inquiry.
A
graduate or professional education grants you both the time and
the resources for academic inquiry. I hope you will take advantage
of all the opportunities this period provides for high-level analysis,
expert training, and intellectual growth.
Second,
institutional history.
Penn
is America's first university, and claims the first medical school,
the first business school, and the first hospital in the United
States. You have at your disposal the collective knowledge of the
261-year history of this University: the expertise of our world-class
faculty; and the inspiration of Penn's museums, libraries, and many
other centers of learning.
Third,
the scholarly legacy.
You
have the opportunity to contribute to the body of knowledge in your
fields, and some of you will also teach the brightest young minds
in the world.
Fourth,
urban enrichment.
You
are studying in this dynamic city -- the birthplace of our nation
-- which today is a mecca of education and health care; home to
some of the most innovative architects and planners in the world;
and a center of communications, business, technology, culture, and
the arts.
And
fifth, an illustrious group of alumni that you will be joining.
My
undergraduate years at Penn were wonderful. They led me to the field
of psychology.
But
it was during my graduate study that I began to develop my own research
program. It was then that I became invested in my field, and truly
began to explore its depth and breadth, and my place in it. I had
a world of opportunity open to me, and I embraced it. I hope you
will do the same.
Again,
welcome to Penn. We are delighted to have you here.
Almanac, Vol. 48, No. 3, September 11, 2001
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