| From Kerry Quinn | From Laurence Williams | From Charles M. Vest
For President Shirley Ann Jackson's Inauguration, Sept. 24, 1999
It is an honor for me to participate in today's inaugural ceremony as a representative of the staff here at Rensselaer. On behalf of our staff, it is my pleasure to welcome you, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, our 18th president, and your family and friends into the Rensselaer community.
Dr. Jackson, I've no doubt that since your arrival to campus this July, you have already witnessed the dedication of the rather exceptional staff here at Rensselaer. In total, we number 1,302 individuals. Each of us having our own dreams, but who work together to achieve common goals, Rensselaer's goals.
Together we recruit some of the brightest students throughout the United States and eighty-three countries around the world. We nurture, counsel and coach potential future world leaders. Rensselaer staff provide support to our esteemed faculty as they educate our students and conduct technological research with global impact.
We design extraordinary extra curricular programs that encourage total personal growth and offer unique career development opportunities for our students and their futures. We cultivate lifelong relationships with our Rensselaer students and provide numerous occassions for them to reunite as alumni.
The Rensselaer staff protect and safeguard the members of our community... design, develop and maintain the physical campus... conduct the daily business of the institute... and also pursue government support for our institution and her many fine programs. As of number of us are also citizens from the local community, we understand the importance of a strong partnership between Rensselaer and our Troy neighbors.
Dr. Jackson, we are proud of Rensselaer's 175 year history and we are encouraged by your vision for Rensselaer's future... our future, Changing the World! This will take tremendous diligence, tenacity, acumen, ambition and most important... strong leadership. Our staff is an integral spoke in Rensselaer's educational wheel and we are proud to have you as our president in the driver' seat, to steer Rensselaer in the right direction as we enter the new millennium!
President Jackson, on behalf of our staff, I wish both you and Rensselaer much success throughout the journey!
Kerry Quinn
From Laurence Williams:
Good Morning,
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share in this joyous occasion.
It is indeed a pleasure, honor and privilege for me to be here today.
Madam President, I know nuclear safety is dear to your heart – and for good reason. If nuclear energy is to be used for the benefit of mankind, it must be used safely.
Strong, independent nuclear regulatory organizations such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission here in the United States and my own organization in the United Kingdom are essential if the public are to have confidence in the nuclear operators.
However, as Chernobyl has shown us, radioactivity is no respecter of national boundaries. We in the United Kingdom, some 1,500 miles away, were affected by the radioactive fall-out for many years.
Nuclear safety is therefore of international importance and nuclear safety regulations is an international responsibility.
Madam President, I believe you have made a significant contribution to nuclear safety regulations, not only here in the United States, but also in many countries around the world.
You were inspirational in setting up the International Nuclear Regulations Association. INRA, for the first time, provided an opportunity for the senior regulators from the eight leading western nuclear countries to meet and discuss nuclear safety issues of common interest in an open and frank way.
I believe this opportunity to share knowledge and experience has been beneficial to all our countries and we must continue.
Madam President, I have been asked by your ex-colleagues and my fellow members of INRA, especially Mr. Lacoste of France, Mr. Kinderlan of Spain, Mr. Mugberg of Sweden, and Dr. Bishop of Canada, to express their regrets at not being able to be with you today; to pass on to you their congratulations, and to express their deep gratitude for your dedicated efforts as the first INRA chairman.
I know as the second chairman of INRA, I have a very, very hard act to follow.
Madam President, when you told me you were to become the President of Rensselaer, I thought that using your undoubted talents in the field of education was a very natural thing for you to do.
As the head of this University you carry an awesome responsibility for the education of your students, for as someone once said: "Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."
Madam President, my colleagues and I in INRA give you our very best wishes for the future. I know our loss is Rensselaer's gain. Thank you!
Laurence Williams
From Charles M. Vest:
Greetings From The Academic Community
Dr. Jackson, on behalf of your colleagues in universities and colleges all across the nation, it is my privilege to bring greetings.
Welcome to the ranks of college and university presidents.
This is a great day for higher education. It is a great day for the fraternity and sorority of university presidents. It surely is a great day for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. And, it is a great day for America!
I also must tell you that it is a day filled with a very special pride for the legions of Dr. Shirley Jackson's colleagues, friends and admirers at MIT.
From her student days to the present moment, we have been the beneficiaries of her vision, leadership, tenacity, remarkable coalition-building skills, and her wise observations and advice, always delivered with her characteristic candor.
With one brief hiatus: When Shirley went to Washington to become Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, she went on leave of absence from MIT's Corporation – our board of trustees. Thus we, and I in particular, lost a valued counselor for four years.
But now the tide has turned. Shirley has returned to active duty as a trustee, and RPI has gained a paid informer – a spy in the inner sanctum of that other technological institute up near Boston. Academic espionage – the very stuff of a John LeCarre novel!
You could not have a better leader for these times. In today's world, the activities of the academy, government and industry are increasingly interrelated – especially at institutions such as RPI, with your strong core of science and engineering. You are fortunate indeed – at this moment in your history – to have as your new president, a woman who has experience at the highest levels in, and understanding of, all three sectors of our society.
Now, I have noticed that some of my university presidents have taken to calling themselves CEOs. I want to assure you that Shirley Jackson will be no CEO – though she certainly could be. She will be a university president in the profound sense of that title.
That is to say, she understands, at a deep level, the essence of universities, the importance of the life of the mind, the goals and aspirations of students, faculty and staff, and the unique role that the academy plays in our society. And she will lead accordingly – on the campus and on the world stage.
Shirley, as you take up your new charge, know that you carry with you the pride and spirit of your alma mater, the souls of its leaders, both present and past, the hopes and dreams of a nation, and the goodwill and admiration of your fellow university presidents.
We wish you God's speed as you lead the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute into the new century. Bon Voyage!
Charles M. Vest
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