Rotary of Seattle, page 2

A first principle is that those experiencing transformations, rather than being in the lead, are too often pushed along. Think the health care industry, think print journalism, think the automotive industry.

Think American higher education.  Consider the two previous periods of major transformation in American higher education: those following passage of the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 and the opening up of public higher education when the GI Bill was passed following the Second World War. 

Today, we in higher education look back on these transforming events with self-congratulatory pride.  We forget that the higher education establishments of the time felt threatened by these pieces of legislation and opposed both.  

How, then, do we lead transformations instead of being propelled along by them?  We have to take ourselves outside our zones of comfort -- before we are pushed outside the zone. 

The best way to do so is to continually ask questions that make people squirm.   That is part of my role as a university president.  That is part of your role as leaders and citizens.  At the conclusion of my remarks, I will ask you to take me outside my comfort zone.

Where is Western when it comes to the transformations under way? 

Over several decades, Western has evolved from being a respectable regional university to being a destination university, the Pacific Northwest’s premier public comprehensive university, with nearly 10,000 admissions applicants competing for 2,700 openings.

Our aspirations, though, are to do much more, to be the best university of our type in the nation.  Will we get there?  That, I don’t think, is a particularly useful question.  Will pursuit of that aspiration positively transform us? That’s the key question and the answer is a confident, “Yes.”

How will we transform?  Let’s reflect back on the implications of those forces I earlier listed.  There are changes easily embraced, including the increasing relevance of higher education to challenges of the future.  As a society, we know that our nation’s wealth (economic, cultural, social) is best measured by the developed talent of our people. 

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