Introduction

Welcome to our 2005 Convocation. Today marks the beginning of a wondrous time in your lives. I am sure that you are feeling the excitement and joy of being at our fine college.

Before I begin my remarks, I want to thank the parents of the freshmen class for being here today. You have made a wise decision with your son or daughter to have them attend our institution. We want you to consider yourselves part of the FLC family. You will be receiving the FLC Parent Newsletter so that you can stay connected to what is happening here. Please feel free to contact me with your concerns. You have my pledge, and that of the entire administrative team, that we will do everything in our power to make the educational and social experience the best, most intellectually challenging, and safest it can be for the next years for your son or daughter.

I want to acknowledge the fine college administrators who today are sitting on this platform. They are expert in what they do, easily accessible, and will always be of assistance. Please make sure that if you have any difficulty understanding our policies or procedures that you contact their offices for aid. Our Board of Trustees is composed of caring individuals from across Colorado who truly are concerned about your welfare, and strive to make Fort Lewis College the finest institution in this state. I also want to acknowledge that seated with you are the distinguished faculty of Fort Lewis College. I will speak more about them and their importance to your lives during the course of my remarks.

The Nature of Convocation

Why are we having this Convocation? We believe that it is important to set the expectations that the faculty, staff and administration have for new students, right at the beginning of the academic year. The Convocation is the beginning of your career here, and for many of us, a renewal of what we do and how we feel about higher education. So, a little bit of time devoted to reaffirmation of ideals, and expectations is appropriate and necessary. In addition, we want the freshmen class to realize they are immediately part of our college community. Learning is a collaborative process, a process where faculty and student come together to learn from one another. We want you to know, right from the beginning of your college career, that we are here for you-academically and to assist in building your character as an individual in society. We also want you to know that we have high expectations for your learning environment.

The Nature of College Life

We expect you to study hard, organize your time wisely, and actively participate in your classroom experiences. You must understand that the college experience is decidedly different from what you experienced in high school, and you will be growing intellectually and personally over the next years. Basically these are the years of maturity into adulthood and for many of you, the first time you will be on your own making critical decisions about your future. College life is absolutely wonderful; you will be experiencing new ideas, concepts, ways of viewing phenomena, learning how to analyze, and of course, finding new friends and getting involved with new and varied social situations. At the same time college life in and out of the classroom can be very difficult, frustrating, nerve-racking, and even scary. One thing is for sure: you need to resist negative peer pressure to be part of reckless behaviors. That includes the abuse of alcohol, reckless driving, and so many other behaviors that will lead to negative consequences. With independence come more choices and more critical decisions. Choose wisely.

Have a positive attitude, always ask questions, and always ask for assistance from our college faculty and staff. Basically, I am advising you to take charge of your own career at Fort Lewis. This is your life to make the best it can be!

The Nature of a Liberal Arts Education

Fort Lewis College has special characteristics making learning an exceptional process. These characteristics include:

• A true liberal arts institution,
• Being located in the unique Four Corners region,
• Small class sizes,
• Diversity of students, especially through our rich Native American tradition, and, most importantly,
• Quality of the faculty.

As already stated, you are blessed with wonderful faculty, many of whom are sitting with you today. This faculty have put into practice significant and nationally recognized approaches to learning. That is their primary assignment and dedication.

Fort Lewis College is one of only 21 public liberal arts colleges in the United States. This is a unique and prestigious grouping of colleges. What does a liberal arts education mean in the modern world? First, there is a 2,500 year tradition of liberal arts education. It began with the classical Greeks believing that an educated and free (liberal) person needed seven basic skills: logic, grammar, rhetoric, music, astronomy, geometry, and mathematics. This classic ‘seven pillars of wisdom’ changed during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods within Europe, and then again during the explosion of new social science disciplines during the 19 th century. However, a basic premise remained: an educated person needs a diverse and integrated set of understandings, and the critical analysis skills as a foundation for future life in any profession. That is what we proclaim through our general education program and throughout your years with us. We will give you the foundation to succeed in your major, problem solving abilities, writing and oral communication skills, computational skills, the ability to work in teams, and the understanding of how different phenomena need to be understood and explained through different, but related approaches.

We do it in small classes with distinguished faculty. Learning will be done in active and collaborative ways: you will normally not sit in a classroom passively and just take notes from lecture. You will be challenged and be part of active discussion and problem-solving. This will promote your learning in ways you have not encountered before. You will also receive the ability to communicate effectively through the written word and oral expression – skills that will carry you forward in any endeavor. As importantly, you will learn the ‘art and science’ of critical thought grounded in a liberal arts foundation: the core of an educated person. This education will give you the knowledge and skills to tackle so many different professions.

The Characteristics and History of Fort Lewis College

Fort Lewis College has one of the most unique histories of any college in the United States. I want to spend some time discussing it with you, because our history reflects the history of the western United States, it signifies our dedication to Native Americans as a critical aspect of our mission, and also reflects part of the history of higher education.

We take our name from the military outpost founded first in 1878 in nearby Pagosa Springs, then later moved to pre-Durango Animas City in 1879, and finally in 1880 to Hesperus, approximately 15 miles west from here on 6,318 acres. The need for a military post to protect settlers and the mining industry was short-lived, and in 1892 the military post was transformed fully into a Native American boarding school. Transference of the federal fort/boarding school land to Colorado was secured in 1910, with the change to an Indian High School and the contractual agreement finalized in 1911 to give all Native Americans an education equivalent to whites. This very famous passage from the Congressional Act is worth repeating today:

There is hereby granted to the State of Colorado… the property known as the Fort Lewis School … Provided, that said lands and buildings shall be held and maintained by the State of Colorado as an institution of learning, and that Indian pupils shall at all times be admitted to such school free of charge for tuition and on terms of equality with white pupils...

The blanket I have with me today was given to the College by our Native American students. It symbolizes this ‘sacred trust’; a trust that will never be broken. We take great pride in being a primary institution for Native American higher education. We have over 120 different tribes at Fort Lewis College; a diversity of people and spirit unparalleled in the United States.

Thus the Native American Boarding School, and then the Native American High School became the historical foundation for our commitment to offer free tuition to Native Americans throughout the nation. We then developed into a two-year college (1927-1961) serving all citizens of southwest Colorado, moving in 1956 to our current location (next year we celebrate 50 years on this terrace overlooking the city of Durango), and established as a four year college in 1962. We are now Colorado’s public liberal arts college, and proud of this heritage and our current mission.

The Four Corners Region

Many of you are from geographic regions outside of southwest Colorado. During your years here, you will learn a great deal about this unique area of the country. We are the only four-year college serving four states. Being located where we are, gives one an appreciation for the diversity of ecology and the long prehistory and history of human settlement. You will learn about the fragility of the climate relative to water resources and the peril of fire. You see around you within the beautiful Animas Valley close to two billion years of geological formations. This area is has the most dense accumulation of archaeological sites in the world, including the very famous Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon groupings. You will learn about the rise, prosperity, and ultimate dispersal of these ancient societies, their respect for the land, their architectural and technological achievements, and how the historical peopling of this region by many diverse tribes along with the frontier expansion by white settlers shaped the unique culture of this area. Our faculty, in many of our disciplines, attempts to use the Four Corners area as a living/learning laboratory. Please take advantage of these opportunities.

Conclusions

So, you should be proud that you earning your degree from Fort Lewis College. This institution stands for critical values; it has an identity transfixed by a strong sense of the liberal arts and service to the community. It means you will stand for something. This will be an essential part of your humanity for the rest of your lives.

It is our hope that the educational journey you begin next week will eventually leave you as educated citizens ready to tackle problems facing the United States, with devotion to excellence, and the skills needed for what you select as your future profession.

In conclusion, let me give you some small seeds of advice:

• Be passionate – find a discipline that interests and excites you,
• Be committed to accomplishing great things. Work hard.
• Be flexible to deal with change in your life,
• And know the community of Fort Lewis College is always here for you

Good Luck!