Parents

Colleagues and Friends,

I love opening convocation. I love being together with all of you in this assembly as we together declare that summer is officially over, and that on this day a new season of learning begins.

Convocation is always a time of welcome. So today we gather, new and returning students, faculty and staff, members of the board of regents, delegates to our annual corporate assembly, pastors from area congregations, and great friends of PLU, and we say “welcome.” We also welcome those watching from afar via the Internet. Together all of you here, as well as our virtual audience, represent the breadth and strength of what we call the PLU community or, sometimes, the PLU family. You are a gift, and we are encouraged and enriched by your presence.

So, as we begin, I offer three challenges:

First, I challenge you to be the best student you can possibly be--better than you have ever been before. We know you have the capacity, so we are committed to challenge you fully, to expect your best game, because nothing less than excellence honors the talent and gifts you bring. In the end, nothing less will fully engage you, and nothing less will prepare you for your lifelong encounter with the complexities of our global village. As we begin this new year I urge each of you to pledge to yourself that you are going to work and study like never before, pursue the truth joyfully, and with abandon. And, as you do, know that we are prepared to walk with you, to share your every success, and to support you in times of stress. Learning is a risky business that includes both achievement and error--that is why we talk at PLU about challenge, SUPPORT, and then, success.

Second, I challenge you to accept the mantle of privilege, and the responsibility that follows. You, each of you, each of us in this room is a person of privilege. Sometimes and some days, it may not feel that way, but, trust me we are privileged, privileged by our talents and abilities, and privileged by opportunity.

Over the years, I have found myself drawn back to a powerful illustration of this idea. It goes like this:

Assume with me for just a moment that we could reduce the entire world population of over 6 billion people to just 100. One hundred persons seated right here in the center section. “What would the group look like?”  A profile of this group was developed by Dr. Philip Harter of Stanford University, and while some of his definitions have been criticized and the numbers change over the years, the point is still powerful: 57 would be Asian, 21 would be European, 14 would be American, 9 would be African. 70 would be non-christian, 30 christian. 50 would be malnourished, 70 would be illiterate, 80 would live in substandard housing. 6 would control 50 percent of the wealth, and they would be Americans. One, only one, would have a college education.
 
Yes, in this miniature global village, you would be the one--the single and only person--with a college education. Beyond that, you would be the one who controls the resources, who is fully nourished, fully literate and well housed. You are gifted, and soon to be armed with a remarkable PLU education, you are privileged in great and significant measure.

My third challenge follows, because with amazing gifts and abilities, with rare privilege and opportunity, comes the responsibility to seek out your unique calling and vocation, to live well and serve abundantly, to do your part and take on the great challenges facing our world community. As I address you this morning, I do not know how many future doctors and lawyers and political leaders and teachers and nurses and and peace builders and business executives and non-profit leaders and pastors and homemakers and diplomats are in this room. But I do know that for each and everyone of you, your date and destiny is a life of responsibility and service, to others, to your community, and to the earth. The possibilities are endless, the promise immense! So throughout your PLU days, we will ask you over and over, “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”  And we do not expect you to have an answer, but we cannot wait to work with you as you learn to live into that great life long question, and we cannot wait to watch as your greatest hopes and dreams unfold along the way.

My wish for all of you is that this will be a positive and productive academic year; my great hope is that our individual and collective educational journeys will be marked by growth and achievement; and my prayer is that God will once again call us to new ventures yet unknown and watch over us along the way.

Thank you very much!

To watch President Anderson's full speech click here.