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| September 2006
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CAMPUS NEWS |
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Nearly 800 students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Woods-Brown Amphitheater last week to welcome the Class of 2010 and kick off the academic year. In keeping with a longstanding AU tradition, a line of bagpipers led the way for AU’s president, vice president of campus life, student government president, and Scholar-Teacher of the Year to assemble before the popular tree-canopied space. Vice President of Campus Life Gail Hanson quickly indoctrinated those new to the AU community with the concept of turning ideas into action and action into service. “During orientation, you learned that the AU journey begins with ideas. In a straightforward sense, we mean that your journey begins with an array of possibilities, born of your imagination and your ambition. But we also use the word “ideas” as an acronym for AU’s core values: I.D.E.A.S. in shorthand stands for internationalism, diversity, ethics, action, and service,” Hanson explained. Student Government President Ashley Mushnick, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, told her peers that while they know AU’s academics will bring challenges, that they’re likely to make long-lasting friendships at AU, and that getting involved in areas about which they’re passionate will steer them in the right direction, some might not realize the talent surrounding them. “AU is now considered the most politically active school in the entire country,” she added. Interim President Neil Kerwin, SPA/BA ’71, whom Mushnick introduced as “an amazing professor who can even make a class on government regulations an interesting couple of hours,” told listeners that AU’s reputation as a great national institution can cause people to forget that AU is relatively young as universities go. “That youth has provided members of the AU community with a spirit of constant discovery, a level of comfort with change, and an energy that might be difficult to muster at other places,” said Kerwin. For decades, AU has been clear about its mission, he remarked. “It’s is a blend of teaching and learning; scholarship and professional achievement; and service to our city, nation, and the world that is proven to be a binding force for our community and an avenue for accomplishment,” he added. “We cannot separate ourselves from the countless ways we have partnered with this great city of Washington D.C., and the gateways it provides us to the rest of the world to make our university that much more effective and attractive.” Although AU’s budget is ample, but medium-sized; and its endowment is growing faster than virtually any other university in America, but still not measured in the tens of billion; in one crucial respect, AU is among the wealthiest in the world. “We’re rich in people,” said Kerwin. As such, he introduced the 2006 Scholar-Teacher of the Year, Kogod School of Business Professor Edward Wasil. Wasil, who has published more than 90 articles and serves on the boards of several esteemed management and information technology journals, summarized his advice succinctly – with a few side stories for examples. First, follow your passion. Second, work ahead and work hard. Third, stay focused and be prepared. And last, and perhaps most important, “Play often, in moderation.”
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Leaders
Offer New Students Advice for Success at Opening Convocation