2020年创始人日致辞

2020年1月21日

我们庆祝创始人日并聚集在一起参加毕业典礼, 由校董会指示, 在罗伯特。E. 李，他在1865年到1870年担任我们大学的校长.

在这种情况下, 我们反思那些有远见卓识的人, 领导, 勤奋造就了这所大学, 我们引以为傲，并为此投入了自己的精力.  We reflect upon the purposes and the values that abide as the common thread connecting the members of this community across decades and centuries during which so much else has changed.  我们反思我们的座右铭—— 不可避免的未来, not unmindful of the future -- which expresses our commitment to honor the past, 不是因为想要停留在时间里, but rather as a source of inspiration to direct our own efforts for the benefit of those who will follow us in the decades and centuries to come.

At the heart of Washington and Lee University lies the conviction that the future is best served by education.  From that conviction grows the communal ethos to devote ourselves to cultivating the considerable potential of our 学生, so that they in turn may contribute powerfully to making the world a better place.  The two men for whom our school is named exemplified this ethos in their own words and deeds, 就像其他成千上万的人一样，他们一直保持着这种品质, 字符, 以及这所大学270年来的成功.

The paintings behind me portray Washington and Lee as they were when they made their direct and transformative contributions to this institution.  J. Reid painted Lee in 1866, shortly after he became the president of Washington College.  Gilbert Stuart’s im年龄 of George Washington was painted near the end of his second term as the President of the United States, in 1796.  That is the very same year in which he made his generous gift to Liberty Hall Academy.

这些肖像不仅让我们想起了它们所描绘的人物, 以及他们与这所大学的紧密联系, 但也意识到我们工作的重要性, 以及我们为公众利益服务的承诺.  George Washington invested in this particular school because he believed that the success of the nation depended upon there being quality education on the frontier.  蓝岭山脉是边境, and we were the first institution of higher education to the west of those mountains.  George Washington’s investment in us was a deliberate investment in the future of the United States.  Sixty-nine years later, with the nation in tatters after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee accepted the presidency of Washington College because it offered him a chance to contribute to rebuilding the newly re-United States.  把它变小, 在通往优秀大学的道路上苦苦挣扎的大学, modern university was Lee’s primary contribution to the future of the country.

我们将继续为公众利益服务.  Our mission commits us to providing a liberal arts education that prepares our 学生 for lives of responsible 领导, 为他人服务, 在一个全球化和多元化的社会中成为公民.  时间的投资, 资源, and love that our faculty and 工作人员 make in these young people are paid forward by the positive differences that so many of our 学生 — and especially those who are here tonight as initiates of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national 领导 honor society — make on our campus and in our community.

The work we are doing with respect to our institutional history reflects this same commitment to advancing our educational mission for the sake of the greater good.  我们决心讲授和展示我们的历史, 以及它与美国历史的纠葛, 尽我们所能, 为了大家的利益&L和更广泛的公众.

这些努力的领导者是Dr. 林恩Rainville，我们机构历史的首任主任.  She is charged with developing projects — in collaboration with faculty, 工作人员, 学生, and alumni — that eng年龄 the community with the full scope of our history.  She will spearhead the development of a museum devoted to the history of Washington and Lee and its many connections to American history.  And she will pursue partnerships with other historical sites around the region that share our goal of providing public education of the highest quality and can help us realize the full potential of W&L的校园、建筑和藏品.

Dr. Rainville是在一场竞争激烈的全国搜索之后被选中的, 在此期间，她的好奇心给我们留下了深刻的印象, 致力于细致的研究, and enthusiasm for exploring the many and varied stories that comprise our history.  从7月1日开始工作, Lynn’s expertise and energy have been evident to everyone who has met with her or heard one of the dozens of presentations she has given to classroom audiences, 校友群, 以及社区组织.

Dr. Rainville是一位公共历史学家和人类学家.A. 在达特茅斯学院获得人类学和历史学硕士学位.A. 和Ph值.D. 密歇根大学的人类学和考古学博士.  她给W带来了&我有二十多年的高等教育经验, 曾在Sweet Briar任教, 弗吉尼亚大学, 达特茅斯, 以及密歇根大学.  在Sweet Briar, she also directed the Tusculum Institute for Virginia history and historic preservation and served as dean of the college. 

Dr. Rainville写了四本关于弗吉尼亚历史的书, ranging from the role of Virginians in World War I to the history of African-American cemeteries in the Commonwealth.  她最近的一本书, 甜野蔷薇的历史, is entitled “Invisible Founders:  How Two Centuries of African American 家庭 Transformed a Plantation into a College.”

Last fall when the Chronicle of Education interviewed Lynn about her appointment to our new position, they asked about the challenge of addressing what the Chronicle termed “complicated histories.她回答说, with 字符istic wisdom:  “People can always have different perspectives, but we can come to a sense of common facts that lend themselves to different interpretations, 但这是有根据的.”  Lynn brings that evidence-based approach to everything she does and we are fortunate to have her at Washington and Lee.

她今晚演讲的题目是创始人、领导者和其他有远见者的不为人知的故事&L.” Please join me in welcoming our first Director of Institutional History, Dr. 林恩Rainville.