REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT STANFORD DINNER ON MONDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER, 1999
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT STANFORD DINNER ON MONDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER, 1999
A Phropast Mac Aonghusa (Hennessy) agus a chairde,
Is mór an chúis áthais dom bheith anseo libh tráthnóna. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Phropast úr, John Hennessy, as fáilte agus féile a chur romhamsa agus roimh an toscaireacht atá anseo in éineacht liom. Guím gach rath air ina phost úr.
Provost Hennessy,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be with you here this evening. I want to thank your new Provost John Hennessy for the kind welcome and hospitality that has been extended to me and my delegation. May I also wish him every success in his new appointment.
I also want to thank David Holloway, the Director of the Institute for International Studies, and Robert Joss, the Dean of the Business School for the invitation to speak this afternoon. Stanford is one of the world’s great universities and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to address these two esteemed fora.
The vision of Leland and Jane Stanford, to found a new
University with the purpose of “practical education”,which in the words of Stanford’s first President, Dr.Jordan would be “hallowed by no traditions.. and ...hampered by none”, was truly radical and innovative. After being in existence now for over a hundred years, during which time that vision became a reality, Stanford is now, unavoidably but proudly,
hallowed by traditions - hallowed not hampered - traditions of excellence, of innovation, of ongoing creative engagement and exchange with the worlds of business, politics and culture, not just in its own backyard, but internationally. This is a place where tradition is an energiser, a pulse which encourages the best to keep doing better – a place which shows us that tradition need not be a braking mechanism but an impulse towards openness and an ever freshening perspective on the world.
I am proud to see that Ireland is so well represented on the faculty - in addition to our claims on Provost John Hennessy and the Dean of the Law School Kathleen Sullivan, whose achievements and success must owe something to their Irish ancestry - you have here one of our contemporary cohort of fine poets Eavan Boland as the Lane Professor of Humanities, and of course David Holloway is Dublin-born as well.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The influence of Stanford’s ethos on modern Ireland despite the geographical distance is not difficult to find. The amazing transformation that is underway in Ireland, economically, politically and culturally, owes a great deal to the central importance the Irish have always attached to education. Since the 1960s Ireland’s system of education has become increasingly based on the renowned Stanford model of practical education which acknowledges the importance of technology and innovation, of engagement with business and industry, but not at the expense of the humanities. We share a pride in the young man and woman whose technical and technological skill is matched by a facility inside the world of metaphysics.
Indeed, what has brought so much high technology investment to Ireland, and contributed to our emergence as the “Silicon Isle” of Europe, is our young well-educated and adaptable workforce - young people equipped with the necessary skills and information, and with the creativity and imagination to use them well.
Just as Stanford University is seen as one of the key ingredients that led to the emergence on its doorstep of Silicon Valley, so too Ireland’s schools and third level institutions have provided the educational showcase which is one of the cornerstones of our recent economic and cultural achievements.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me conclude with the words of Jane Stanford, which serve not only as a motto for Stanford, but also for the new vibrant and confident Ireland. Her remarks have a particular relevance to our ongoing peace process;
“Let us not be afraid to outgrow old thoughts and ways
and dare to think on new lines
as to the future work under our care ”.
New ways have brought both Ireland and California a long way on an exciting journey. One glance at our globe should be enough to convince us of the alarming damage caused to human development, human decency by stubborn adherence to old ways for no reason other than that they are old ways. The past has much to teach us, yes but we are creating our own past, crafted well out of a future we are not afraid of, not afraid to put our own stamp on. Our thanks to you, to this great University for the signposts you have erected and continue to erect on that road to the future.
Tá na focail seo de chuid Jane Stanford lán de chrógacht agus de dhóchas agus de ghaois. Tógaimis isteach inár gcroí iad agus déanaimis machnamh orthu. Ní lia duine ná tuairim - bímis i gcónai sásta éisteacht leo.
Thank you.