Speeches and statementsStandard Club AddressPresident B. Joseph White A Great Past, A Brilliant Future It is an honor and a privilege to join you today at one of Chicago 's distinguished institutions, the Standard Club. I lead another distinguished institution, the University of Illinois. U of I helps people transform their lives through education and creates a better world through research, service and economic development. The University is consequential in the life and history of the state, the nation, the world … and the Jewish communities of Chicago and Illinois. Public higher education and the success of Jews in America are historically and inextricably intertwined. More than most Americans, Jews have been sensitive to the need for fair treatment and access to educational opportunity. During the many decades that elite private universities discriminated against Jews — at Yale, for example, Jewish admissions quotas were dropped less than 40 years ago — great public universities like the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan welcomed them. For the past half-century, Jews have reciprocated, playing an unparalleled role in philanthropy directed toward public higher education. The Jewish community and the University of Illinois share key values like education, inclusiveness and opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged. In the Jewish tradition, these values are summed up as "tikun olam" — "repair the world." The Jewish community and the University of Illinois share a great past — a rich history of academic achievement, social action and a few nice surprises. That history has been vastly under-celebrated. I want to help rectify that today. There is a Jewish folktale about a man who sets off in search of a treasure. When, at last, he arrives at the secret place where it is supposed to be hidden, he discovers that the place is his own home. The treasure had been in his possession all along. The members of the Jewish community in Illinois, along with all the state's citizens, have been in possession of a great treasure for a very long time — the University of Illinois. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the first Morrill Act. It gave the states large tracts of land to be sold to fund the establishment of institutions of higher learning. Later revisions to the Act expanded on the mandate that public higher education should be available to people in all social classes. Citizens of Illinois were among the first to take advantage of the land-grant college initiative, establishing the University of Illinois in 1868. They understood that to build a great state, they needed to build a great university where people could acquire the knowledge to succeed. In the decades since then, the Jewish community at U of I has flourished and contributed in vital ways to the cultural, scientific and intellectual life of America and the world. Today, the University of Illinois is the state's most valuable asset in creating a prosperous future for the people of Illinois, the nation and the world. We educate 70,000 students a year in Urbana, Chicago and Springfield as well several thousand students on-line. Connections to the Illini community can be found just about everywhere. Our campuses have over half a million alumni, 225,000 in the Chicago area alone. For all Illini, the university's distinguished past should be a source of pride. It is filled with scientific breakthroughs, life-changing contributions to health and medical care, inspiring achievements in the arts, and great social initiatives. When you think of the Green Revolution that feeds the world, think U of I. When you look ahead and worry about energy, think U of I. The light-emitting diode invented by Professor Nick Holonyak reduces energy consumption for lighting by more than half. And our faculty are working on energy production from clean coal and renewable sources like solar, biomass, wind, even cooking oil and pig manure (yes, it's true). Reflect with pride on the 21 Nobel Prizes awarded to our faculty and alumni. I don't want you to think I'm competitive, but the equivalent number at my former institution, the University of Michigan, is seven. I've discovered a direct connection between the historic achievements of the University of Illinois and our talented Jewish faculty — current and former — and our Jewish alumni in every area of human endeavor. Five of those Nobel Prize winners, for example, are Jewish. But there's much more. Hillel, for example. The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the world's largest Jewish campus organization with affiliates at more than 500 universities around the world. You may know that it was founded at the University of Illinois in 1923. Hillel quickly established itself as a vital part of university life and by 1927, nearly all of the 650 Jews enrolled at U of I were involved. Today, 80 years later, Hillel contributes to a vibrant Jewish life for thousands of U of I students. The second director of Hillel was Dr. Abram L. Sachar. Sachar went on to become the national director of the Hillel Foundation. He moved its headquarters to Champaign-Urbana in 1933 so he could remain an active participant on the faculty and in the local and campus Jewish communities. Dr. Sachar retired and left U of I in 1947. But his rest was short-lived. Just one year later, he was pressed into service as the founding president of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. His performance there was legendary — he raised more than $200 million and put Brandeis on a path to institutional excellence. He also commissioned U of I architecture graduate Max Abramowitz — who designed the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana, the Assembly Hall where we play Illini basketball, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center — to design three buildings on the expanding Brandeis campus. In 1964, the University of Illinois recognized Abram Sachar with an honorary degree. Today, Jewish faculty and alumni — including people in this room — carry on the Jewish traditions of leading, teaching, expanding knowledge and helping others in the academy, health care, business, and the professions. Your work brings distinction to your University. Today is an opportunity for me to say, "Thank you." Now, let me turn to the future. We recently completed strategic plans for the University of Illinois and for our campuses. We face five big challenges as we strive to create a brilliant future for our institution:
As part of our commitment to excellence, the University of Illinois will continue to be a leader in making issues in Jewish life and society known to undergraduate students from any program or major. Our outstanding Program in Jewish Culture and Society in Urbana offers classes in 11 different departments and programs. The interdisciplinary nature of the program and the quality of the affiliated faculty make it possible for 400 undergraduate students each year to take a course in some aspect of Jewish culture. A course in Holocaust Studies has been taught every academic year since 1972. The key to the Program in Jewish Culture and Society is, of course, outstanding faculty: Michael Shapiro, the director, is well known for his work on Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama and, recently, his studies of adaptations of The Merchant of Venice. Gary Porton, associate director, is one of the world's leading scholars of early rabbinic literature. Harriet Murav, Slavic languages and Literatures, won a Guggenheim fellowship this year for her work Music on a Speeding Train: Soviet-Yiddish and Russian-Jewish Literature of the 20th Century. Matti Bunzl, Anthropology, is chair of the Council for the Anthropology of Jews and Judaism. Wayne Pitard, Anthropology, teaches Bible and ancient Israel. Michael Rothberg, English, is the author of Traumatic Realism: The Demands of Holocaust Representat ion and co-editor, with Neil Levi, of The Holocaust: Theoretical Readings. Mara Wade, Germanic Languages and Literature, focuses on early modern German literature and culture. David Goodman, Asian Studies, is well known for his work on Jews in Japan and Asia. U of I's outreach on issues important to the Jewish community extends beyond our campuses. For example, Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Humanities and UIC's Jewish Studies Program recently established a program for Jewish-Muslim Dialogue. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, the chair of Islamic Studies at American University, spoke recently on Jewish-Muslim relations. I want to end today with a theme. It is, "Closing the circle of opportunity." The theme is inspired by a message we received recently from Dr. Milford Wyman, U of I College of Medicine, Class of 1953. Let me read you an excerpt Dr. Wyman wrote:
Dr. Wyman went on after graduation to be a successful cardiologist in Southern California. He and his wife, Rae, have been very generous to UIC. He is happy to share his story, and he says he tells every Jewish, U of I educated doctor he meets, "You know very well you wouldn't be a doctor if the U of I hadn't been willing to take all of us Jewish students. It's time to give back." Dr. Wyman is maintaining a great Jewish tradition in public higher education: closing the circle of opportunity. In closing, let me add a very personal note. I was dean of the University of Michigan Business School for a decade. It was extraordinarily gratifying to meet and develop friendships with great people from the Detroit Jewish community like Bill Davidson, David Hermelin, Gene Applebaum, the Frankel family and many more. The very month I was appointed 16 th president of the University of Illinois, an ugly, juvenile, anti-Semitic cartoon appeared in the Daily Illini. I was shocked. And, frankly, I wondered, "What kind of place am I going to?" Now I know. That cartoon was a rare and regrettable aberration. The true history of Jews and the University of Illinois is overwhelmingly one of respect, distinction, leadership and a warm, mutual embrace. "May it last forever. May it go from strength to strength." Thank you. ### |
