My Adelphi

Some of you have heard me talk about Adelphi in these terms at various alumni receptions around the country.

I begin with purpose because any institution worthy of recognition has a clear mission, a defined philosophy. In our case, I have believed from the beginning that we must respect our heritage and history, vibrant as they were, as palpable as they continue to be. In fact, the soon-to-be published history of Adelphi recounts the reasons for the founding, the aspirations of the founders and the stories that followed from their enthusiasm to provide a first-rate collegiate education to those in Brooklyn and beyond.

President Robert A. Scott

In fulfilling our purpose, we are as concerned about character and citizenship as we are about careers and commerce. Yes, careers and commerce are essential so that our graduates will be employed in meaningful ways and so that they and we can add to society through the economy. But we also want to advance society by preparing people of good character who are engaged in their local and larger communities through active citizenship. We talk about Adelphi as the engaged university, bringing people to campus, including them in our cultural life and supporting the larger community through the voluntarism of students, faculty and staff.

We believe that we can make a difference by being active in our community and region even as we prepare our students to serve the nation and the world. Some of the ways in which we accomplish these goals are through the Freshman Community Action Program, the Community Fellows Program, the Adelphi Prize for Leadership, voluntarism in various communities in the United States and abroad and countless other ways.

A university is all about people, and Adelphi is no exception. I learned from our people: during my first semester as president, when I enrolled in a freshman seminar class to learn about life for new students as well as through the eyes of the new students whom I help move into residence halls each fall, and through the countless breakfasts, lunches and dinners I host in the President’s House and on campus when I ask, “What is going well?” and “What do you wish we had changed last week?” In each case, I learn.

Alumni assist us by hosting events, networking for students, helping in admissions, and becoming members of our C.O.A.C.H. (Count on Alumni for Career Help) program that introduces students to careers, mentoring and employment. Alumni are the backbone of the University, representing the past and assuring the future. One of my joys is in supporting the expansion of alumni involvement in general and the expanded involvement of alumni in particular groups, such as the Multicultural Chapter under the initiative of Grady Faulkner ’75; select fraternity events, such as the Chi Sigma Scholarship activity; advisory boards, such as the President’s Advisory Group cochaired by Steven Wolfe ’59; and the Panther Club chaired by Dennis Lind ’88 (after being brought back to life by Stephen Wirth ’70), among others.

If students are the heart of the institution who infuse life into every corner of the campus, faculty are the soul who give it character. We have hired more than two-thirds of the faculty in the last dozen years, and I have enjoyed watching them grow as teachers, scholars and members of the community.