Campaign News

September 22, 2005

Dr. John Brazil
President’s Dinner and Capital Campaign Kickoff

Ladies and gentlemen, although I am in my real life a professor of English, I don’t know words that are adequate to express what an honor it is to have you on campus this evening, to thank you for all that you have done for this great University, and to celebrate with you this historic moment.

During this very week in 1869 a small group of faculty and students began a great adventure when in the little town of Tehuacana, Texas, Trinity University opened its doors for the first time. Eventually, in 1942, Trinity moved to San Antonio at the invitation of city leaders, and over time, has grown in strength and quality, becoming one of the crown jewels of this great city.  On Tuesday night at a campaign celebration with faculty, staff, and students, one of San Antonio’s most well respected leaders, Tom Frost, told those gathered of how proud the city is to have a University of such eminence.  He spoke eloquently and passionately about the value of having here in San Antonio an institution of national stature, and I know the many San Antonians here this evening, like Mr. Frost, have a deep appreciation for all that Trinity is and does, and an understanding of the permeating importance of the University’s partnership with San Antonio.  And I assure you that appreciation is mutual – as San Antonio is proud of Trinity, and has every reason to be, Trinity is in turn equally proud of San Antonio. 

Over its 136 year history, Trinity has been both an institution of its time and an embodiment of the timeless truths and unvarying values at the core of great universities.  There were moments when reality pressed upon the younger, struggling Trinity, rather than impel it forward, but those moments were overcome, and Trinity now has become more closely equal to its ideals.  During the University’s history, many people contributed to its development.  In fact, Trinity has been blessed over time by good fortune and great leaders, perhaps none more influential than former Trinity President Calgaard who, along with his wife, Genie, served this University with distinction from 1979-1999.  Ron and Genie are with us tonight, and I would like for them to stand so that you can join me in recognizing and thanking them for their years of extraordinary service.

Trinity now occupies an enviable position in American higher education, a position achieved through our ability to live up to the educational promise that is implicit in Trinity’s unique identity, an identity defined by our programs, our culture, our values, and our commitments.  Trinity’s identity and Trinity’s promise are not modeled on the practices or ambitions of other colleges and universities.  We aspire to the full realization of the Trinity model.  We build on our unique combination of strengths; we are dedicated to being ever better at what we do best.  And we do this because we believe what Trinity does best is the best thing Trinity can do for our students, for our community, and for our country.  When all is said and done, it is on extraordinary excellence that Trinity’s greatness depends but must never rest.

Trinity prepares students to be leaders and to be citizens of the world, a world that turns on conflict, disaster, and tragedy, as well as discovery and development. As our hearts and help have gone out to the victims of  9-11, to the victims of Katrina, and to others around the world; as we peer into the mysteries of the expanding universe, the human genome, and subatomic space; as we work to build a more perfect world, we must do a better and better job of preparing successive generations for the challenges and uncertainties that lie ahead. 

Recently I received an email from a parent of a current student who, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, wrote this:  “As I see the images and hear the sounds from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, I realize why I am sending my son to Trinity.  I pray that he will acquire the knowledge and wisdom to empower him to become the kind of leader and citizen who will enable us to avoid the human misery we are witnessing in New Orleans as well as in other places in the world.” 

I have assured this Trinity parent, as I can assure you tonight, that with your help, Trinity University will always provide the educational experience required to help our students develop the skills and the character that will be needed to face whatever tomorrow may bring, whether they are responding to crises or building for greatness.

I can make this assurance because Trinity is committed to attracting the most talented faculty – faculty who are committed to the success of our students and to Trinity’s special blend of teaching, research, and service.  I can also make it because we are committed to providing both students and faculty the best environment in which to work – an intellectual, cultural, and physical environment that encourages, in fact, demands aspirations for excellence and that promotes a preoccupation with discovery.

Trinity’s excellence is recognized by others, and it is reflected in the national rankings that Mr. Hixon mentioned a moment ago.  Perhaps most dramatically, however, it is reflected in our graduates – graduates such as:

• Daniel Lubetzsky, Class of 1990, who brings Israeli and Palestinian business owners together to produce food products, mutual understanding, and common interests through his firm “Peaceworks”;
• U.S. Senator John Cornyn, Class of 1970, who served on the Texas Supreme Court and as the state’s attorney general, whose current assignments include membership on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee;
• Allyson Rose-Wood, Class of 2003, and Kevin Vogel, Class of 2002, who are Peace Corps volunteers working in Morocco in a rural clinic treating pregnant women and immunizing children.  Allyson recently wrote that she hopes to become a donor when her stint in the Peace Corps ends, saying that right now, “I get paid just enough to live as the people in my village do.  On a given month, this means I may have enough left over to splurge on such luxury items as a coke.”
• Belle Wheelan, Class of 1972, who served as the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia and is now president of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
• Lisa Bebell, Class of 2001, who, after receiving a Fulbright scholarship, initiated a marine molecular genetic research project on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  Lisa recently wrote to say, “Trinity has really prepared me for a life in science (both research and medicine), and a life of leadership in these fields. I feel that my liberal arts education has made an impact on my ability to understand the world and to adapt to new cultures”;
• David Weekley, Class of 1970, chairman of David Weekley Homes, a nationally recognized homebuilding company that has won more than 100 awards for product design, marketing, and management and that this year will build $1 billion in new homes in 14 different cities;
• Doctor Hemant  Vankawala, Class of 1993, who is a member of the Texas Disaster Medical Assistance team and has been living and working at the New Orleans airport providing medical care to Hurricane Katrina survivors;
• Joe Armstrong, Class of 1965, whose career includes directing such successful publications as Rolling Stone, USA Today, TIME, Travel & Leisure, and Random House Books;
• Retired Maj. Gen. William K. Suter, Class of 1959, who is clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States;
• Michael Bostick, Class of 1984, who was an executive producer on the film “Apollo 13” and was a producer for the HBO award-winning mini-series “From the Earth to the Moon”;
• Andreas Lehnert, Class of 1991, who is an economist for the Federal Reserve Board; and
• Ana Unruh Cohen, Class of 1996, Trinity’s first Rhodes Scholar, who is the associate director for environmental policy at the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research and educational institute.

All of these Trinitonians are accomplished professionals and exemplary citizens. They are also only a small fraction of the thousands and thousands of informed, involved, purposeful Trinity-educated graduates who are changing the world.

The success of a university’s alumni is a measure of its greatness.  But while it is gratifying to know that by this measure and by many others, Trinity’s success and stature are extraordinary, it is imperative that we do all we can to preserve and enhance them both.  We must create the conditions that will assure Trinity’s continued ascendance.  Trinity’s reputation as one of the nation’s top undergraduate universities is well earned; but what has been earned can be lost, and what is yet to be built can become forgotten dreams.  The forces that demand we move forward or lose ground are real and pressing.  The world is changing quickly, and the challenges of educating tomorrow’s difference-makers have grown exponentially.

Trinity promises extraordinary students a superior education from engaged and gifted faculty on a campus second to none.  To deliver on that promise in the future, we must develop new funding to support our rigorous curricula and innovative academic programs; we must increase financial aid and scholarships so that a student’s ability to perform, not his or her ability to pay will determine if he or she can attend Trinity; we must broaden support for our faculty’s professional growth and research, especially research  conducted with the hands-on involvement of our students; we must hire additional faculty members, enriching the range and mix of the faculty’s academic expertise and ensuring we provide the level of personal attention students expect at Trinity;  we must secure funding for facilities maintenance and construction, for innovative plans to enrich the quality of student life, and for timely, leading edge applications of technologies that complement the individualized attention we give to students and that enhance the process of discovery. 

These imperatives are why we are announcing tonight that we are embarking on the public phase of the largest capital fund campaign in Trinity’s history.  This “Campaign for Trinity University” has a goal of $200 million and when successfully completed will provide the momentum to accelerate Trinity’s passage from national eminence to national preeminence. 

With the commitment of all those who care deeply about this great University, The Campaign for Trinity University will fulfill our greatest need – the need to ensure that Trinity is always a place to Dream, Inspire, and Achieve. 

Thank you for being with us tonight and thank you for all that you do for this great University.