加州理工院长98任职演说.docx

加州理工院长98任职演说
加州理工院长98任职演说
inauguraladdre
dr.davidbaltimore
march9，1998
representativesofacademia，electedofficials，chairmanmooreand
othermembersoftheboardoftrustees，formerpresidentsof
caltech，alumni，aociates，membersofthefaculty，students，
staff--includingallofthejetpropulsionlaboratorypersoel
attendingelectronically--formertraineesfrommyover30yearsin
research，friendsandmembersofthisgreatcommunity，ithankyou
allsomuchforbeingheretoday.
universitiesareenduringititutio.theygotogreateffortsto
markthetraitiooftheirleadershipwiththehonoredand
historicritualofaninauguration.butthetruthisthatthey
changeslowly，andnewchiefadministratorsdonotalterthat
measuredpace.thus，thisoverwhelmingevent，markingsuchadeep
changeinmylife，marksbutaslightdeflectionintheestablished
trajectoryofthisgreatititution.mydeepestgoalaspresident
istomaintaintheeenceofcaltechwhilehelpingitadapttoa
changingworld.
iwanttobeginthisaddrebythankingallofthemembersofthe
caltechcommunityforthewarmwelcomethataliceandihave
received.youhavehelpedapairofinveterateeasternersbecome
membersoftwouniquesocieties，thesocietyofcaltechandthe
societyofpasadena.thesearehistoriccommunitieswithdeepand
wonderfulvalues，andwearesogladtohavejoinedthem.
asanoutsiderhere，i’veentthelastfivemonthslearningas
muchasicanaboutcaltech.iwantedtocomprehendtheititution
wellenoughtobeabletohelpitsolvetheinevitableproblems
thatiknowwillarise.butmoreimportantly，iwantedtodevelopa
perectiveoncaltechthatwouldallowmetochoosethekey
elementsonwhichtoworkwiththefaculty--toestablish
priorities.
whatifoundisamostremarkableititution.thedepthof
scholarship，therigoroftraining，thecommitmenttothehighest
idealsofpersonalbehaviormakecaltechaveryecialplace.it
managestocoveranextraordinaryrangeofscientificandtechnical
areaswithaminimalfaculty.ithasprovidedsomanynew
excitementsforonetrainedinbiologythatithasbeenacontinual
feastforme，andiknowthat加州理工院长98任职演说第2页
therearemanymorefinemeals
awaitingme.itisanititutionthatseeminglylacksacrisis，
allowingmetheluxuryofalongperiodofcontemplation.forthis
reite，iowemuchtotheseitivestewardshipofmypredeceor
tomeverhart.istandinaweofcaltech’spantheonwhobuiltthis
rareititution：everhart，goldberger，brown，dubridge，millikan，
noyes，andhale.whatanacttohavetofollow.
asihavegatheredknowledgeaboutcaltech，questiohaveoccurred
tomewhoseawerscanprovideperectiveforsettingpriorities.
thatisthepositioni’minnow--manyquestio，fewawers.thus，
ithoughtiwouldframethisaddrearoundthequestio.itisan
openinvitationtothemanycotituenciesonthecampusto
participateinadialogue--theboardoftrustees，faculty，
administrators，students，staff，alumni，andthevariousfriendsof
caltechwhoprovidesuort.thus，iwillinthistalkposea
numberofquestio，explainwhyiraisethem，anddrawoutsomeof
theirimplicatio.
thefirstofmyquestioiswhethercaltechistrulyimmunefrom
thewindsblowingthroughamericanacademiclife.iraisethis
becausethelastdecadehasbeenastormyoneforacademia，with
manyquestioningtheverybasisofscholarshipinboththe
humanitiesandthesciences.thequestionmightbewhetherby
focusingonscienceandtechnology，caltechhewstoeternaltruths，
orwhethertheself-criticismthattheintellectualworldhas
embracedinthelastdecadeshasilledoverintoourbastionof
rationality.theawerisuectmostwouldgivehereisthat
whiletheculturewarsandthesciencewarshavebeenfuriously
engagedonthestreetsofberkeley，newhaven，cambridge，and
paris，inpasadenatheprogreofsciencecontinuesquietlyand
unabated.notthatwedon’treflectonouractivitiesorevenhave
ourparticipantsinthewarwehaveallofthat.it’sjustthat
wehaveaolutesinwhichwebelieve.wehaveaolutezeroonthe
temperaturescale，weknowthatnothingexceedstheeedoflight.
itisinterestingtocontemplatewhatwouldhaenifour
astronomersmeasuredaredshiftindicatingthatagalaxywas
recedingfromusfasterthantheeedoflight.orifwesomehow
recordedatemperatureofaolutezero，ormadeaperpetualmotion
machine.inthesesituatio，theexperimentwouldreceivethe
deepestscrutinyandonlyintheunlikelycasethatitsurvived
wouldtheorycomeintoquestion.remembercoldfusion.butweare
willingtoquestionouraolutes.ouraolutesarenotso
aolute--theyawaitanexperimentthatcontradictsthem.theyare
tentativeaolutes，andwearecomfortablewiththem，needingno
dailyreminderofthethreatthateachexperimentposestoour
comfort.thatisthecultureofscience，anditisaecial
culturethatwelivewith，weteach，andwebelieveinalmostasa
religion.itisaculturethatisincompreheibletothosewho
havenotmanipulatedtheconceptsofscience.itiulatesusfrom
manyoftheself-doubtsofthelargerintellectualworldandallows
ustomoveforward.
however，weshouldnotbetoocomplacent.majorchangesare
coursingthroughacademia.theyarenottheintellectualchallenges
fromwhichourcultureimmunizesutheyaretechnologic
developmentsandanincreasinglymarket-drivenaroachto
education.wearealreadyreondingtothesenewpreures，
incorporatingtechnologyandlookingcarefullyatourcostsand
price.weareinafavorablepositioneconomicallybecauseofour
relativelylowdependenceontuition.infact，wearealreadyrated
thebestbuyineducation.furthermore，wehaveaecialproduct，
andrightnowtheworldwantstobuyit--alicatioareupsome
20againthisyear.theworldrealizeshowwellweprepareyoung
peopletobescientistsandengineers--thehonorcodeandthesmall
numberofstudentsmakeslearningasharedexperienceofgreat
inteity，whileourlaboratoriesprovidethehands-onexperience
thatistheeenceofscience.however，wecaotbecomplacent;
weneedtorethinkourvaluesandourvaluecontinuallyinthe
contextofotheroortunitiesavailabletostudentsandother
modesofeducation.
letmeturnfromanatractquestiontoaconcreteone."is
caltechmakingasufficientcontributiontotheeconomiclifeof
americaandeeciallyofpasadena。"yearsago，caltechwasthe
scientificandtechnologicenginethatdrovethedevelopmentofthe
aeronauticsindustryinsoutherncalifornia.thereismuchnew
energyincaltechthatcouldrepeatthissucce.theoortunity
levelisparticularlyhighatjpl，whereneceitybreedsinvention
onamonumentalscale.wehavebeguntoreleaseourenergyof
iovationtobenefitthelocalcommunityandthecountry，but
thereismuchmorewecoulddo.whathaenedinaeronauticscould
haenagaininchemistry，biology，computersoftware，electronics，
andotherfields，ifweprovidetherightcatalysis.whyhave
stanfordandmitandevenucsdbecomeenginesofeconomicgrowth
andcaltech，surelyasfecund，livesinacitywithminimal
high-techinfluence。thepoliticsofpasadenaarecertainlyan
iue，butcouldn’tcaltechhavemoreimpactifitcommitteditself
tothisgoal。
anotherofmyquestioisoneihaveraisedpubliclyalready，"are
weactivelyenoughengagedinpromotingdiversityonthecampus。"i
phrasethisasaquestion，butihavemadeitplainthati
personallybelievethatacampusthatbettermirrorsthedemography
ofamericaisdesirable.
increaseddiversityhasthreebenefits.first，itbringsthe
particularvaluesofacaltecheducationtoapartoftheamerican
publicthattoorarelyhassuchanadvantage.second，itaures
thatotherstudentsatcaltechdevelopanareciationofthe
varietyofculturesthatmakeupamerica，betterpreparingthemfor
anactiveroleinamericanlife.third，througheducatingawider
mixofstudents，wecontributetothestabilityandeffectivene
ofourdemocraticsociety.iwouldremindyouthatafrican
america，latinos，andamericanindiaaccountforonethirdof
thechildrenborninamericatoday.meanwhile，thereisanongoing
backlashagaitaffirmativeactionthatisreadingthroughthe
nation.minoritygraduatesinengineeringhaveincreasedfromafew
hundredperyearintheearly’70sto6，000peryeartoday.that’s
agreatachievement，butitisstillfarfromparity，and
improvementwillrequirecontinuedefforts.
anotheraectofthequestionofdiversityistheslowincreasein
thefractionofwomenatcaltech.whatdoweneedtodoto
acceleratethattrend。themandateisthere：inthestudentlife
survey，bothmenandwomenatcaltechwantedahigherfractionof
womenstudentsoncampus.
caltechhasforyearsrecognizedtheneedtofocusoniuesof
diversityandhasmadegreatstrides.however，itisanunfinished
agenda，andadifficultone--onlythoughtfulanalysisandcommitted
effortonthepartoftheentirecampuswillmakeithaen.
caltech’ssmallstudentbodymeathattuitionisasmallpartof
ourtotalincome.furthermore，wealreadygivefinancialaidto
some70percentofourstudents.therefore，weareina
particularlygoodpositiontouseourfinancialresourcestoshape
ourstudentbody.also，weneedtorememberthatfinancialmatters
areonlyapartoftheeduation：wealsomustaskourselveswhether
thecampusiswelcoming，stimulatingandsuortivetoadiverse
studentbody.
inpaingireferredtocaltechasasmallschool，andthatis
certainlytheself-imageofthiscampus.however，interesting
thingsemergewhenyouask，"inwhatseeiscaltechasmall
school。"
therearemanymantrasecifictothiscampusbutnoneisas
pervasiveasthestatement，"caltechisasmallschoolandwantsto
staysmall."fromthatshorttheoremmanycorollariesaredrawn.it
canbecomeanargumentfornottakingnewdirectio，fornot
hiringmorefaculty，fornotaddingtothestudentbody，forliving
withale-than-criticalmaoftalentinmanyareasofscience
andengineering.allofthistomaintainthewonderfulandvery
realvaluesofsmallne--collegiality，encouragementof
interdisciplinaryefforts，focusofactivities，erit.however，in
reality，caltechisactuallysmallonlyinitsnumbersofstudents
andfaculty.ifyoucomparecaltechtootherresearch-inteive
schools，ithasthehighestratioofacetofacultyorfederal
suorttofacultyorprobablyanyothermeasureoftheamountof
sciencedoneperfacultymember.becauseofthehugeoff-campus
facilitiesrunbycaltech，theenormousplantonthecampus，the
manytalentedmembersofthestaffwhoarewhollyinvolvedin
research，andthepostdoctoralfellows，caltechisalotbigger
thanitmightseem.anditisgrowing.undertomeverhart，there
wereeightbuildingsputupthatincreasedthesquarefootageon
campusby20percent，whilethebudgetincreasedbyareal32
percent.duringthesametime，thefacultyincreasedby6percent，
butactuallyitwasstillatalowerlevelthanatanearlierpeak.
anotheraectofcaltech’ssizeisjpl.ithasabudgetalmost
fourtimesthatofcaltechandisgrowing.
caltechisnotreallysmall，itisjustbalanceddifferentlyfrom
otherschools.wekeepourfacultyandundergraduatestudentbody
smallandreapthatharvest.butmeanwhileweallowtheratioof
ouractivitiestoourfacultytogrowcontinually.ithinkweneed
toquestionourselvesabouttheimplicatioofthisgrowth.arewe
maintainingsufficientcontroloverourgrowth。isitaffectingthe
lifeofthecampus。howcanwesafeguardthevaluesofsmallne。
letmeturntothedirectionofthestudents.hereihavewondered，
"doescaltechsufficientlydevelopthoseaectsofthelivesof
its20-year-oldundergraduatesthatwillallowthemtobecome
thoughtful，balanced，productivemembersofsociety。"itisa
questionthatiaskasivisitthehousesandmeetwithstudent
leaders.itisaquestionthatihearfromalumni，manyofwhom
seemtofeelthattheyenduredtheirundergraduatedaysratherthan
enjoyingthem.itisadeepquestionaboutvaluesystems.each
caltechprofeorfeelsthathisorherareaofteachingis
criticallyimportanttothedevelopmentofstudentsandthat
leavingoutanyofthegloryofthefieldisacrime.forthe
studentsitbecomesalifeoftryingtokeepupacademicallywith
littletimeforpersonaldevelopment.weencourageorts，andhave
greatfacilities.butwedolethanotherschools，evensmall
ones，toencouragethecreativeartsasextracurricularactivities.
thecaltecheducationconcentratesontheproductsofrational
thought.weskimpontheotheraectsofsociety，oneslikeart
andliteraturewheretheemotionalandpersonalcontentishigher.
wemightseemtooverlookthoseelements，butthat’snotreallythe
meagewearesending，becausethat’snotthefacultyihavecome
toknow.wearecollectorsofart，devoteesofmusic，readersof
literature.manyofuscoultoutsidecaltechandunderstandthe
multiplestraithatcontributetomodernlife.maybewecoulddo
moretobringthatunderstandingtoourstudents.itisnotan
iueofteachingmoreartorliterature.myexperiencehasbeen
thatyoudonotlearnabouttheroleofartorliteraturein
claesbecausetheclaroomisintriicallyananalytic
framework--youlearnhowtolookatart，howtolistentomusic，
howtounderstandthestructureandhistoryofliterature.butthe
realreasonforthearts，asareflectionofthecomplexityoflife
withitsintricatemixtureofrationality，paion，andhistory，is
nottaughtbutratherlearnedbyexperienceintheworld--often
throughinteeinteractiowithothers.mightthecaltech
undergraduateexperience，aswonderfulasitis，improvewithmore
timeandoortunityforthestudentstogrowashumanbeings。i
needtohearmorefromthevariouscotituenciesonthecampus
aboutthisiue.thealumnicanbeparticularlyhelpfulhere.
turningtotheresearchsideofcaltech，ihaveasked，"howcanwe
justifyouractivitiesinaworldthatisbecomingincreasingly
materialistic。"caltechisagreatundergraduatecollegeanda
superbgraduateschool，butthelargestpartofitsactivitiesis
focusedonresearch.andeventhoughwehaveanengineeringand
aliedsciencedivision，mostoftheresearchisatthemostbasic
endoftheectrum.ourbigitruments，likepalomar，keckand
ligo，areallattemptstoawerverybasicquestio，liketheage
oftheuniverseoritsverynature.jplismorepractically
orientedtowardsthemechanicsofexploringace，butits
justificationisacescience，aweringquestiolikewhether
lifeeverevolvedindependentlyofthatonearth.afewyearsago，
purescienceseemedunderverystrongattack，andthecancellation
ofthesuperconductingsupercolliderseemedtheproofthatamerica
wasnolongerwillingtosuortbasicscience.remarkably，the
toneofwashingtonhaschangedrecently，andcongremenarevying
forwhocanpromisemoretothenationalsciencefoundation，the
nationalititutesofhealth，andotheragencies.althoughthe
overallnasabudgetisbeingreduced，acescienceremaistrong.
americahascertainlybecomemorematerialistic：morestudentsare
goingintobusine，admiiontolawschoolsisverycompetitive，
andscienceandevenengineeringarenotdrawinginterestamong
youngamericathewaytheydidinthedecadesfollowingworldwar
ii.however，aswebecomearicherandmorepowerfulnation，the
importanceofscienceasthedriverofcommerceandthegenerator
ofgoodhealthhasbecomeincreasinglyevident，andthusscienceis
receivingurecedentedsuort.
whiletakingadv