{"id":6301,"date":"2013-08-28T10:48:48","date_gmt":"2013-08-28T14:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/creative.clemson.edu\/clemsonworld\/?p=6301"},"modified":"2013-08-28T10:48:48","modified_gmt":"2013-08-28T14:48:48","slug":"the-last-lecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/the-last-lecture\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Lecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘President Barker was the keynote speaker at the Victor Hurst Academic Convocation on August 20, marking the beginning of the 121st academic year. This is an excerpt from his remarks.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This morning, I will attempt to answer the question:<\/strong>
\n\u201cIf this was your \u2018last lecture\u2019 what would you say?\u201d I\u2019ll use this time to share with you some of what I\u2019ve learned over the past 14 years about how my idea of Clemson has continued \u2014 and will continue \u2014 to evolve. Then I\u2019ll try to say something useful to those of you who will help write the next chapter in Clemson history.
\n 
\nFirst<\/strong>, I\u2019ve come to understand that Clemson must pay special attention to our relationship to both change and tradition.
\nClemson exists explicitly to be an agent of change. After all, what was Thomas Green Clemson\u2019s great cry? \u201cOur country is wretched in the extreme,\u201d he wrote. Our economy is struggling. Our people are struggling. And something needs to change. We need education and research to solve problems, to bring prosperity. Clemson must deliver this much-needed transformation.
\nSo, a commitment to bold, even radical change is a true Clemson tradition.
\nGoing forward, Clemson must take care not to embrace a false sense of tradition \u2014 the one that leads to protectionism and resistance to change masquerading as some proud commitment to the past. But Clemson must embrace its covenant with \u2014 and tradition of \u2014 change. Finding the proper balance becomes ever more important.
\nThe ability to \u201cdance with uncertainty\u201d will be a fundamental quality needed in Clemson University\u2019s next president.
\nSecond<\/strong>, I\u2019ve learned the truth of something Gen. Dwight Eisenhower once said: \u201cIn preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.\u201d
\nClemson has a well-deserved reputation for doing effective, meaningful planning. But the true value in any planning is not the document you produce at the end of the process. A plan is merely a tool to inspire good, clear thinking about the future.
\nIn the end, sound thinking yields strategic behaviors that persist long past the discard date for the plans themselves. We describe these behaviors with words like honest \u2026 brave \u2026 resourceful \u2026 nimble.
\nThe Clemson 2020 Plan must be carried forward and implemented with honesty, resourcefulness, courage and \u2026 never forget \u2026 adaptability and flexibility.
\nThird<\/strong>, I\u2019ve learned that the world truly needs its educational institutions to be incubators of creativity.
\nAll children are naturally curious and creative. Too often, our educational system is guilty of drumming the creativity out of them instead of helping them to nourish it and channel it in constructive ways. Creativity \u2014 where good ideas come from \u2014 is a special interest of mine. My soon-to-be department chair, Kate Schwennsen, has asked me to prepare a course on \u201cCreativity and Leadership,\u201d and I hope to do so.
\nThere is a proper emphasis here on equipping our students with the skills of math, science and technology. But if you ask business leaders \u2014 and I have done this \u2014 \u201cWhat do you value most in prospective employees?\u201d They will answer: \u201cPeople with skills who are also creative thinkers and problem-solvers.\u201d
\nFinally<\/strong>, I\u2019ve learned in the most personal sort of way that leadership is service. It is the opposite of self-advancement or resume building. In fact, people who claim for themselves the mantle of leader are often not the ones whom other people want to follow.
\nClearly, I felt called to this service out of my deep affection for this place \u2014 Clemson.
\nYour next president will likely be answering a different call. The love of learning \u2026 or a passion for making sure venerable 19th century institutions can remain viable and sustainable in the age of digital, mobile technology. The kind of chief executive Clemson needs tomorrow is different from the kind we needed in 1999 \u2014 after five presidents in 15 years.
\n[pullquote align=’left’]I\u2019ve always thought that leading a university is more like conducting a symphony orchestra or jazz band \u2026 one in which each individual player is a skilled, talented and creative star in his or her own right.[\/pullquote]
\nBut I know that it is you \u2014 the faculty, staff, students and alumni of Clemson\u2014 who work in harmony to turn the noise into music. And what a beautiful song it has been for us for 14 years. Today, Marcia and I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude at being given the responsibility and the opportunity to serve, with all of you, in protecting and advancing this noble idea of Clemson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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