To the Class of 2016:
As you prepare to join the St. Lawrence community, I want to talk about “social networking.”
We learn best face-to-face. Our community is built on this close-up and intense premise. While we use the most powerful technologies available, we remind you that our daily work must always be personal. At St. Lawrence, your face matters, not your Facebook page. We expect you to turn from Facebook connections and relationships to face-time conversations.
When you arrive, you’ll notice portraits all over campus; they are the faces
of Laurentians who were once students and teachers here. Study their faces.
They made your planned education possible. As you get to know Gunnison Memorial
Chapel, you will see in the stained glass windows an array of faces, some
easily recognizable such as Gandhi and Lincoln. Most of them you will never
have seen before, but they are the faces of people, many with familiar names,
who were curious to learn, inspired to dream, and translated their principles
into ambition for making a difference.
The faces in the windows remind us that we belong to a community of experience
that stands for the larger hope of humanity. Some day, I believe, the faces in
the Class of 2016 shall be like those placed around campus as portraits in
glass or on canvas. I encourage you to see yourself in those best ideals of
human life.
St. Lawrence University inspires and prepares students to be reflective thinkers and lifelong learners, to find a compass for their lives and careers, and to make a difference in whatever paths they choose in life. We cultivate a lifelong experience of thoughtfulness. This is the St. Lawrence promise. This is a face-to-face kind of education. Welcome!
William L. Fox '75
President of the University
