New Beginnings From Remarks Delivered By Pamela Wheelock at the Inauguration Dinner Hosted by the St. Catherine President's Forum
This is an important week in the history of St. Catherine’s. It is our interest in this institution and our desire to help celebrate its milestones that bring us together here tonight. I must add that I’m particularly pleased that this event is taking place in downtown St. Paul. I look at tangible signs of rebirth around us: this convention center, the adjoining arena which is the future home of the returning NHL, the new riverfront Science Museum of Minnesota across the street, the Lawson Office Building across Rice Park, the new Minnesota Mutual a stone’s throw farther. Having worked on all these projects during my years with the City, I know the sense of excitement and optimism that change can generate. I know that change both results from, and creates, opportunity--and it is in successfully managing change and opportunity that I think Sister Andrea can make her mark.
For change is the only thing that is predictable in our lives--and St. Kate’s is changing. St, Kate’s has always been changing, always been evolving. It is no more the same institution that I graduated from almost two decades ago than it was even a decade earlier than my first day on the campus. Gone were the curfews and the white gloves at dinner--things that St. Kate’s students even a short time before that had taken for granted.
Yet my freshman year was also the first year that St. Thomas accepted female students--forever changing the "brother/sister" relationship between the two schools, perhaps not in a way that is obviously better or worse, but certainly different.
St. Catherine’s continues to change, to evolve, as any strong institution must. The relationship with St. Mary’s, the development of new graduate programs, the growing population of "non-traditional" students are all signs that St. Kates will continue to adapt in the next century as it has done throughout this one.
Yet how do you respond to a worlds changing around you without losing sight of what it is that makes you unique, makes you worth keeping and protecting in that ever-changing world. That, I believe, is the essential challenge facing any leader--regardless of whether the leaders is one of commerce, politics, or academia.
I see the parallels in this leadership challenge as I watch what was very recently candidate Ventura assume the responsibilities of Governor Ventura, and I offer this advice to our incoming president at St. Catherine’s.
* Place a high priority on developing your own support system and team. The best tools one has to deal with change are a strong senses of self-worth and humor. Protect these by ensuring part of your day will be spent with those who replenish your spirit.
* Don’t be afraid to challenge the "experts"--oftentimes they are too close to an issue and can’t see the forest for the trees--one of your best assets is your fresh perspective.
* Resist the urging of others to be reactionary--take the time to determine what your focus will be, what will mark your administration. Temper your responses, trust your instinct when you feel you need more time or information--even if that’s not comfortable with those yearning for decisions.
* Protect jealously your perspective--don’t let your self-worth get so close to your job or your position on an issue that when you lose one you lose the other.
Finally, remember why you’re here. You’re here to help change the lives of those that come in contact with your school. Your measure in decision-making will be to determine whether an action makes it more or less likely to turn our students who meet our expectations of St. Catherine’s graduates. And while there is no consistent definition of those attributes, I’ll offer at least a partial list of the attributes of a St. Kate’s grad:
* Measures success not by how much money she makes or what car she drives, but by what contributions she makes in the lives of others.
* Does not let society paralyze her with a sense of limits. Has the courage or self-confidence to take a risk, to stretch, to accept challenges without the conviction that she can succeed--because some of our greatest successes are born from our failures.
* Takes the time each and every day for a moment of beauty --to appreciate the gifts God has given us whether it’s found in the face of a sleeping child, the setting sun over a tranquil lake, or a hauntingly beautiful piece of music.
* Understands that unity is not the same as uniformity. Eliminating conflict can never be bought at a cost of eliminating diversity. Our communities, our workplaces, our homes are increasingly diverse, and that presents unlimited opportunities for richness for those that don’t fear the unfamiliar.
* Appreciates her uniqueness and understands that every person has her or his own set of skills, personality and experience and that makes each and every one of us special and equipped for different adventures.
* Is honest and fair to those she encounters-- regardless of whether it is a deeply loved family or a stranger on the street.
* Takes with her a lifelong curiosity--to explore, to see and do more, to expand her knowledge and skills throughout her lifetime--knowing that learning isn’t something left behind at the gates of St. Kate’s but is instead one of our best lifelong companions.
This, then, Sister Andrea is your challenge--for I’ve heard is said that the best leaders are like gardeners, responsible not only their own success, but for cultivating the success of the next generation. If you can keep this at the forefront of your efforts, if St. Kate’s graduates are the epitomy of success for the next generation, then you will indeed have accomplished great things. A toast, then Sister Andrea, to your green thumb!