Charter Day Remarks

Gene R. Nichol
February 11, 2006

I think it's vital and ennobling to consider our charter—our mandate—our institutional description of purpose. Especially here, this morning, in the company of a new governor, assembled in community, mindful of a storied past, optimistic for a bold future. President Blair and his royal patrons thought of our charge in understandable terms—over three centuries ago, in a new world, under trying circumstance. "Establishing a certain place of universal study for the good arts and sciences". And, unsurprisingly, carrying religious, missionary and cultural mandates long altered—as democratic obligations took firmer hold.

But what would we say, 313 years later, if called to Blair and his colleagues' task? What would we promise to one another, to the Commonwealth, to the nation, to those who will come after us, to those who have gone before? As we near the close of this marvelous celebration, I ask you to think, with me, how WE MIGHT, if given the challenge, outline our aspirations and obligations? How might we think of a chartered compact today?

1. Would we perhaps say that we commit ourselves to the probing, supple, attentive, and self-conscious explorations of liberal learning? Pressing thresholds of understanding in science, in art, in letters, in social inquiry, in professional expertise. Fostering habits of curiosity and inquisitiveness that energize the human spirit. Believing that intimate, sustained, responsive, focused instruction is the finest treasure the academy has to offer. And, that, in this instance, the university that did so much to fashion American intellectual inquiry remains obliged to carry forward its mantle more compellingly than the rest.
2. And would we perhaps say that our commitment to excellence, to discovery, to penetrating analysis will always be lodged in an indispensable context of moral learning. Believing, with Steven Carter, that integrity is the virtue "without which all other values are useless." Convinced that our mission is to prepare young women and men for lives of intense personal meaning and powerful social consequence.
3. Would we pledge, as well, our best efforts to create a lasting, enabling community of truth? Beyond faddishness, beyond category, beyond expectation, beyond ideology, beyond privilege, beyond, even, the tempting demands of the passing moment. Embracing the noisy, robust collision of competing advocacies. Fostering unfettered inquiry—the ultimate statement of human hope.
4. And would we commit that the College's invaluable lamp of learning be consciously extended to all with the wit and the will to master its callings regardless of race or wealth or pedigree or geography or station? Belatedly fulfilling Jefferson's charge that "worth and genius be sought from every condition". Assuring that the wonders and unparalleled opportunities of an ancient College are, in the words of our highest tribunal, "visibly open to us all."
5. And would we promise, in a global age, to more effectively bring the work of the College to the world, and to bring the marvels and the challenges of the world back to the College? Literally expanding horizons of understanding, of comparison, of interaction, of exchange. Recognizing that interdependence—a blessed, human interdependence—is our permanent condition. And that cultural, economic, social and political endeavor cannot be understood in academic isolation. That when we launch, we launch citizens of the world.
6. And as we pursue knowledge and discovery for its own sake, would we commit also to match the rich talents and energies of the university more profoundly to the felt needs and pressing challenges of the Commonwealth that sustains it? Employing the mind, vigorously, in service to society. Linking instruction, scholarship and engagement to lighten and enrich the lives of our fellows.
7. And would we embrace a particular obligation to produce graduates anxious to contribute to and participate in an engaged civic community? Rejecting flatly the increasingly dominant assumption that the citizen is mere spectator to the development of our common lives. Helping, thereby, to make the promises of democracy real; to shape a polity committed to the public good; and to secure the full flowering of the human soul.
8. And as we literally restructure our status with the Commonwealth, would we pledge, first, to continue this institution's unique trajectory to greatness&mdahs;rooted in traditions and attainments literally unmatched in academic life? Triggering ambitions of excellence and character that will forever mark this College as one of the nation's treasures. And as we open these new horizons, would we also embrace, and enthusiastically claim, our call to public obligation and civic contribution - as able and idealistic and committed partner with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Helping to build "a nobler and fresher civilization" in this storied land of struggle and dream.

Seeking to enable students not only to enjoy rewarding careers, but to fashion lives of character and courage. Aiming not only to explore the complexities of public policy, but to train young women and men to serve and uplift their communities of heart. Attempting not only to generate path-breaking knowledge, but to apply that knowledge to constructive and humane ends.

Recognizing that for over three centuries, the work of this College, this Commonwealth, and the larger purposes of American life have been inextricably united. And that we commit and pledge and agree and charter to fulfill this singular, sacred mission for many centuries to come.