Friday, January 6, 2017

Opening convocation

6 January 2017: "Remember why we needed to develop those big brains. It's hard!" --my friend and colleague, Dr. Anne Murtaugh, from Psychology, delivering the keynote speech at our opening convocation today.

Anne was reminding the audience (new Shepherd students and lots of faculty/staff) that working together to make a better world is not easy, but it's work that's worth doing. She explained that scientists think humans developed such large brains in part to help us work better with each other--to be better at working with people who don't know and with whom we don't always agree. She also reminded us that "Diversity is a gift to us." Amen. It was a heck of a speech--timely, uplifting, challenging, and reassuring--and a great way to kick off the semester.

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