I have said it before. I am honored to stand here today. Indeed, more than honored, I am humbled. I eagerly, but solemnly, embrace. This day, this inauguration, truly is an event unsurpassed in my academic life, the most significant since I arrived on the Morehouse campus as a freshman almost 42 years ago.
Today also marks an historic occasion for the institution and provides a forum unlike any other.
As educators, we are acutely aware that our enterprise is often at the center of the debate, buffeted by controversy over issues ranging from the courses we teach, to radical reductions in student financial aid funding. There is no dearth of challenging issues on our horizon. Well, these are interesting times. Today, the candle still burns brightly for Morehouse and for colleges and universities nationwide as we consider the mission of higher education in the 21st century and the challenges on our horizon. It is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.