- Wise to state and in some instances re-state the university's position and aspirations as well as my own in various fields. By the very nature of animate things all of us who are gathered today here are transients within the university. Our tenures have varied and will continue to vary. Although many of us have spent or will spend most or all of our productive and creative years here on this campus, we must still be classified accurately as temporary. Only the university itself has permanence. She will be here tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, but we will be gone. Because we are transient or temporary, it is the present or at best the immediate future that holds the greatest interest for us. The past belongs for the most part to others. Those who have gone before. The broad future belongs in quite similar a fashion to still others, those who will come after. Our greatest responsibility however, is not to focus upon the present, but to serve as the continuum or immortal thread laying plans for the future that we may never see. These plans must not be haphazard, arrived at with little or no prior thought. They must to the contrary be carefully plotted for if they are ill-conceived now, they will hamper or retard the university in the coming years. There is perhaps not one of us who does not from time to time wonder about plans laid down in the past, or question the value of decisions made some years ago. Our campus represents a composite of transitory thinking. On the whole it is pleasing, but it does have some peculiarities of design, of layout and of architecture. Our organizational pattern and our curriculum are similar representations on the whole good but not without peculiarities. If we are so cognizant of past actions it follows that those who succeed us will be questioning too about our plans and our decisions. I believe firmly therefore that all of us in daily operations must think not of ourselves and the present alone, but of others and the future, considering the long range impact of what we do. And taking the long range view may well mean that we discommode ourselves for the moment by instituting changes rather than blindly maintaining the comfortable status quo. I would speak first today about the university's position in world affairs. Certainly there is no one among us who is not preoccupied today and every day with news of international developments. Parenthetically when I wrote these words I was not at first aware that on this morning the report would be heard by all of us that Mr Hammarskjold, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is missing and presumed dead. That tensions between nations could increase to the point of belligerence at this time when the positive opportunity for peaceful productivity and interchange have never been greater, is appalling. That nuclear reactions for destruction are being tested at a time when their peaceful uses for the welfare of man have hardly been explored, is horrifying. That we who seek to enslave no one are accused of imperialism, is incredible. That our nation, which unlike any other, has opened its heart to all and has spread its largess the word around, could be accused of warmongering, is fantastic. Yet the appalling, the horrifying, the incredible and the fantastic are part of our world today. And to change the nature of the world it seems that education is the only force available. We in eduction therefore must lead. The university is proud of its record in international affairs. Having seen some of its product in the last few weeks I feel free to talk about that record this morning. On route to visit our exchange program with the University of Costa Rica this summer, Dean Wagner and I were privileged to stop over briefly in Panama where we were met not only by our group of KU students who are taking their junior year abroad in Costa Rica and who were enjoying their vacation in Panama, but also by one of our loyal alumni. It was this alumnus who on the spur of the moment arranged for a meeting attended by five others of our alumni. All citizens of Panama who had come here for their collegiate education and who were loyal and devoted Jayhawkers. One of them had driven 140 miles to be present, a tribute and a feat in itself. There was a sixth present who should be mentioned. An alumnus of Kansas State University, who came because his memories of Kansas were so fond that he wanted to renew his times. And there in Panama, we Jayhawkers and a Wildcat... Sat together in a delightful and heartwarming atmosphere. A positive example of international goodwill and one that should give all of us hope for the future. In Costa Rica we saw an inter-university program that has been eminently successful, and one of which all of us can be proud of. In two short years, 80 Kansans have participated in the program in San Jose for varying periods of time. To the end that we are looked upon affectionately there as the friendly occupation. There finally in August, a new Kansas faculty son was born, Thomas Hardman Gale. Our program, we were told and we believed, is the only one of several such ventures that has proved to be an unqualified success. It is the subject of discussion by other universities and other groups. It is, in short, a model. A substantial contribution to international education. A substantial contribution to our national interest. We cannot be satisfied with this one program, no matter how excellent it may be. Latin America is but one of the areas upon which the university several years ago decided to place emphasis in depth. Just as important to us are the East Asia and the Slavic and Soviet areas. Hopefully greater developments there will be forthcoming. And we will work towards inter-university exchanges in these areas as well. Such exchanges will bring our campus area programs to full fruition. No discussion of international programs would be complete this year without mention of our new experience of the past summer in teaching Spanish, French and German in the countries where those languages are the native tongues. All reports indicate that these three ventures, which started and ended together, on the clipper Jayhawk were all that we hoped they would be. It is apparent that if we are to fulfill our mission completely in the field of languages, these programs too will have to be enlarged, at least to the point where advanced students will be allowed to enroll. The last formal all-university program in the international field to which I would call attention, is the highly successful orientation center, which this year was in operation for the 11th time. Here students from other lands have learned in a few short weeks a great deal about our American way of life and have become loyal alumni of the university in the process. To attend the centers farewell banquet is to discover anew each year the real meaning of international amity. I have We intend to foster this sport, cricket, which to the moment has escaped the attention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. And further we intend to excel in it. By this time it no longer is any secret that we intend to play an ever more important role in international education. To do less would be folly. For this role to be a manageable one will require close coordination and clear channels of communication. For this reason and because this semester we are in the unique position of having all of our area program directors on campus simultaneously, I have appointed senior faculty members to a university committee on international educational affairs. To oversee, to coordinate and to stimulate our efforts in this area. This committee, which I intend to be a standing committee will meet for the first time on Thursday afternoon. It faces an impressive challenge but with all of the experience represented on it I know it will meet the challenge successfully.