- An honor for me to represent the people of the state of Kansas in wishing Dr. Chalmers and the University of Kansas a successful future at this important milestone in our university's history. Dr. Chalmers, I join all of our citizens in the knowledge and the aspiration that your administration will join the distinguished administrations and that you would join the outstanding chancellors that have given the University of Kansas the great heritage that we enjoy today. - Which authorizes you to administer the university in the best interests of the faculty, of the students, and of the citizens of the state of Kansas, to confer degrees, and uphold a distinguished tradition of this, the University of Kansas. Dr. Chalmers, the Board of Regents takes pride in having you in Kansas and we feel you will be one of the great leaders of this outstanding university in the near future. Thank you. - and humility, I accept this seal and the responsibility it symbolizes. I pledge whatever talents and energy I may have to advance the principles and the purposes of the University of Kansas. I ask for the hearts and the hands of all those gathered here and of all others who share my belief in higher education and my faith in this university's commitment to the betterment of all mankind. Thank you. Governor Docking, Chairman Griffith, members of the Board of Regents, fellow presidents, students and facul- Academic freedom is respect for truth above personal preference, personal comfort, or personal security. Whenever truth is not fully evident, academic freedom is tolerance and respect for the widest diversity of thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. The intolerance of disruptive members of a university community may be as threatening to academic freedom as the intolerance of those in the larger community who would use their influence to suppress the free expression of thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. The harassment by students of so-called reactionary speakers invited to the campus, differs little from the speaker bans intended to prohibit the appearance of so-called radical speakers on the campus. Both destroy with equal devastation a respect and a tolerance for the widest diversity of beliefs and opinions. Both eliminate the essential conditions for optimum learning. Both sound a death knell for academic freedom. To make the point most succinctly, a true university cannot long survive disruption from within or repression from without. We have the right, and indeed the obligation, to defend our institution against both of these destructive forces. Professionally skilled- As a requirement that the posture and the resources of the university be largely or totally committed to the most immedi- At the University of Kansas, the student has been the raison d'être of our existence for more than a century and this is a trust we must never lose. It is primarily through our students, both on and off the campus, that we meet society's needs. It is primarily to enhance the instruction of our students that we engage in extensive programs of scholarly research and creative endeavor. The principle trust- Were I to identify the single most important characteristic of the unique personality of the University of Kansas, it would not be its climate, its geography, its symbolism or tradition, the aesthetics of the campus or its physical facilities, but its people: students, faculty members and staff members, alumni, citizens, and just plain friends of the university. And were I to attempt to define the unique characteristics of KU people, it would have to include warmth, candor, and an uncountable optimism that university will always be at the forefront of higher education, no matter how serious its most immediate problems might be. The people, not the climate of Kansas, attracted us to this university. Undergraduates who continue to break their own unsurpassed records in every area from athletics to road scholarships, talented graduate and professional school students attracted from every part of the state, the region, and the world, faculty colleagues whose creative scholarship has earned virtually every known recognition for teaching, research, and creative endeavor, alumni and friends whose dedication may be measured by the millions of hours spent sharing their knowledge and achievements with each new generation of students, these are the KU people who draw us and thousands more like us to the top of of Mount Oread. Our undergraduates are among the most deserving, most talented undergraduates of any public university in this nation. Fewer than- We must strive to make this a more accessible university, one whose benefits are equally available to all members of our society. When a majority of all citizens between 18 and 21 are enrolled in colleges and universities, when a majority of all employers seeks applicants who have received an education beyond high school, higher education becomes less of a privilege and more of a right for all citizens, who by their ability and their desire, deserve the opportunities that higher education can provide. The ever-expanding availability of our programs of instruction and the products of our scholarship and creativity must be enmeshed in all of our plans and endeavors. In order to meet society's needs, the university has undertaken many new programs of advanced teaching and research without concomitant resources. As a consequence, there is a desperate lack of clerical and technical people, with the result that costly professional time and talent must be spent on tasks that do not require extensive education or experience. Explosive growth of university enrollments in recent decades has far outrun all planning efforts and estimates. By longstanding state- Shortly, I will request assistance from each of the many areas of the university in the determination of more specific goals desirable in the decade of the '70s. With as little imposition as possible, we will need to know what discrepancies exist between our current circumstances and those goals that should have been obtained before 1969. To this discrepancy, we will need to add anticipated growth, anticipated new programs of teaching and research, and the anticipated modifications in existing programs. Many component parts of such a plan are available now. What we lack is the coordinated involvement of all areas of both campuses in a comprehensive effort. When these essential inputs are made, I assure you-