Welcome Message to New Students: Unify, Not Divide
Speaking at a Graduate and Professional Convocation ceremony that was moved outdoors due to the latest COVID surge, Bill Boulding pointed to the pandemic and the inextricably intertwined polarization as he delivered a call-to-action for Duke’s new graduate and professional students on Wednesday.
“This is your time,” said Boulding, dean of the Fuqua School of Business and the J.B. Fuqua Professor. “We need you to provide the leadership that unifies rather than divides. Whether it’s a crisis of health, climate change, racial equity and justice, food security, or cybersecurity, we need you. Whether you are studying the sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, business, law, or medicine, you are being given the gift of education, which, if used wisely, can be a gift of leadership to society.”
In particular, Boulding implored students to strive to build diverse, inclusive teams at Duke and beyond instead of focusing on individual brilliance.
“Duke’s goal is not to produce the smartest person in the room,” he said. “That’s not enough, because a great team beats that great individual.” [Read the text of Boulding’s speech | Watch the convocation]
Wednesday’s convocation marked the official start of the academic year. The Graduate School is welcoming the largest cohort in its history—more than 1,050 Ph.D. and master’s students—after a dip last year due to COVID disruptions.
New Graduate School Students by the Numbers
430New Ph.D. students |
613New master's students |
50%Of the new students are women |