Inauguration Prelude Students from Texas Wesleyan University's Department of Music performs at the Inauguration of President Frederick G. Slabach on January 27, 2012. The Wesleyan Chamber Singers are directed by Dr. Jerome Bierschank, Director of Choral Activities. The Wesleyan Wind Ensemble is directed by Christine Beason, Director of Instrumental Studies. Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas. Watch Now
	Greetings from the Students Bradden Van Noy, President of the Student Government Association, delivers his greetings at the Inauguration of President Frederick G. Slabach on January 27, 2012. Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas. Watch Now
	Greetings from TCC's Erma Johnson Hadley Erma Johnson Hadley, Chancellor of the Tarrant County College District, delivers her greetings at the Inauguration of President Frederick G. Slabach on January 27, 2012. Chancellor Hadley works to ensure that TCC provides an array of educational offerings designed to meet the needs of an ever-changing marketplace. Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas. Watch Now
	Greetings from Congresswoman Kay Granger Kay Granger, U.S. Congresswoman, Texas District 12, delivers her greetings at the Inauguration of President Frederick G. Slabach on January 27, 2012. Congresswoman Granger, an alumna of Texas Wesleyan University, currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations for the 112th Congress. Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas. Watch Now
	Inaugural Address by Madeleine K. Albright Madeleine K. Albright, 64th Secretary of State of the United States, delivers the keynote address at the Inauguration of President Frederick G. Slabach on January 27, 2012. Former Secretary Albright is chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and is a Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas. Watch Now
	Inauguration Remarks by Texas Wesleyan President Frederick G. Slabach Frederick G. Slabach was inaugurated at the 20th President of Texas Wesleyan University on January 27, 2012. Since his appointment in January of 2011, President Slabach has drafted a new strategic plan that ensures that the University's academic programs lead to exceptional professional and career preparation. Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university in Fort Worth, Texas. Watch Now

This week has been filled with wonderful festivities throughout the campus and throughout the town.

Earlier this week, I was treated to our music department inauguration showcase concert. The students’ performances were exceptional and refreshed my spirit as only working with students can. I was particularly moved by the Wesleyan Chamber Singers’ rendition of Eric Barnum’s Afternoon on a Hill, which sets to music Edna St. Vincent Millay’s wonderful poem of the same title:

“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.”

Dr. Jerome Bierschenk, thank you and everyone in the music department for the wonderful music today and throughout the week.

On Wednesday, we had a reception to recognize faculty scholarship, and I was thrilled and energized by the array of scholarly works performed by our great faculty. So, to our entire faculty, thank you and keep up the good work.

I also want to thank the official alumni representatives from the classes of 1940 through 2011. When you all stood earlier in the program, I was reminded of the importance of Texas Wesleyan in the lives of individuals and the heavy responsibility we all share to continue that legacy into the future.

Many have asked me about the plans for the future of Texas Wesleyan — the mission and the vision of the University.

I am of the opinion that a mission and a vision must be cultivated from a deeply held belief. Without foundational beliefs, visions of the future will wither on the vine.

I believe in the essential importance of higher education in the life of man.

I do not come to this belief in an abstract or hypothetical way, but from the realities of personal experience. My parents were raised in the Amish community and, true to that religious tradition, did not proceed beyond the eighth grade. Sometime after my parents married, they left the Amish farming community and my father took a job in a factory. He worked his way up to a management position, and he always encouraged me to get as much formal education as possible so that I would be able to get ahead in life. My parents both worked very hard and sacrificed financially so that their eight children had opportunities that had not been available to them. Because of my parents, all eight of us had the opportunity to go to college; and six of us went on to graduate school. I am very proud of my parents and grateful for all they have done for me. My mother passed away last summer just a few weeks shy of her 90th birthday. My father, 92, is here with us today. He made me promise not to ask him to stand, but I can’t help it, Daddy. Would you please stand?

So, I believe that higher education is the greatest socioeconomic elevator ever devised by man.

And I believe it is the mission of higher education to transform the world by transforming lives, one student at a time.

This mission is deeply rooted in the traditions and values of Texas Wesleyan. For generations, Texas Wesleyan has accepted the sons and daughters of farmers, ranchers and townsfolk. Many, if not most, of whom were first generation college students — students whose parents, like mine, had not had the opportunity to attend college; students of modest means who were given an opportunity to learn and grow and make a better life for themselves because of this beautiful campus and the dedication of faculty and staff. Students who were motivated and appreciative of opportunity.

This mission is also deeply rooted in the traditions and values of the Methodist Church, which founded Texas Wesleyan in 1890. Methodism was born in a university — Oxford University. And as John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and others in their circle spread Methodism beyond the walls of Oxford, one of the first acts they accomplished was the establishment of a school for the children of miners in Bristol. As Methodism came to America, its circuit riding preachers founded both churches and schools — including Texas Wesleyan and many other colleges — as a part of their efforts to make disciples for the transformation of the world. They recognized that education was a key ingredient in transforming lives.

So we are proud of our 122-year tradition. But we must also have a vision of the future.

The world has changed since 1890. And educational institutions must make sure that they continue to provide the transformational experience needed in the world today and in the future.

In 1890, access to information necessary to educate students was found exclusively in bound volumes in a brick and mortar library. Today, the collective works of generations are available in digital form from my portable hand-held device.

In 1890, business and professional relationships were conducted in-person and almost exclusively within a town or county or other small geographical boundary. The first transcontinental railroad had only been completed 10 years earlier. International communication took months and international business transactions were rare except for the largest commercial enterprises. Today, international communication is instantaneous and international business transactions common, if not essential, even for small businesses.

Higher education must keep up with these changes. But, with all the changes in the world and in society, one thing has remained the same — the need to learn to think: critical thinking and analytical reasoning. If anything, these higher order thinking skills will be even more important in the future than they were in the past.

These are the essential competencies needed for today’s students to thrive in their chosen careers. In my father’s generation, a high school diploma was thought to be necessary to get ahead in life. In my generation, a bachelor’s degree was necessary. And today, economists tell us, students will need a graduate degree to take advantage of economic opportunities presented to them. To be admitted to graduate school and to thrive there, a student must have well-developed critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills.

And there is a consensus that the best way for undergraduate students to learn to think and reason is through frequent written and oral communication assignments accompanied by significant faculty feedback. The best way to accomplish this is in small classes with faculty members who provide individualized attention to students.

Fortunately, Texas Wesleyan University remains committed to developing these skills in order to help our students gain admission to graduate school and to thrive in their chosen professions. We accomplish this by focusing on an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum through intentionally small classes with gifted faculty who are committed to student success.

Today, most students are not able to go directly from undergraduate school into graduate school. Most must work for a number of years and when they do return to graduate school, they need to remain employed full time. So it is important that Texas Wesleyan provide excellent graduate programs in formats that are accessible to working adults. We accomplish this through highly regarded graduate programs in business, education and counseling. We have the largest Graduate Program of Nurse Anesthesia in the United States and, along with SMU, we have one of only two law schools in all of North Texas.

It is no wonder that U.S. News & World Report has ranked Texas Wesleyan in the #1 tier of regional universities in the West. We welcome this distinction as a recognition of our tradition of excellence.

Our traditions also include a commitment to this neighborhood and the historic buildings on this beautiful campus. We are proud of the beauty and safety of this campus. According to published government statistics, we have one of the safest university campuses in all of North Texas.

And our vision for this historic campus and our neighborhood is clear.

Recently, the federal, state, county and city governments reached agreement on a $32 million redevelopment plan for the Rosedale corridor, with millions of dollars to be invested in the area directly adjacent to our campus. Texas Wesleyan is completing a facilities master plan that will leverage this extraordinary public investment through a public/private partnership that has the potential to revitalize this historic neighborhood.

So, this is my vision for Texas Wesleyan University:

Texas Wesleyan is the place where motivated students prepare for ethical leadership in professional careers and leadership in and service to their communities. We accomplish this by focusing on students in an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum through intentionally small classes with gifted faculty members who are committed to student success. And Texas Wesleyan is where working adults can access graduate professional programs to get ahead in their careers.

My religious tradition teaches that the purpose of life is to learn, to love, and to serve. And that is our purpose at Texas Wesleyan. We love our students; we focus all of our attention on them; and we help them learn. And that purpose — that vision — has achieved great success in the lives of individual students for 122 years. When I talk to alumni, they tell me that attending Texas Wesleyan changed their lives. They came from modest means; perhaps their parents had not had the opportunity to go to college; and but for Texas Wesleyan, they would not have had the opportunity to get the kind of individualized learning experience they needed. The caring of the faculty, staff and other students made a difference.

Our mission is to transform the world by transforming lives, one student at a time.

I hope you will join us on this mission and help make Texas Wesleyan University the best it can possibly be.

Fourteen years ago, this is the first place I traveled to after being named secretary of state.

I came here to give a speech, but my real agenda was to go shopping for what I needed most to represent the United States to the world — a Stetson hat.

Finally, I have enormous respect for Fred Slabach, whom I have known for a little more than ten years, during my tenure as president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. After 2006, when Fred became the Foundation’s CEO, I began to work with him on a regular basis — and so I can tell you now what you have already learned — that Texas Wesleyan could not have chosen a better leader.

Before Fred began running the Truman Foundation, it was in good shape in terms of energy and morale, but financially, we urgently needed some creative help.

Because of Fred’s talent and dedication, we were able to survive and to continue our program of assistance to promising scholars.

Of course, overcoming adversity has been a major theme of Fred Slabach’s life and also that of his family.

It’s a fascinating story, but also a very American one.

Fred’s parents left school after the eighth grade, which was the custom in the Amish community, where they were raised.

All their lives, they worked hard; his father in factory jobs and his mother at night as a nurse’s aide — still finding time to nurture eight children of whom Fred was the seventh.

Their dream was that the next generation would receive the advantages that they did not and, most particularly, a college education.

That dream came true.

For Fred, the dream was given a boost by a Truman scholarship; which may explain why he proved so effective in his efforts on behalf of the Foundation.

And this inauguration ceremony helps to explain why Fred is so grateful to his father, who — at the age of 92 — is here with us this morning.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have never before been to an inauguration ceremony where the president has already been in office for a year.

The advantage is that we can do more than just hope for the right kind of leadership; in this case, we already have it.

Fred Slabach has a clear vision for this university’s future based on what is best for students — including relatively small classes, a regular dialogue between undergraduates and faculty, a commitment to lifelong learning, and an emphasis on critical thinking.

This emphasis is needed because you don’t have to be an expert in foreign policy to know that our globe has suffered a great deal in the past from wishful and simplistic thinkers, not to mention those who failed to think at all.

Critical thinking is the opposite of that; it’s another name for asking hard questions, keeping an open mind, and relying on facts, instead of stereotypes or prejudice as the basis for action.

Such thinking is a key ingredient for success in almost any field, and yet we often feel surrounded by those — at home, overseas, and on our television sets — who believe that what matters most is not the logic of what is said but how loudly and often they say it.

For example, millions of people around the world are not taught to think critically, but instead simply to memorize and to repeat the elements of a particular dogma or creed.

One of the reasons that peace in the Middle East has been hard to achieve is that many children learn only a single dimension of history, and so end up having rigid views about what is fair and what is not.

The perpetrators of 9/11 were taught to believe that America was at war with their religion, and that God would reward them for committing murder.

And the citizens of North Korea have been lied to every day of their lives about the greatness of their leaders and the supposedly evil intentions of the United States.

But it is not only people abroad who would benefit from a fresh dose of critical thinking.

Here in the United States, we too can become convinced that we have somehow obtained sole possession of the truth.

When I was secretary of state, I heard many members of Congress say there was no point in foreign travel or in studying the ideas of others.

America was the biggest, the strongest, and the best, they said — so why should we care what foreigners think or do?

I have no trouble with the pride that such a statement reflects, but the reality is that our country is not an island.

Our security, prosperity, and freedom are intimately connected to the course of events overseas.

And if we want other countries to help fight the perils that endanger us, we must do our part to resolve the problems that confront them.

That’s why it is so vital that our citizens learn about international history and that we prepare ourselves to compete effectively in a global economy.

And it’s why the politicians who urge us to abdicate our responsibilities and retreat from the world are wrong.

One of the great advantages that I had as secretary of state was the perspective that came with the job.

It was my duty to defend U.S. positions, but also to listen to what people in other countries had to say.

This matters, because America will have no chance to lead in a world that we don’t understand.

And because a world in which America is unable to lead would be far more dangerous and chaotic than the one we live in today.

The United States was founded by people who were in the habit of revisiting old assumptions, of refusing to settle for the status quo, of experimenting with new ideas, and of paying heed — in the words of the Declaration of Interdependence — to the decent opinions of mankind.

Over the past two centuries, it was this same spirit of intellectual exploration that guided our nation on its rise from wilderness to greatness.

These principles of critical thinking and of realism attached to lofty goals provide the foundation for any true democracy, and for any system of quality education within a democracy.

And so we should be grateful that, under the leadership of Fred Slabach, these principles are sure to remain at the forefront of academic and community life here at Texas Wesleyan.

In closing, let me congratulate your president once again on his inauguration, and thank you all for allowing me to share with you this glorious day.