Installation AddressIndira V. Samarasekera, OC, University of Alberta

Installation Address
Indira V. Samarasekera, OC

University of Alberta, September 25, 2005

“This country fascinates me. There is wine in the air, a feeling of excitement,
of expectancy. It is difficult to explain. Perhaps it is just that everything is
new, the people young and the conviction grows that great things are bound
to happen in this rich new country.”

These are not my words but those of Henry Marshall Tory, the first President of the
University of Alberta. His sentiments about Alberta are as true today as they were a century ago.
In 1908, when Tory took office, this province was only three years old and the gateway to the
Yukon for thousands of Klondike gold seekers. Higher education might have seemed unnecessary
at the time. However, Premier Ale xander Rutherford’s foresight gave birth to the University of
Alberta. Even in 1908 both Rutherford and Tory were dreaming of a great university.

Eminent Chancellor Newell, Lieutenant Governor Kwong, Chairman Edwards,
distinguished Honorary Doctorate recipients, academic colleagues, staff, students and friends, I
thank you all for honouring me with your presence.

I accept this life-changing privilege of becoming the twelfth President of this wonderful
institution with a deep sense of responsibility. No event can surpass this day. No distinction will
come close. No calling more exhilarating.

The many challenges of this position have attracted a series of non-scholarly aphorisms.
Some say the President’s job is to raise money so the Provost and the Deans can spend it. Most
would agree that it is like being a proprietor of a cemetery: you have ever so many people under
you, but nobody is listening!

I did not imagine, growing up in Jaffna, a city at the northern tip of Sri Lanka, where
water was scarce and the climate scorching, that life’s journey would take me to Edmonton and
Northern Alberta. No two places could be more different, and yet the people of these regions
share common values rooted in climate, tradition, and aspirations. Extreme weather, hot or cold,
can be a breeding ground for spirited entrepreneurship, rugged determination, and uncommon
daring.

Another common thread is the value placed on education. Jaffna was a city of superb
schools , a city that valued ceremony and celebration, temples and festivals, a city since robbed of
joy by war. I especially remember the Nallur festival, a kind of Hindu Mardi Gras, with its fire
walkers and street vendors, a veritable kaleidoscope of experiences, and fuel for the spirit.
Edmonton, the Festival City, with its rich mixture of musical and artistic events, invokes these
childhood memories. Edmonton too, is a city of the spirit.

I spent my teenage years in the south, in the capital city of Colombo, a lush tropical
paradise, surrounded by my grandmother’s extended family. Myth, magic, and mystery built a
web of community, one I deeply treasured. Running in the Family, Michael Ondaatje ’s novel
about his ancestral home, describes the magnificent juxtaposition of modern and ancient cultures
in Sri Lanka. For Ondaatje, Sri Lanka is “[t]he island which seduced all of Europe - the
Portuguese, the Dutch and the English. And so its name changed – Serendip, Taprobane,
Ceylon.... This pendant became a mirror. It pretended to reflect each European power.”

Life in the early twentieth century in Sri Lanka, the island named Serendip, from which
the word serendipity was coined, foreshadowed a world to come. A world brought to life on a
grand scale in Canada, where people of different ancestries have created the most vibrant society
in the world.

I am overjoyed that my parents are here from Sri Lanka to share this momentous
occasion. It was your love and unconditional support that liberated me from tradition and allowed
me to make uncommon choices. My Aunt Mohini – you and your late husband were indulgent
second parents! My siblings, Ayesha, Amal and Rohan, their families, aunts, uncles, cousins and
members of my extended family – all of you have journeyed from the four corners of the world to
celebrate with me today. Thank you. My children, Dinesh, and Anjalika: you are a source of great
joy and deep pride; it means a lot to me to share this day with you and your Dad, Sam.

I have been inspired by the people I have met in Alberta, where our conversations paint a
portrait of a magnificent place, a place of majestic mountains and expansive horizons, a place
alive with the “Alberta Spirit.”

Perhaps Lois Hole described Alberta best. Here’s what she said,

“The heart and soul of Alberta doesn’t lie in the rich farmland, the majestic
Rockies, the precious oilfields or bustling cities. As wondrous and important
as those features may be, that heart resides in our people.”

The people are the spirit of Alberta. I first encountered the “Alberta Spirit” in my mentor
and colleague, the late Keith Brimacombe, who grew up near here, in the small town of Rosalind.
A true visionary, he infected those he mentored with an unwavering zeal for excellence. Dr.
Brimacombe, and my other mentor, Dr. Zuhair Munir, from the University of California, Davis,
lit the spirit of discovery in me.

I am discovering the University of Alberta and its rich history. As we conclude one
chapter and write the next, I want to salute the eleven Presidents who came before me, two of
whom, Dr. Rod Fraser and Dr. Myer Horowitz, are with us today. I applaud them all for their
singular contributions.

Without a doubt the first century of the University of Alberta has been a debut to
greatness. Alberta’s second century dawns on a province with incredible resource wealth, a
province endowed with the pioneering spirit and a “can do” attitude, a province with the best
public schools in the world.

Is this the dawn of Alberta’s century? And if indeed it is, how do we translate our good
fortune into human talent to benefit a world where creativity is the new currency? Let me propose
that the University of Alberta play a pivotal role in the Alberta century.

What will the next century be like?

At no other time in history have we been so connected, yet have our differences been so
stark. At no other time in history has information been so abundant, and knowledge so prized. At
no other time in history has distance been so diminished, but location so strategic. And at no other
time have resources been so finite, but human potential infin ite. It should not surprise us that
universities, kingdoms of the mind and spirit, have taken centre stage.

What will define great universities of the twenty-first century? I believe there will be one
theme alone: elevating the human spirit through great achievements.

Think of Lester Pearson, Terry Fox, Wayne Gretzky, Emily Carr, Helen Keller, Nelson
Mandela, Albert Einstein, and Mother Teresa – a few of those who through the ages inspired us
with their indomitable human spirit. The human spirit upholds cherished and timeless values. The
human spirit asks the unthinkable and probes the unimaginable. The human spirit inspires
exceptional achievement and takes risks.

Listen to what John F. Kennedy said:

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we,
too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in
politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”

We have yet to discover the essence of the human spirit. What is the source of
imagination? What gives rise to inspiration? How do we instill leadership? We share these
qualities which make us uniquely human, across gender, ethnicity, and place.

Great universities nurture the human spirit, and inspire great achievements. The men and
women we honour today, Susan Aglukark, John Evans, Sharon Pollock and John Polanyi,
personify the spirit of greatness that we wish to inspire in others. I thank each of you for being
here to symbolize true triumphs of the human spirit.

Our cause at the University of Alberta is to provide a higher education that nurtures the
human spirit. We must have the courage to blaze an intellectually outrageous course, together as
a community over the coming months and years. Our vision must inspire students to achieve their
potential for great achievements through learning, discovery, and citizenship. Our community
must build a great university that nurtures and celebrates the human spirit.

So what contributions have we made to the human spirit and how do we build
for the future?

We are proud of the great achievements of the women and men of the University of
Alberta: the hot-water process for separating oil from sand; world-leading breakthroughs in
carbohydrate chemistry; the Edmonton Protocol for the treatment of diabetes; drug therapy for the
treatment of hepatitis B; globally critical new research in lake ecology; the Nobel Prize for
Richard Taylor’s work on quarks – are a few of many achievements.

There are literary achievements, such as Who Has Seen the Wind?, numerous Governor
General’s Awards; the Orlando Project.

The paintings of the people of the Yukon, the “Famous Five” sculpture, the Maple Leaf
flag – all these are creations of the people of the University of Alberta.

The UNESCO Prize for peace education exemplifies international humanitarian efforts,
and our graduates have led and built international companies in engineering, construction,
energy, software and steel.

Our alumni have served the public at the highest levels as Governor General, Prime
Minister, Premier, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

We are also proud of the high level of achievement of all our graduates, as exemplified in
their daily lives as parents, partners, volunteers and professionals. I think it is abundantly clear
that the University of Alberta hones human talent. When I greeted thousands of bright and excited
first-year students at Hawrelak Park just a few weeks ago, I knew I was looking at future
scientists, artists, engineers, lawyers, physicians, and poets.

Canada’s competitive advantage rests neither in resources, nor knowledge, but in the
ingenuity of people who will combine resources and knowledge in new ways. You will agree that
Canada has enjoyed a high standard of living based on a bounty of more than six percent of the
world’s natural resources. As human talent trumps resources, how will we compete with only .5
percent of the world’s population? We count fewer university graduates and fewer people with
advanced degrees than many G-7 nations.

The key to our success is to involve every citizen in higher education, not once but
frequently – Canadians by birth and by choice, aboriginal and immigrant, rural and urban, rich
and poor, young and old. Our obligation is to endow all citizens with the ability to realize their
potential for greatness. Only then will the next century be unquestionably brighter for our
children.

By reaching out to rural communities, through partnerships with colleges around Alberta,
we will engage a larger number of rural, aboriginal, and non-traditional learners in a university
education.

We are providing a web of educational experiences in diverse settings, giving variety and
vibrancy to a University of Alberta degree. Our Campus St Jean draws on the francophone roots
of Northern Alberta and provides students an education in French; Augustana Campus at
Camrose attracts rural students and offers a liberal education in a college setting; our campus at
Cortona, Italy, is a window on the world.

Fundamental to the goal of connecting Canada to the world is to attract bright minds from
around the globe. Henry Marshall Tory’s first four faculty members came from Harvard,
Columbia, Berkeley, and McGill. Our resolve to bring the best minds to the University of Alberta
must be no less than his.

Excellent students from other countries bring diverse cultural perspectives to our
classrooms. I was reminded of this just the other evening when I met students from over forty
different countries at International House at the University of Alberta – one of fifteen such
university residences around the world. It brought back memories of my arrival in the United
States from Sri Lanka as a Hayes-Fulbright Scholar, and meeting students from every nation on
earth. Some of us stayed, and others returned home to become leaders build ing bridges between
nations. More than 2000 students from 110 countries attend the University of Alberta – they are
the world’s gift to Alberta; Let us educate more of them –let that be our gift to the world.

How do we inspire all students to achieve their potential for great
achievements?

We live in an age where intersections and integration are the breeding ground of novelty.
It is at the intersection of learning, discovery, and citizenship, and through integration of all three
that we will inspire students to achieve their potential. In such an intellectual climate gifts are
discovered, passions ignited, and purpose imagined.

Our love for learning is nourished by authentic interaction with the learned. Through
talent and technology we must reverse the erosion of meaningful interaction between the learned
and the learner. Albert Schweitzer, the great philosopher and surgeon, once said:

“In everyone’s life at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into
flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful
for those people who rekindle the
human spirit.”

I well remember my mathematics and physics teachers: their passion kept my love for
those two subjects alive. In the School of Engineering, one of my professors would even come
armed with a device to draw perfect circles on the blackboard when teaching machine design.
This taught me more about precision than anything he ever said.

And now we come to discovery. The human spirit thrives on discovery. We must
integrate discovery into all aspects of learning. The “Great University” of the twenty-first century
must involve students in exploring our grand challenges. What might they be? Will we be able to
conquer the next great frontier—the human brain? How do language, music, dance, and
philosophy shape our beliefs? Will we eradicate disease? Will we retain our vitality as we age?
Will computers become ubiquitous and invisible? How will we satisfy our need for sustainable
energy? Will we mitigate climate change? Will civil wars ever end? How will we preserve the
world’s great cultures? What is the nature of the universe? Are we alone?

Our students, graduate and undergraduate, must acquire a capacity for creativity and
social ingenuity by tackling questions like these.

Indeed we have taken the first steps in making discovery central to learning by launching
initiatives related to undergraduate research. For while it is true that intellectual mastery begins
with the rigorous exploration of a subject in the classroom, it must be extended in the laboratories
of life through research projects and internships throughout the world.

My own doctoral thesis involved mathematical modeling of steel processes and
measurements in a steel plant right here in Edmonton. There is nothing like the soaring
temperatures of a ladle of steel, the volumes of water required for cooling, and the complexity of
the machinery to remind one that the real world cannot be easily simulated in the laboratory or
classroom.

Radically new thinking emerges from the top few percent of new discoveries. Canada
produces approximately 4.5 percent of the world’s scientific publications. How can we ensure
that our output consistently ranks in the top ten percent of knowledge in all fields? Our
researchers must set their minds on addressing the central problems; quality and impact must
trump quantity. We must raise the bar, we must create a critical mass of excellence, and we must
cross academic Maginot Lines, especially between arts and science, and claim new, higher
ground.

I am reminded that creativity thrives in an intellectual climate of breadth. Think of
Leonardo Da Vinci – consummate engineer and supreme artist. We need many more like him:
artists and scientists who understand science, and scientists who are inspired by the arts.

We have gradually become a “multiversity” where students in one discipline rarely
interact with their peers in others. Yet someone like Dr. Ursula Franklin, a world-renowned
fellow metallurgist at the University of Toronto, has long integrated science and art in her
research. In a lecture about a bell cast in China over three millennia ago, she wove a fascinating
tale of the metallurgical science, the history, the politics, and the culture of ancient China.

The great university will be a place of great conversations between engineers and
philosophers, biologists and historians, physicians and linguists. They will be presented with
societal challenges and encouraged to seek solutions through discourse and debate.

Has anyone among us today ever listened to Beethoven’s ninth symphony without
being deeply moved? Has anyone among us ever looked at one of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings
without being enchanted? The fine arts and humanities nourish intuition and nurture the human
spirit.

Dazzling investments in science have not been matched by comparable support for the
arts. As Einstein commented on this state of affairs, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the
rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has
forgotten the gift.”

And so today I announce a new fund to support the social sciences, humanities, and the
fine arts here at the University of Alberta. This fund is our commitment to excellence in these
vitally important fields, and this investment will help provide knowledge to address many of the
twenty-first century’s most challenging social problems while helping to strengthen our cultural
heritage.

The Province of Alberta has been visionary in creating endowment funds, including the
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research twenty-five years ago, and the Alberta
Heritage Foundation for Science and Engineering Research [Alberta Ingenuity] five years ago.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the province were to create a third endowment to support
research and scholarship in the social sciences, humanities and fine arts?

I now come to citizenship – every dimension of citizenship, which is defined as one’s
obligation to the wellbeing of the individual, society and our democratic institutions – civil
society, government, and the free press.

By integrating learning, discovery and citizenship we can foster social and moral
responsibility, political literacy, and community service. As the American psychologist and
reformer John Gardner said, “Unlike the pyramids, the monuments of the spirit will not stand
untended. They must be nourished in each generation.” We must educate our students to carry
out their responsibilities as citizens to tend the monuments of the human spirit.

We must be exemplars of the civic spirit. As hurricane Rita bears down on the gulf coast
of the United States, leaving destruction and suffering in its wake, we are reminded of our
obligation to help our fellow humans.

Every student should participate, in volunteer work, clubs and community service
learning throughout the globe. Our faculty must play their role as public intellectuals and citizens,
as critics and conscience of modern society. They must connect us to our communities.

How do we inspire a new spirit of community?

Canada is a nation of nations and a microcosm of the Federation of the World Tennyson
imagines in his poem, “For I dipped into the Future.” Tennyson paints a picture, as only a poet
can, of a world in which the “war-drum throbbed no longer, and the battle-flags were furled /In
the Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World .” But how do we contribute to creating a true
federation of the world? It must surely begin with strong partnerships to foster understanding that
will advance both economic and social agendas.

As we all know, Alberta’s energy resources are attracting global attention. The oil sands
are being dubbed North America’s crown jewel. Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat,
identifies sustainable energy as our generation’s moon shot. It is our obligation to play a lead role
in developing a pre-eminent centre on sustainable energy. Together with our sister universities,
industry, and governments here and elsewhere we must address the full spectrum of challenges –
scientific, technological, environmental, social and geo-political.

We are forging a new course with the City of Edmonton through our presence downtown.

We are developing a joint vision with Capital Health to establish a world-class academic
health sciences centre. Our partnership with the National Research Council in Nanotechnology
and the Smithsonian Institution in music and ethnomusicology are but a few examples of the
important relationships of which we are very proud.

Through strong ties with partners in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa we must
build mutual understanding, discover new knowledge and solve the world’s most pressing
problems.

Our alumni are an extraordinary resource. Let us engage them to better connect the
University to the world.

Our vision must be to foster a truly globa l society living in peace and prosperity for all
time – a “Tennysonian” federation of the world.

One of the greatest gifts I received in the past year was to spend an hour with Her
Honour, the late Lois Hole , who was at that time in hospital. Dr. Pat Clements was with me. It
was a precious hour as Mrs. Hole neared the end of her life. I was treated to one of her wonderful
“hugs” and was mesmerized by the energy and vitality with which she spoke. A former
Chancellor of the University of Alberta, she was a passionate advocate of education, the arts, and
libraries. Lois Hole was the “social conscience” of Alberta.

She charged me, and possibly everyone she could, with the responsibility of being a
champion for education. “It is a time of great opportunity for Alberta,” she said. “We must not
miss it.” Then Professor Clements began to recite the words of Brutus to Cassius in
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and Mrs. Hole and I joined in.

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and miseries

It was an extraordinary moment.

This is a bright moment in the history of this province. Let us rise with the tide of the
“Alberta Advantage.” Let us convert Alberta’s natural resources into wealth for the ages. Let us
commit ourselves to the work begun almost a century ago of building a great university in the
service of the public good. Let us dare to discover. Let us celebrate the human spirit. Let us seize
this opportunity.

Today I make a pledge to each of you: I devote both my intellect and my imagination to
the high calling of leading the University of Alberta on a journey to greatness. I call on you to
join me in this great cause. Together we will inspire great achievements. Together we will elevate
the human spirit through learning, discovery, and citizenship.

Thank you.