Members of the Board of Trustees;
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur;
College and university presidents and delegates;
honored dignitaries and community partners from throughout our neighborhood and city;
Emmanuel College graduates from across the decades;
faculty, staff, students, parents;
and dear friends and family:
I am profoundly grateful to you for joining today in this celebration of Emmanuel College’s mission, legacy, and boundless potential.
***
“Ah how good is the good God!”
Soon after arriving at Emmanuel in 2000, I became familiar with this quote by St. Julie Billiart, who established the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1804. I would see this phrase whenever I entered the Chapel – there it was on a banner hanging from the pulpit – and I would often hear it from the Sisters themselves on occasions such as Founders’ Day, the Mass of the Holy Spirit, and Commencement.
And then, over the next 24 years, I noticed a subtle change. That saying – “Ah how good is the good God” – went from being something I saw and heard to something that in one form or another I thought to myself, over and over again. I thought it every time I saw this college make a quantum advance in its programs and campus resources, and as I watched our faculty grow in number and distinction. I thought it every time I witnessed young people achieving beyond what they thought possible, moving semester by semester toward realities that once existed only in their dreams. Our Alma Mater, which we’ll hear in just a few moments, includes the line “Thy glorious deeds untold!” – pitch-perfect in its summation of our past, and prophetic of what is still to come....
The conditions are in place for Emmanuel and for all of us – students, faculty, and staff – to thrive as never before.
God is good indeed. Father Oscar says it all the time. And I can attest to it too.
I can also attest that God is full of surprises.
Never in my most outlandish dreams did I imagine that I would be at this podium today. And yet...Surprise!
So on this most unexpected yet most joyful of days, I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to a number of people who have played an especially vital role in my journey.
First, I am deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees for your trust in me and your unwavering commitment to Emmanuel College. It is an honor to work alongside such dedicated individuals. A special thanks to Board Chair Margaret McKenna for your exceptional guidance and support.
To my parents – thank you for instilling in me the values of hard work, positivity, humor, and curiosity. Your boundless love and support have been my greatest strength and inspiration. I am deeply grateful for your sacrifices.
To my brothers – my passionate, loyal, and hilarious supporters – thank you for helping me find my voice and develop a thick skin. I am incredibly lucky and proud to be your sister.
To my extended family and dear friends – your presence here today means the world to me. I am forever thankful for each one of you.
To my colleagues – you have mentored, supported, and taught me so much. I am incredibly proud to be a member of this community and I look forward to accomplishing even more meaningful work together.
And finally, to my husband – thank you for your patience, understanding, and unwavering belief in me. You are my rock, and I am endlessly grateful for your love and partnership.
Additionally, I want to thank Emmanuel College students past and present. Students, I am so glad to see so many of you here because everything we do – including this Investiture – is directed toward a singular goal, which is to provide you the foundation to flourish in every respect. The presidency itself is not an end in itself – far from it. Rather, it is an opportunity to find ever greater and more innovative ways to unleash your potential, uplift you, and, yes, elevate you.
All of you have my solemn promise that I will work tirelessly to honor this sacred trust.
***
I thought for some time about what I most wanted to speak about today. In gathering my ideas, I was aware of how important it is in our modern discourse and media environment not to bury the lede.
So what is the lede?
The lede is love.
Like so many of you here today, and like members of the Emmanuel family spread throughout the world, I love Emmanuel College.
Why do I love it? How long do you have?
Truly, I could give a thousand reasons. But really, for me, the magic of Emmanuel can be summed up in in two phrases: all that converges here, and all that radiates out from here.
Sometimes I wonder: Did the Sisters who purchased this acreage at 400 The Fenway over a century ago have any inkling that in 2024 it would be in the heart of the best college city in the U.S. – or that 400 The Fenway itself would be regarded as the number-one college location in America? Probably not. But what they did know intuitively was that a providential spirit was close at hand, guiding and animating them. And that’s why they named this institution “God with us” – that is, Emmanuel.
Today, we are an integral part of a 400-year-old city that never gets old. In fact, the energy of the New Boston is very much a part of us. And this is what I mean when I talk about all that comes together here. This beautiful, modern 17-acre campus is all that meets the eye – and far more. In fact, it is a grand, one-of-a-kind confluence. This is where the liberal arts and sciences meet high-impact career preparation; where small classrooms and close student-faculty mentoring connections meet opportunities normally found at large universities. This is where inspiring individual achievements meet an authentically warm, unified, and inclusive community. And this is where the age-old Catholic intellectual tradition engages the most complex national and global issues of the 21st century. This isn’t just the best college location in the country; it’s the intersection of everything.
To spend my days in this nexus of ideas and striving – in this swirl of learning, service, creativity, kindness, and laughter – this has been the privilege of my life. And I do love it all.
Yet it is equally moving to think of all that flows out from Emmanuel.
Take, for example, the substantial additions that our faculty make to the body of knowledge in an array of fields through their original research and scholarship. They don’t only convey knowledge; they create it. And increasingly this discovery is funded by supporters such as the NIH, the National Science Foundation, and other prestigious grant-making organizations. Throughout the academic year, and all through the summer, our undergraduate students collaborate directly with faculty to advance projects in the lab and elsewhere, gaining experience that at many institutions is available only to graduate students.
Still, our greatest contribution? Our graduates. Since we opened our doors in 1919, our alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in fields ranging from international diplomacy to astrophysics, from early childhood education to high finance. Members of our most recent graduating Class of 2024 proceeded directly into full-time positions with organizations such as Brigham and Women’s Hospital, KPMG, and the Office of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. Others moved into graduate programs at institutions such as Boston College, Georgetown, Yale, and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. And once again, a graduating senior was selected for a Fulbright fellowship, becoming our 15th Fulbright winner since 2011.
As they fan out across businesses and nonprofits – and as they create companies of their own – our graduates bring more than work-ready skills. They bring the values and spirit of our community.
Because of them, Emmanuel is everywhere.
***
Now, I know full well the headwinds that Emmanuel, like many institutions, faces in today’s higher education landscape. I was a Chief Data Officer. Data and facts are the air I breathe. I am well versed in current trends in demographics and in the economy. Jack Welch, longtime CEO of General Electric, once said, “Face the world as it is, not as it was, or as you wish it to be.” I believe that to my core.
Throughout my time at Emmanuel, I have devoted myself to continual institutional renewal based on ever greater insights into data and the effective leveraging of that data. Yet, data doesn’t make decisions. Data informs decisions. In fact, when it comes to decision-making, often the most decisive factor is conviction – that is, the ability to believe it before you can see it.
This is the Emmanuel story. From the beginning, our leaders have been alive to the signs of the times – and committed to anticipating and adapting to evolving student interests and the needs of an ever-changing career marketplace.
And I cannot think of anyone, in any field, who embodies this spirit of agility and boldness more brilliantly than our President Emerita, Sister Janet Eisner. Sister Janet, thank you for your historic presidency, and for giving me a decades-long master class in what it is to lead with grace and an unswerving dedication to mission.
Sister Janet and her predecessors had the foresight to see the future of Emmanuel – and the daring to create it.
Do we dare?
It’s said that timing is everything, and I believe it is crucial that we understand the moment we’re in now. Two things I constantly want to shout from the bell tower are: “Look at where we are!” and “Look at when we are!” Right now, just steps from here, some of the world’s brightest minds are using AI and other leading-edge tools to drive a revolution in human health and well-being. Our city and region are booming with investment and growth. And our diverse city has never been so dynamic and united.
Through bold, persistent experimentation – and, increasingly, through partnerships with organizations throughout our city and beyond – we will bring our mission to life in magnificent new ways.
Moreover, as even a quick scan of the headlines suggests, demand for Emmanuel graduates is acute –and growing. More than ever, our workplaces, democratic institutions, and our culture cry out for the broad-minded, ethical, and effective leaders who walk across our Commencement stage each May.
In short, the conditions are in place for Emmanuel and for all of us – students, faculty, and staff – to thrive as never before.
Through bold, persistent experimentation – and, increasingly, through partnerships with organizations throughout our city and beyond – we will bring our mission to life in magnificent new ways.
What will we do especially well? Two verbs to remember: accelerate and elevate.
Emmanuel has always been a potent accelerator of promise and talent. Our students, many the first in their families to attend college, engage complex ideas by broadening and deepening their knowledge and by sharpening their intellectual skills. Through these learning experiences, and by applying theory to practice in real-world settings, they often discover strengths they didn’t know they had and pathways to careers they hadn’t imagined. Going forward, we will continue to hone the College as an engine of possibility, accelerating young people toward futures that surpass expectations.
The more we accelerate and elevate, the more we will become known as a clear and compelling choice among prospective students and families, and among employers seeking the next generation of doers, problem-solvers, and difference-makers.
At the same time, we will elevate our students by immersing them in a remarkably welcoming and caring environment – really a “second home” – and by offering transcendent experiences in friendship, beauty, and discovery. Further, we will continue to engage students in thoughtful discussions of what it means to lead a purposeful and rewarding life. Inspired by the tenets of Catholic social teaching and by the charism of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, we will continue to cultivate a deep sense of personal, social, and civic responsibility. Through lively classroom discussions, and through direct service to individuals living on the margins of our contemporary society, students will contemplate the unique role they will play in breaking down structures of exclusion and inequality – and in building up a civilization that reveres the inherent dignity of every human person.
The more we accelerate and elevate, the more we will become known as a clear and compelling choice among prospective students and families, and among employers seeking the next generation of doers, problem-solvers, and difference-makers.
What’s more, we will tell our story with ever greater reach and resonance. “Thy glorious deeds untold” will have a new corollary: “Thy glorious deeds well told.” “Boston’s best-kept secret” will morph into “Best of Boston,” and we will continue our ascent among the nation’s very best liberal arts colleges.
And so, friends, with esteem for our past and confidence in what’s to come, let us embrace what’s next.
Together, let’s create a strong, sustainable, and inspiring future for Emmanuel, and do something beautiful for our students and for our world.
And now and forever, may our infinitely good and loving God bless this community, so that we may have life and have it to the full.
Thank you.