Giving the Convocation Address, August 2007
While I certainly integrate my own unique perspective into my undergraduate teaching, I always encourage students to think for themselves. I ask them to be critical of what they read and to express their opinions in constructive ways. In the end, I see my goal as not only conveying knowledge about the subject matter, but also as helping students to develop their research and critical thinking skills so that they have the tools necessary to form their own opinions. Ultimately, it is the ability to analyze ideas and think for one’s self that will be the most important and long-lasting components of any person’s college education.
Read my 2007 Convocation Address for a recollection of my own experience as a new undergraduate.
