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Since joining this remarkable community, I'm often asked, ‘Song, why CC?’

I have to admit I am tempted to say, ‘why ever not?’

But instead, I thought long and hard about how to encapsulate this thing that we do, this thing that makes us so unique and so very special.

And what it comes down to is this.

CC, ºÚÁϳԹÏ, is a place that is willing to take bold action. A place that’s willing to take courageous action  to ignite our students' potential in order to create a more just world.

This is what we do.

This is what drives us.

And I am here because this is what drives me too.

And I have big, audacious goals for us.

Because I didn't come here to be comfortable.

And that's a good thing because CC is not a complacent place.

We are a place that thinks differently.  We dream big, and we do difficult things.

The Block Plan is simply one example of that.

We were the first college in the country that had the guts and the commitment to pull it off.  And I say guts and commitment because the Block Plan is hard, as the students who are here, I see them nodding, will say.  The Block Plan is hard, but here at CC, we aren't deterred by difficult things, especially when we believe that it will ignite our students' potential.  And we know that a CC education does that.  Let me just tell you about a couple of our alums, because if I told you about all of our remarkable alums, we would be here for at least a year.

So let me start with Kaui Hart Hemmings. She was an English major here at ºÚÁϳԹÏ. Since graduation she has become a New York Times bestselling author. Perhaps you’ve read her book, or seen the movie, based on her book, “The Descendants.” Yes, that’s our grad. And that’s a movie that won the Oscar for best screenplay based on a book.

Or how about David Amster-Olszewski? So, he majored in international political economy, and when he was a student here, he installed his first solar system in a CC building, and upon graduation, he went to business school, but then, he decided to leave business school, because, as he said, he learned everything he needed to know at CC. He eventually founded SunShare, which is a solar company whose mission is to give everyone access to renewable energy solutions.

So our alums are remarkable.  What other bold and courageous things have we done in addition to the Block Plan?

Five years ago, we were the first college in the country to announce an antiracism commitment.  We did it long before it was the trendy thing to do.  We did it long before George Floyd's brutal murder sparked a national movement.  And since we did it, we have been making progress on our commitment, and we took this bold action because it was the right thing to do.

And then, just two years ago, we achieved carbon neutrality.  We were the first institution in the Rocky Mountain region and the eighth in North America to achieve this.  Just let that sink in for a moment.  ºÚÁϳԹÏ, the small, private, liberal arts college at the foot of Pikes Peak, the first in the Rocky Mountain region, the eighth in North America, to achieve carbon neutrality. We do bold and courageous things that are not easy to do, but we don't settle for easy at CC.

So, the Block Plan, antiracism, and sustainability, these three things will remain pillars of what we do moving forward.

But what else will we do?  We are currently living in a world that's facing existential threats and challenges. These include climate change, systematic inequities, political polarization, equity gaps, and so much more.

And I can't believe I'm about to say this, but we are also facing threats to our democracy. In the face of these challenges, CC cannot remain complacent. There are just some battles that we simply must fight, which is why, last year, I asked our community to come together to consider this question.

How can we do what we do better?  And I can't imagine a more important time for us to ask this question, and despite the challenging year that we had last year, dealing with a global pandemic, did our community fade away?  Absolutely not.  Our community came together in droves to consider this question. How can we do what we do better?  This process will continue this year.  It is something that we call Project 2024.  I can't wait to see what bold and audacious goals we come up with, because the last time we did this, about 52 years ago, we came up with a Block Plan.

So, while I wait for Project 2024 and our community to share with us what we will do next, today I want to share some of my own bold and audacious goals for CC.

And I will begin with our students, because for our students I see a lot of you over there.  You are the reason we are all here.  So, I want to begin with our students.  The world needs to know about our students.  They think differently, they learn differently, they can do anything they set their minds to.  The liberal arts education that our community provides, both inside the classroom and outside the classroom, helps them to discover who they are, how to make sense of the world and their place in it.  At CC, they begin learning how to live lives of meaning.

And because of the way we teach, our students can immerse themselves in a subject, integrate new knowledge quickly, concentrate deeply for hours at a time.  This is their super power!

Let me give you an example.  Let me tell you about Lilly Chen.

So, Lilly Chen graduated in 2019, and she credits the Block Plan with helping her to develop perseverance and the capacity to learn quickly.  And she puts it like this in her own words. 

“CC helped me to develop my learning curve, which is especially important for startups. You have a limited runway to find success, so you just need to fail as many times as you can, as quickly as possible. The reason CC helps you learn that is because the Block Plan is the literal definition of fast iteration learning."

So using the skills, she brought some of these with her, of course, using the skills she learned at CC, Lilly built a successful startup company just three years after graduating.  And now, I am proud to say she is a member of our Board of Trustees. Lilly, will you please stand?

(Applause).

I think you can see why the world needs to know our students.  They need to know what our students are capable of.  They need to understand what makes our students unique.  Our students and our graduates deserve this.  So, at CC, we're humble.  It's nice to be humble.  But the time for being humble has passed.  We will no longer be a hidden gem.  We are currently living in a world where many aren't comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Many people are afraid to speak because they are terrified of being canceled, vilified, or shouted down.  Some become defensive and angry when their ideas are challenged.  Many are afraid to make mistakes and then to learn from them.

I want CC to be a place where crucial conversations about the most important issues facing our world occur. A place where different opinions are welcomed and challenged and debated. A place where we can explore our beliefs, change other people's minds, or, even more importantly, change our own.  I want us to be a place where we listen first to understand, and then to respond.  As a civil rights lawyer, a criminal defense lawyer, a death penalty lawyer, a teacher, and a scholar, I have always been willing to stand alone for what is just and what is right, even when, or especially when, it's difficult.  That's why I believe we must be that place where these courageous and crucial conversations can occur, because the strength of our democracy depends on it. 

CC is committed to access.  Let me tell you about Murphy Brasuel. Murphy came to ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï as a freshman from Cuba, New Mexico, a place with a total population of 735 people.

He could only attend CC because he received a Barnes scholarship in chemistry.  Murphy experienced cultural shock, transitioning from a rural, public high school to ºÚÁϳԹÏ, a place where he was surrounded by many students who had greater means and who had attended private schools. By his third day at CC, he stopped talking to his classmates about his successes in high school because they didn't seem as impressive to him anymore, compared to the successes of his classmates, who had had access to a better education.

Imagine how that must have felt!  I know what that feels like.

Murphy struggled, and then he failed a class. But instead of fading away and getting lost, CC faculty took notice and supported him. He worked hard; he played football. And then, after graduation, he received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan.

Today, we are so proud to have Murphy, not just as a member of our faculty, but also as a mentor to students from diverse backgrounds, students who struggle with many of the same challenges that Murphy overcame.

(Applause).

Murphy,  will you please stand?

CC is committed to expanding access, you can see why.  This means not only expanding access to who comes here as a student, but also ensuring that once our students are here, they have the opportunity to take advantage of everything that we offer here, regardless of their financial means.  We already have programs here that support access, like the Colorado Pledge, Stroud Scholars, and Bridge Scholars, but we must do more.  CC will become a leader in educational access.

Finally, our people are the greatest asset that we have here at CC.  So I am committed to ensuring that ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï becomes a best place, a best college to work for in the country.  Again, this won't be easy, but what could be more important?  I am also committed to increasing our engagement with our many private, civic, philanthropic, and educational partners here in Colorado Springs, many of whom are here in the audience today.

Thank you so much for coming.

Together, we will continue to grow the vitality of the Springs and contribute to its economic development.

Before I end, I want to thank, first of all, all of you for being here. And when we were mentioning, when we were thanking leaders from other colleges and universities across the country, there was one name that was omitted and I can't let that stand, so Thomas Parham, where are you, who is the president of California State University Dominguez Hills.  Thank you so much for being here. Thomas and I are friends from the University of California Irvine.  A special thanks to everyone, and there are so many of you, I can't name all of you, who worked tirelessly for months to make this inauguration happen and thank you so much to all of our wonderful performers that you heard here today.

I also must thank all of my friends, it felt like an episode of “This is Your Life,” who traveled far and wide to be here with me to celebrate this special moment.  Thank you so much.  I also want to thank my brothers, my brother, Nehemiah, who couldn't make it from Australia, my brother, Stephen, who is here.

(Applause).

If you haven't met him yet, he is such a source of humor, inspiration, and support.  I also need to thank my family through marriage, who has become my family, the Kieffer family, all of whom came here today.  Thank you so much.  I really appreciate that!

I learned my courage from my parents. Unfortunately, my dad is no longer with us, but my mom is. Mom, will you please stand up?

Stand, mom.

(Applause).

You are the most courageous person I know, mom.

And finally, thanks to my husband Kurt Kieffer, my partner, my best friend.  I couldn't do any of this without you.

(Applause).

To our former presidents, I and we stand on your shoulders.  To our faculty and staff and our board, your commitment to our students inspires me every day.  I am so honored to work with you.

As I said, I have always been willing to stand alone for what is right and what is just.  But now, I don't have to, because I found CC!  Thank you so much!