"It's hard not to become too emotional on a day like this. I can't tell you how honored and pleased I am to be here with all of you. To follow in the footsteps of Gerry McCue, Peter Rowe, and Alan Altshuler is such a privilege. Over the past few months I've had more meetings and conversations with President Drew Faust than I ever imagined I would, and during this period it has been fantastic to experience her friendship, directness, vision, and genuine support for this school and the rest of the university. We are incredibly privileged to have her as our leader. "When one thinks about the GSD, it's impossible not to think about the earlier tradition with Jose Luis Sert and Walter Gropius-our proud tradition rooted in Modernism. That is reflected in many ways in the structure of the school today: our focus on the new city, its areas of work, leisure, pleasure, and so on. The organization of the school still reflects something of the desire for a better world, a better city, and a better society. "Dean Rowe started the tradition of making option studios available across departments, which helped transform and modernize those departments in many ways. We also had a third-semester housing studio that embodied the polemic of a specific sense of modernity. Having talked with many of the faculty, staff, and students, I know that everybody is eager to build on the work that has been done in this forward-thinking way.
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