哈佛大學(xué)校長告別演講

新任校長 Drew Gilpin Faust

　　And yet, great and proud institutions, like great and proud nations at their peak, must surmount a very real risk: that the very strength of their traditions will lead to caution, to an inward focus on prerogative and to a complacency that lets the world pass them by.

　　可是，就像偉大和自豪的國家在其鼎盛時(shí)期一樣，它們必須克服一個(gè)完全不能掉以輕心的危險(xiǎn)因素：它們傳統(tǒng)的絕對(duì)強(qiáng)勢(shì)將會(huì)導(dǎo)致謹(jǐn)小慎微、追求內(nèi)部特權(quán)及自滿，這將使它們不能與時(shí)俱進(jìn)。

　　And so I say to you that our University today is at an inflection point in its history. At such a moment, there is temptation to elevate comfort and consensus over progress and clear direction, but this would be a mistake. The University’s matchless resources - human, physical, financial - demand that we seize this moment with vision and boldness. To do otherwise would be a lost opportunity. We can spur great deeds that history will mark decades and even centuries from now. If Harvard can find the courage to change itself, it can change the world.

　　今天，哈佛正處于其歷史的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。此時(shí)此刻的自然傾向是，把貪圖舒適和隨波逐流留凌駕于進(jìn)步和方向性之上，但，這可能是錯(cuò)誤的。大學(xué)無與倫比的資源 ——人力、物力、財(cái)力——要求我們遠(yuǎn)見卓識(shí)和勇敢地抓住這個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)，否則，將會(huì)坐失良機(jī)。我們能推動(dòng)將會(huì)被歷史永世銘記的偉大的事業(yè)。如果哈佛能找到勇氣來改變自己，它就能改變世界。