1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:11,309 I come to congratulate you and to tell you something you likely already know 2 00:00:11,309 --> 00:00:20,769 how very fortunate you are to welcome Jim Ryan as your 9th president. 3 00:00:21,420 --> 00:00:28,050 Jim has an uncanny ability to build trust, to unite people across divisions 4 00:00:28,050 --> 00:00:32,820 and differences. He motivates those around him to emulate him in putting 5 00:00:32,820 --> 00:00:39,809 principle and purpose at the heart of our shared endeavors. Jim Ryan is ready 6 00:00:39,809 --> 00:00:46,610 for this moment because he has lived the power of education. 7 00:00:48,490 --> 00:00:53,620 What really makes Jim unique and different is his extraordinary 8 00:00:53,620 --> 00:01:00,880 compassion and decency. Jim is one of the kindest, most gentle people you will ever 9 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:11,320 meet. How he is as a father if you're talking to the UVA students. Jim is a really really good 10 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:17,820 father, in all the classic ways in that he connects, he's sympathetic, he's strong, 11 00:01:17,820 --> 00:01:24,729 he's a good guider. Jim will be an empathetic president and that I think is 12 00:01:24,729 --> 00:01:30,240 comforting both to the students and the faculty and the university community. 13 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,690 I now install you in the name of the rector and visitors as the 9th president 14 00:01:35,690 --> 00:01:40,130 of the University of Virginia. Congratulations to you and to 15 00:01:40,130 --> 00:01:52,550 University of Virginia. So, one piece of advice I received was not to make this 16 00:01:52,550 --> 00:01:59,360 speech a sermon, so today I'd like to talk about faith. More precisely I'd like 17 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:04,430 to talk about faith in the unfinished project of our University. To conduct 18 00:02:04,430 --> 00:02:09,050 research, is to have faith in the power of discovery even before the discovery 19 00:02:09,050 --> 00:02:14,930 has been made. To teach is to have the faith of a parent knowing that you're 20 00:02:14,930 --> 00:02:19,280 helping to prepare students not just for their careers but for their full lives. 21 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,480 To be a student is to have faith that what you learn and the relationships you 22 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,930 build will enrich your life in countless ways. 23 00:02:26,930 --> 00:02:31,940 What stitches these acts of faith together is a profound belief in the 24 00:02:31,940 --> 00:02:38,000 future in the idea of progress. Progress towards a more prosperous, healthier, just 25 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:43,150 and peaceful society and progress toward lives that are more meaningful, 26 00:02:43,150 --> 00:02:48,230 purposeful and passionate. The University of Virginia is in a sense as is often 27 00:02:48,230 --> 00:02:54,500 said, Mr. Jefferson's University but it is also even more so, your University, 28 00:02:54,500 --> 00:02:58,849 it's our University. Which means it's our responsibility to 29 00:02:58,849 --> 00:03:03,950 preserve what is best about this place and to shape its future with boldness 30 00:03:03,950 --> 00:03:09,260 and creativity. I hope you share my faith in the future which is in many ways 31 00:03:09,260 --> 00:03:15,530 nothing more and nothing less than my faith and all of you. Friends, my running 32 00:03:15,530 --> 00:03:22,519 shoes are laced up. I am ready, with your help to begin anew on this 33 00:03:22,519 --> 00:03:28,190 unfinished, but glorious project that is the University of Virginia. Thank you 34 00:03:28,190 --> 00:03:32,689 very much.