Commencement, Our Mission, and the Work Ahead

Dear Emory Community, 

The spring semester is coming to a close and Commencement is right around the corner. As we prepare to celebrate the extraordinary graduates of the Class of 2025, I am reflecting on the many ways our university community has fostered their talent, enabled their ambitions, and prepared them to excel and lead. They are a class that represents what is essential to our mission: bringing accomplished individuals from around the country and world together to advance society and serve humanity.

In numerous ways, this has been an outstanding academic year at Emory, and I am proud of your achievements and contributions. But I know that for many, the challenges facing higher education at this moment have been deeply concerning. I wrote in March to outline key principles and measures the university is taking to navigate this uncertainty. Today I want to build on that message to further emphasize the centrality of academic freedom and share the work we have been undertaking to defend our principles.

Academic freedom is the foundational principle that makes it possible to teach, learn, question, and discover on a university campus. Scholars hold each other to rigorous academic standards—testing and challenging ideas in an ongoing, and independent, pursuit of truth. We will never hesitate to protect academic freedom. At the same time, we must acknowledge that academic freedom comes with responsibilities, and that means committing ourselves to standards of excellence while ensuring differing viewpoints are respected.

Emory is actively partnering with our higher education associations and other research universities to advocate for your work and our mission. My efforts have been focused on the Association of American Universities (AAU), where I serve on the board. At the end of March, I worked with fellow board members to release a statement of shared principles, “Meeting the Moment Facing America’s Research Universities.” The AAU has also taken legal action to defend scientific and biomedical research funding, and it will soon launch a campaign to highlight the importance of research funding to the nation.

This week, I am back on Capitol Hill, where I have been engaging with legislators and staff on a monthly basis. I want to make sure they understand the brilliance of our students, the groundbreaking discoveries our faculty are making, the many contributions of Emory’s international scholars and students, and Emory’s role as an anchor institution in Atlanta. We have to share our impact with renewed vigor and communicate the tremendous value that we bring to society.

Emory University has been sustained for nearly 200 years because of its people. You create knowledge, transform lives, and prepare future leaders to serve. The Class of 2025 will continue this tradition. I am excited to celebrate their accomplishments and eager to see what they will achieve as graduates. This is Emory’s reason for being, and it is why we care so deeply about upholding our mission.

Sincerely, 

Gregory L. Fenves
President