For your convenience, we are including access to a video of the entire Installation Ceremony for Chancellor Lee Roberts. Below is extracted text of the speech that he delivered after he was sworn in as the 13th Chancellor of the University of North Carolina.
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Welcome, everyone. President Hans. Chief Justice Newby. Chair Murphy. Chair Pryor. Members of the board of governors and the board of trustees, elected officials, distinguished guests, faculty, staff, students, alumni, family members and friends.
It’s a great day, friends. It’s a great day to be a Tar Heel.
I’m grateful for your presence today. And as President Hans did, I want to begin by acknowledging the pain and suffering of our friends and family in western North Carolina. We know that it’s hard to put into words what you are going through. At the same time, we are inspired by the countless acts of generosity, of bravery, of compassion that our fellow North Carolinians have shown.
Supporting the recovery and renewal will be a vital element of our mission. Now and into the future. I also want to mention two people who are not with us. We lost my mother, Cokie Roberts, about five years ago, and I hear her voice in my head most of the, the time right now should be saying, keep it short. Don’t make these poor people sit here any longer than necessary. And just last week, we lost Joel Fleishman, Carolina, class of 55, a friend and mentor to me and so many others. Joel was a part of my family even before I was born. He met my mother in 1958, and his guidance and support lasted through the decades. May his memory be a blessing.
We come together each year on this university day to commemorate the lane of the cornerstone of Old East, the first building at the first public university in a country that itself was still an adolescent.
In 1957, University Day also became the traditional inauguration day for new chancellors. I’m most grateful to the search committee, the board of trustees, President Hans, and the Board of Governors for giving me this extraordinary opportunity to join this illustrious group.
Over the past several months, I’ve talked with all of my living predecessors and delighted to see Chancellor Thorpe here today. We agree on many things, including the fact that the chancellor’s office in South Building has the best view on campus.
Looking out the window, you see the Old Well, our landmark and symbol, one of the most recognizable objects in our state. Yet what always captures my attention isn’t the Old Well, but the large white oak tree behind it.
Tom Bythell, our university arborist, told me that for the past 20 years he’s been pruning that tree to give the impression that it’s embracing the old well. And as the tree grows and changes, it marks the passage of time each semester. Once you see it, you can’t help but marvel at it. More than any of the buildings, our campus is defined by the trees older than the university itself. The Davie Poplar is at the center of the story of our university. And, of course, Davie Poplar junior, standing tall next to it, is itself more than 100 years old and still growing.
At our bicentennial celebration in 1993, schoolchildren from 100 counties received saplings from the Davie Poplar to plant throughout the state as a symbol of our role, as in the immortal words of Charles Carroll, the University of the people. Generations of Tar Heels have walked past the trees on McCorkle Place and Polk Place. I’ll bet that many of you have a favorite one that holds a special memory or that caught your attention as we reflect on the last 231 years.
I believe there’s no more fitting symbol of Carolina, no better image of who we are than the trees that fill this campus. More than the brick walkways or the low stone walls. The trees are old. The trees are strong. The trees are constantly growing, changing and evolving. The trees are different sizes and shapes. Their leaves are different colors, and they’re only as tall as they are deep. No tree can grow without its roots. And like the trees, the university’s roots are anchored firmly in the richest North Carolina soil. Our state has nourished and supported this university since its inception.
Even in times of conflict, with great divisions in society and economic uncertainty, the people of North Carolina have invested their hopes and dreams in our university. Our state has made us, this university, into the model of excellence and enabled us, I would say, demanded of us, that we grow to the tallest heights. We would not be who we are today without this historic commitment. At the same time, our faculty, staff, and students have shaped the state itself.
Like the trees and roots that shape a landscape, we have helped make North Carolina the place it is today. Our faculty train the state’s doctors, lawyers, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, artists, and government officials. Our social workers learn here how to serve our state’s families. Graduates from the number one public school of public health are helping our state flourish in every field. We are educating experts who will leave this campus to sustain and increase our impact. In every corner of North Carolina, we are creating new knowledge that changes the state and the world.
Like a tree and its roots, there is a deep, unbreakable covenant between UNC Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina. You can’t have one without the other. But what makes Carolina truly exceptional is our ability to stay grounded by the people and needs of our state while engaging in research and educating students who will change the world.
The future of the university is found in the branches, reaching outward and upward, stretching toward new ideas, new fields, new communities. Yet the stronger the roots, the further the branches can reach, allowing us to touch more lives and create a canopy of opportunity across the state and beyond. And our opportunity, as we enter this new chapter of our university’s history, is to grow with and alongside our state.
We must continue expanding our reach and ensuring that our university reflects the dynamism and evolution of the state that we serve. I believe that Carolina must grow as North Carolina grows, not just in numbers, but in the ways we think about education, research, and service.
If we expect to make a meaningful impact on the communities around us, we will reinforce our ability to serve our students, staying true to our commitment of an accessible and affordable education while increasing our capacities in career services, leadership, and civil discourse.
And, we have to make sure that North Carolinians from every nook and cranny of this state know that they are wanted and welcome. Here at Carolina, we need to augment key programs
in engineering, data science, and AI so that Carolina leads the way in providing capable experts to tackle the demands of a rapidly changing world. We’ll break ground on new infrastructure and continue work on repair and renovation needs. Carolina North offers incredible potential for the needs of our campus and the whole Triangle region.
For Carolina to grow we need to have labs, classrooms, and affordable housing to support that growth. Carolina has always set the bar high. We don’t only respond to the needs of our time, but set the standard for what higher education should be here in North Carolina and beyond.
Today marks a new chapter in the inheritance of a remarkable legacy. I commit to all of you that I will tirelessly protect and champion that legacy. I’ll do everything I can to support your good ideas, encourage opportunities, continue building a community where everyone can thrive. I began by talking about the view outside my office, the large white oak embracing the old well. The surrounding flowers are the third piece of that beautiful setting.
Encore azaleas framed that space for decades, but recently reached the end of their natural lifetime as so many things do. The old well is now surrounded by native plants representative of the natural areas of our state. Now there will always be flowers blooming around the landmark that has looked the same for generations. We hold to tradition, but we know how to adapt and change.
We have a reinvigorated and resilient landscape because of it. All three pieces, the solid and unchanging Old Well, the magnificent oak, the adaptable flowers remind us to hold tightly to our unwavering mission, look toward the future and remain willing to think big.
May God continue to bless our wonderful country, our remarkable state, and this incomparable institution.
Thank you very much, and Go Heels!
Thank you to those of you who were able to support our friends and neighbors in Western North Carolina still recovering from the devastation of Helene. In addition to the previous recourses we shared, we would also like to share with you that the Carolina Student Impact Fund is providing emergency funding to students at Carolina who are from the western part of the state. We have 4,000 to 5,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students whose families were affected by Helene.