Hi everyone,

Yesterday morning I had the honor of reading the poem I wrote at the invitation of DR. JEFF FREDERICK, the 19th president of Drury University, at his inauguration ceremony. I don’t have a picture of the event yesterday but it took place in Stone Chapel on the Drury campus in Springfield so I’m using a picture from a previous occasion when I read there.

Here’s my poem, which was printed in the program.

Jeff Frederick Inauguration Poem
October 25, 2024

The Science, the Art, and the Community
By David L. Harrison

What we learn is not the same
as how we learn.
One is science, the other, art.

The science of learning
Is understanding what we know.
The art is learning the difference
between accumulated facts and wisdom.
The history of Drury, as well as its future,
is based on the development of wisdom.

On this new day, new time, new leadership,
we commit to partnering with the future,
bringing to it a balanced view, reasoned responses,
the amalgamation of science and art.

We will bring to our partnership
our belief in the value of relationships,
that what we do matters.
A place can be humble as a dorm room,
but a sense of place is a community,
a source of nourishment where we go
to grow larger than the sum of ourselves.

We pledge to our partnership
renewed and inspired energy
to prepare Drury students
for meaningful, fulfilling lives
that enrich families, workplaces, and communities. 

Our North Star will be our mission
of transforming lives through personalized education
by the science, the art
and the community of Drury University.

(c) 2024, David L. Harrison