Remarks and Speeches
» back to Remarks and Speeches
The Greater Springfield –University of Massachusetts Partnership
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding
The Old First Church
Springfield, Massachusetts
-
November 7, 2008
Good afternoon. I would like to thank all of you for joining us today to witness this auspicious event: the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Springfield and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
I wish to thank Congressman Neil and Governor Patrick for their strong show of support. And, in particular, I thank Mayor Sarno, and the City of Springfield, for opening the doors of this venerable and historical building, allowing all of us to come together and acknowledge what is an inevitable partnership.
Why “inevitable”? Simply put, a strong and productive collaboration between the City of Springfield and the University of Massachusetts Amherst is in everyone’s best interest.
The nation and the world face significant challenges across all sectors of our society: the economy, the environment, indeed, in the daily well-being of humanity.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is in the business of knowledge creation. Our faculty – and the research they conduct – is competitive nationally and internationally. This new knowledge has the potential for practical applications that will contribute to global solutions. The University, however, needs a partner to help move that new knowledge out of the lab, the classroom, and the recital hall, and weave it into fabric of society.
In the short time since I have lived in Western Massachusetts, I have been struck by the long history of innovativeness, creativity, and ingenuity that defines the people of this region, and the City of Springfield in particular. You have influenced the history of the entire world, from significantly contributing to the industrial process that we now know as “manufacturing ,” to giving us two of the greatest pleasures in life: either playing or watching a good game of hoops.
By combining the efforts of University faculty with the time-tested ingenuity of the people of this great city, we acknowledge an enormously strong opportunity for significant collaboration.
Today, then, we celebrate the possibilities of this partnership, and the opportunity to harness the creation of new knowledge and bring it to our global society for the betterment of all.
Thank you very much.
