“That diversity is what makes this university so great,” she said. “Even though you are all different, there is something distinctive about Brown students, and it is this amazing blend of intellectual curiosity, creativity and humility; a commitment to collaboration; an openness to new ideas and perspectives; a desire to make the world better — and it’s resilience, the ability to recover and thrive after experiencing difficulties.”

Paxson called on students to uphold the University’s core values: the pursuit of knowledge and understanding; academic freedom and freedom of expression’ a commitment to openness and diversity of ideas, perspectives and experiences; and a responsibility for a thriving academic community. And as students immerse themselves in campus life, she urged them to build connections and be bold, like sitting down with a table of unfamiliar faces in a dining hall.

“You may forge a friendship that lasts a lifetime — take it from me: a stranger I sat down with in a college dining hall is now my husband of 43 years,” Paxson said to a burst of cheers and “aws” from the students.

Following the president’s remarks, Dean of the College Ethan Pollock gave an Opening Convocation keynote address, echoing the call to embrace the unknown and to welcome transitions.

In remarks titled “Transitions and Transformations: Making the Most of Your Brown Education,” Pollock urged students to grow in new and unexpected ways during their time on campus. He shared his personal journey with a book, “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Turgenev, which impacted him profoundly and differently each time he read it depending on his stage of life and the distinct cultures, research, experiences and moments he was immersed in at a given time.

“A book or piece of art reads us in the sense that it reveals what we bring to it,” Pollock said. “Each time I read it, I was a different person living in different contexts.”

Drawing an analogy to Brown, he noted the University’s centuries of history and traditions that are constant, while its generations of students and scholars are ever changing.

“If that sense of growth and change applies to great books, it certainly applies to great institutions,” Pollock said. “Every time you walk through the Quiet Green on your way to or from the Rock, you will not exactly be the same — Brown will read you one way today and another way tomorrow. Some changes will be subtle [and] some will be profound, [and] like a great book, Brown will be there for you, patiently waiting for you to recognize new lessons.”

A professor of history and Slavic studies who has taught at Brown for nearly two decades, Pollock became dean of the College on July 1. He shared his excitement and anxiety for his transition alongside the Class of 2029, urging students to “become open to things that we did not recognize before,” which will drive personal development, learning and education. 

“It is not so much about what your professors teach you, as what you are ready to hear and see,” Pollock said. “Brown is built on the idea that the best education begins with the students’ interests, their sense of what an education is for [and] their thirst for understanding in the world.”

While there is comfort in confirming one’s beliefs and finding commonalities, the true sign of community is one in which its members respect and celebrate difference, Pollock said, as they learn “to make mistakes and to forgive the mistakes of others as they too strive to grow and change.” 

“This is what it means to be in community with one another: It means listening and learning and being open to growth and transitions,” Pollock said. “The idea is that you will emerge out the other end of the experience and out those very same gates a different person… We have faith that when given the opportunity, you will find your own path and you will transform in ways that we cannot direct or predict.”