Wow, an opportunity to talk about FSU. My former
colleagues in the Astronaut Office would be groaning about now. They would
be thinking "Here we go again." I had something of a reputation,
probably richly deserved, as somewhat partisan when it came to discussions
about colleges or universities. If the ongoing discussion was not about
colleges and universities, I would usually find a way to steer it in that
direction. And then, of course, a mention of Florida State would just pop
up. How wonderful it is to be asked to address a group which really appreciates
such discussions and to comment on my vision of where my favorite university
should be by the end of the next decade. Given the objective evidence of
my own career, one might assume that I would see a branch campus on Mars
and an FSU-Associated research lab on the Space Station. Unfortunately,
I do not think that our space program would have advanced to the point which
would permit such eventualities in the course of a decade or so. I am much
more confident that FSU could move forward at a faster-than-space flight
pace into a new age of higher education.
My first speech at FSU was at the Grads made Good luncheon in 1983. I am
a little bit better prepared today than I was then. I had asked my wife
for advice about a speech for the luncheon. Her advice was that no speech
was wanted and that I should just be thankful for the invitation to attend.
My two follow invitees preceded me to the dais and give wonderful little
fifteen minute speeches. I was forced to hastily scribble some notes while
they talked and gave a mostly ad lib speech which, upon reviewing the video
tape later, I decided was one of the best short speeches I ever made. The
fomat today bears an eerie resemblance to the luncheon format, but if result
is inversely related to preparation, then you are in for a lousy talk this
afternoon.
I wanted to jazz up my lead-in back in 1993 with a joke. I whispered the
joke to my wife who was seated next to me on the platform, once again seeking
her opinion. She told me that if I told that joke, she would got up and
leave the room. She's not here today, so . . .
In early 1979, in my very first public relations event as a new NASA astronaut,
I addressed the Middle School Educators' convention in Huntington. West
Virginia. To my great surprise, I was later contacted and asked if I would
submit the speech for publication in the national journal. Therefore, I
can present myself to you today as a published and long established expert
in education. Humor aside, the theme of that speech is appropriate even
today as one example of where I would like to see FSIJ in the future.
My premise was that America's old-fashioned schools had done a pretty good
job of educating our first generations of scientists and technicians. I
noted that computers in schools neither guaranteed nor did their absence
preclude the successful education of America's children. That is not to
say that the latest technology cannot be useful in the process, it is merely
to say that it is neither necessary nor sufficient. If that were not true,
there would have been no engineers or scientists in the first place. There
is no chicken and egg dilemma here.
Florida State University has not been the recipient of lavish support from
the State. It has not even been the most-favored recipient among the candidate
institutions in the state. Yet, I feel that this University has been and
still is endowed with a unique ability to turn out first-rate scholars.
My first view of the, future is that we can continue to do so if we are
mindful of why this is so and by ensuring that we retain that which makes
us unique,
When I was a senior in high school, a letter from the Engineering Science
department and the Honors Program caused me to change my intended university
from Georgia Tech to FSU. I came here with some trepidation and I was sure
that I would be homesick. I never was, not even for a moment.
I became. a member of a family. The University's emphasis was not on making
me an engineer; it seemed to be assumed that that would happen in due course.
The emphasis was on making me a more civilized human being. It was a wonderful
time in which we learned about Western and other civilizations, values,
and respect for other peoples and ideas. My classmates and I also became
decent engineers, but we would have done so at Georgia Tech or UF (maybe)
as well.
Dr Grover Rogers, the Chairman, of the Department and later, Dean of the
School of Engineering Science, was my counselor. In fact, he was the academic
advisor for most of us in that freshman group who ultimately graduated as
engineers. The personal interest that he took in me and my classmates made
us feel as though we truly counted. He and Dr. Harvel Dawirs, my major professor,
contributed significantly to the great affection which I have for my Alma
Mater.
Although FSU had already grown to a student body of over 11,000 by the fall
of 1961, students did not feel that they were small fish in a big pond.
Tallahassee, a city of about 60.000, had a small town atmosphere and FSU
had a small college atmosphere. The cultural environment was truly outstanding.
There were plays, concerts, and even grand operas. I thought that I had
died and gone to heaven.
How is it that Winston Scott, an FSU music major, became an astronaut? How
is it that I, an engineer science graduate, became a medical doctor? How
did Burt Reynolds, a football player, become an actor? The answer is that
Florida State, with its strong liberal arts background, is a civilizing,
institution. I am very proud that I was able to attain all of my major goals
and that I did so fairly. It is exactly because I attended FSU that this
happened. Students here receive a philosphy of life. Further, they learn
that their life and their career is what they make of it. They learn that
knowledge has general application. This university is not, and must never
become a vocational school. Any university can turn out mathematicians,
scientists, engineers, musicians, and what have you. FSU can turn out truly
civilized mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and what have you.
Of course, I do not want to miss this opportunity to mention a couple of
specific areas in which I believe FSU can and should make its mark in the
future. There is great interest in distance learning these days. My assessment
is that awesome potential for great good or great harm exists. To be effective,
I believe that distance learning programs must have Hollywood production
values. Putting a professor, chalk in hand, in front of a camera, is a great
way to turn off the remote audience of students. On the other hand, use
of the appropriate computer-generated graphics or perhaps, in some cases,
professional actors can create a whiz-bang product which really motivates
the students. The current efforts under way here to implement and/or enhance
distance learning must be given sufficient resources to allow FSU to be
a leader in this area. With the pool of creative talent in residence, our
capabilities are unquestioned.
I truly believe FSU can and should have a medical school. The Program in
Medical Science, or PIMS program, played an important role in my own successful
admission to medical school years ago. Recently, I had the pleasure of teaching
a portion of the physiology course to the first year medical students enrolled
in PIMS. I gave them the hardest examination in pulmonary physiology that
I could devise. The result was a low grade of 72.5 and an average of 88.5.
I can assure you that the quality of the program and the students in the
program is exactly what you would want given that these folks are just a
few short years from practicing human medicine.
PIMS attracts students who are especially interested in Primary Care medicine.
With future projections of the need for such physicians and past difficulties
in producing them in the United States, it is clear that PIMS is a perfect
basis for a full four year medical program. The regional population base
is sufficient to support a medical school. All of the citizens of this area
as well as legislators and their families spend considerable periods of
time here would be the immediate beneficiaries of the program. Ultimately,
all of the citizens of Florida would benefit from the influx of increased
numbers of primary care physicians into medical practice. By favoring students
from underserved areas, the Florida State University School of Medicine
would help ameliorate the physician shortage in those areas, since there
is a tendency for students to return from whence they come.
The PIMS program is already in existence. It has operated successfully for
about thirty years. Thus, the enhancement of this already-existing program
to create a full-fledged four-year medical school would be much cheaper
and easier than creating such a school de novo at some other location. It
is telling that Texas, a state whose population is only slightly greater
than Florida's, has six medical schools and a school of osteopathic medicine.
Florida has but three medical schools and the number of students enrolled
in a given Florida school is less than the number enrolled in a given Texas
school.
Florida State has already taken firm steps to increase joint programs with
other universities. Joint programs will certainly increase in importance
in the future, and this university is at the leading edge of the trend.
At the engineering college, a program in biomedical engineering has been
initiated in association with the University of Miami. Given the number
of elderly in this state with the consequent higher-than-usual demand for
medical services and devices, the State has a need and should have an interest
in the production of biomedical engineers. Heretofore, the University of
Miami was the only institution in Florida with a formal department of biomedical
engineering.
There is also a program which will benefit from the establishment of a medical
school at FSU. A great strength of the Miami program is the presence of
the School of Medicine there. I look forward to the day when a student can
enter Florida State University as an undergraduate and leave as an M.D.-Ph.D.
physician/biomedical engineer. You can bet that that student will be both
a scholar and a civilized human being as a result of passage through this
institution.
I almost forgot, during preparation for this speech to include the proposed
Challenger Learning Center which is to be located at the Engineering College
and for which we are currently seeking funding. The Challenger Learning
Center, one of thirty or so scattered about the United States, Canada, and
soon, England, will be a K-12 educational facility designed to motivate
middle school students to follow careers in science, engineering, and technology.
At the present time, the United States is greatly dependent upon foreign-born
engineers to meet the demand for members of this profession.
In the Challenger Learning Center program, all of the students in one or
more middle school grades in the Leon, and later other surrounding school
districts, will spend a day at the Learning Center. There, under the supervision
of specially-trained science teachers, they will plan and fly a space mission
involving a space craft and a mission control center. By using space as
a theme, the children are "turned on" to science and technology.
It is our expectation at the Engineering College that many of these children
will return to us as engineering students at some point in the future.
The Seminary West of the Suwannee, Florida State College, and Florida State
College for Women are a part of the rich history of this university. My
wife's grandmother and mother were graduates of FSCW. They were bright,
energetic, cultured, and obviously well-educated. How many times have you
heard FSCW graduates so-described? Their gentility is a legacy from the
days when the University was acknowledged to be a truly outstanding liberal
arts college. This legacy must continue to be passed to each new generation
of Florida State University graduates, for it is this legacy which gives
us our particular and unique character. In my vision of the future, we shall
continue to be the finest, if not the biggest university in the state.
I met my wife in front of Jennie Murphee Hall in 1964. We married the next
year and recently celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. She, too, is
a Florida State University graduate and possesses the same fine qualities
that I noted in her mother and grandmother.
Our youngest son just enrolled here. The nicest people I know are associated
with FSU. Even our football fans enjoy a good reputation around the country.
From my somewhat biased viewpoint, there is no better testimony to the value
of my university than that it produces long-lasting marriages, motivates
families to send their children here generation after generation, and has
an outstanding national reputation.
This University has enabled me to realize my dreams. I wish I could take
everyone here to space so they might wake up on the Space Shuttle to the
strains of the Florida State Fight Song. It is an experience whose emotional
impact cannot be adequately described. My love for this University has sustained
me through many years in many different circumstances. The power of this
institution is this very ability to inspire such feelings in so many people.
It motivates them to accomplish that which they would otherwise not accomplish.
It is this ability to inspire that we must preserve above all else.
At the end of the next decade, I see FSU as a leader in the liberal arts,
science, engineering, and medicine. Most of all, I see the University as
an example of what a truly civilized and civilizing institution should be.
Best of all, I get to see this eventuality, not from afar, but from up close.
Thank you.