|
|
PRESIDENT KEOHANE'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS FOR
FIRST LADY BARBARA BUSH AND RAISA GORBACHEV
President Nannerl Overholser Keohane:
In a sermon delivered at the opening of Wellesley in
1875, Henry Fowle Durant directed that Wellesley should
prepare women for great conflicts, for vast reforms in
social life, for "noblest usefulness." And to instill that
message, the chosen motto of the College, still constantly
familiar to all of us today, was "Non ministrari, sed
ministrare" -- not to be the passive recipient of good
works, but to do them. And thus service to other human
beings, to family and community and the world became (and
has remained) an integral part of the Wellesley tradition.
Barbara Bush clearly exemplifies that tradition of
"noblest usefulness." The most popular First Lady in our
time, Mrs. Bush has used the visibility and clout of her
position to work untiringly to heal wounds and combat evils
-- AIDS, drugs, homelessness, the breakup of families. Her
work is best known in the field of literacy, the cause with
which she is most closely identified, and where she has
moved all of us to new levels of awareness and concern. She
is determined to bring the privilege, practicality and
pleasure of reading to the 25 million Americans who face
each day the humiliation and isolation of illiteracy.
Barbara Bush's talents as an organizer are recognized by
her family and friends; her son calls her "the COO -- chief
operating officer." She has managed the details that come
with supporting a far-flung, active and loving family, and
shown the qualities of her hands-on leadership in her work
with many organizations -- the United Negro College Fund,
the Leukemia Society of America, the March of Dimes, the
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Salvation Army, the
Midland Texas Memorial Hospital, and on and on.
She has worked in public, and she has worked behind the
scenes, caring more about what she accomplishes than what
she is given credit for. Those who know her best admire her
most; there could be no finer tribute to anyone in public
life.
Living in Texas, New York, Maine, China or Washington,
Barbara Bush exemplifies what she believes: "to live a
complete life, you need to help other people ... You have a
choice: you can love your life, or not, and I have chosen to
love my life."
And by her exuberant joy in her own family, her work, her
quiet commitment to her causes, by the circumstance of
having become a public person and then occupying that
demanding role with wholesome grace, Mrs. Bush has won
universal admiration. We are honored that you could be with
us: Barbara Bush.
(Barbara Bush speaks)
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY PRESIDENT KEOHANE FOR
RAISA GORBACHEV
President Nannerl Overholser Keohane:
In 1987, Raisa Gorbachev was selected in an international
poll of newspaper editors as one of the world's ten most
important women. She began her career as a schoolteacher,
while her husband Mikhail was First Secretary of the
Komsomol in Stavropol. In the 1960s, she resumed her formal
academic studies at the V.I. Lenin Pedagogical Institute in
Moscow.
Raisa Gorbachev wrote a pioneering sociological study
entitled "Emergence of New Characteristics in the Daily
Lives of the Collective Farm Peasantry". Five collective
farms were the basis of her detailed analysis of rural
living conditions.
In her work, Mrs. Gorbachev is credited with the use of
highly original research methodology using official
documents, oral accounts, scientific publications, and field
investigations. The resulting thesis focused on the role of
women in Soviet society, and earned her an advanced degree
from the V.I. Lenin Pedagogical Institute in Moscow, and the
reputation of a pioneering sociologist.
Raisa Gorbachev was a lecturer on the faculty of
philosophy at Moscow State University before resigning when
her husband succeeded to the role of General Secretary of
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Mrs. Gorbachev has
travelled extensively with her husband, setting new paths
for Soviet women in her joint appearances and in solo public
speaking. Of her marriage, Mrs. Gorbachev has said: "I am
very lucky with Mikhail; we are really friends -- or if you
prefer, we have a great complicity." And of their
partnership on their many travels: "We have a division of
labor. He's working and I'm looking around. Then I'll tell
him about everything I see."
In trips to Great Britain, Iceland, eastern European
countries, and the United States, Mrs. Gorbachev has
displayed the new Soviet woman with intelligence, wit,
sophistication and style. She has brought new prominence to
the role of First Lady of the Soviet Union, and is often
compared in this respect to Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's
wife.
In 1986, Mrs. Gorbachev was named to the Soviet Cultural
Fund, an organization devoted to the promotion and
development of the arts, the restoration of historical
buildings, and cultural dialogue with the West. She now
serves as President of the Fund.
Raisa Gorbachev is an extensive reader, and a devotee of
ballet, theatre, and classical music. Wife, mother,
professor, philosopher, sociologist, and volunteer: Mrs.
Gorbachev we welcome you to Wellesley.
(Mrs. Gorbachev speaks)
Thank you from President Keohane:
Thank you, Mrs. Gorbachev. We are grateful to both of you
for your thoughtful speeches, and we wish you well in the
remainder of your summit conversations. Thank you for being
with us.
|
