Opening minds, stretching boundaries and deep listening marked this year's Fall Convocation, the traditional kick-off of the academic year held Sept. 28 — the day before classes began.

The festive event drew more than 1,000 faculty, staff, students and friends of the university to the Mondavi Center's spacious Jackson Hall, where Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef hailed a new year-long project — "My Personal Compass" — intended to spark a lively dialogue throughout the campus community.

In his keynote address on this year's theme, "Stretching the Boundaries of Thought and Experience," Vanderhoef said people too often turn to sources of information that "affirm their convictions rather than to seek new and potentially challenging information." And that, he says, is troubling for a country built on freedom and an educational system dedicated to intellectual curiosity.

"It's only when we free ourselves of those self-imposed boundaries," said Vanderhoef, "when we listen to our hearts and give wing to our natural curiosity, that we can truly see and tap the breadth of opportunity available to us."

He called for "deep listening" as a way to break down those barriers. Said Vanderhoef, "I'm absolutely convinced that if we could simply sit down together and truly listen, we'd be taking a giant step toward peace in the world. It's the only way we can achieve the greater understanding necessary to solve our collective challenges as members of this community — but more importantly, as citizens of this world."

Joining the chancellor at the podium were campus community members who read their "My Personal Compass" essays. They included Naomi Janowitz, director and professor of religious studies; Keltie Jones, coordinator, Student Disability Center; Arthur Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology; Eric Zamora, senior sociology major; and Paula Lorenzo, chairwoman of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians and chief executive officer of Cache Creek Casino and Resort.

They shared a range of personal experiences — growing up in a secular Jewish household in Philadelphia during the Cold War, overcoming single motherhood and welfare to become a CEO and community leader, unleashing the power of a smile, appreciating the wisdom of a grandmother, and coping with the loss of a student who was an innocent bystander in a suicide bombing. (To read the entire essays, see Fall Convocation insert in this issue.)

Builds on last year's focus

Vanderhoef noted that this year's theme builds on last year's convocation theme of turning boundaries into bridges.

"It's a theme that encourages us to deliberately seek experiences and conversations that extend our understanding, that challenge our firmly held beliefs, that honor the new and the unfamiliar, and that take us a bit out of our comfort zones," he said.

In particular, Vanderhoef emphasized the importance of creative freedom and expression.

In poet Walt Whitman's words, Vanderhoef said, "'From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines.' It's only when we free ourselves of those self-imposed boundaries — when we listen to our hearts and give wing to our natural curiosity — that we can truly see and tap the breadth of opportunity available to us."

Vanderhoef said that celebrated poet and author Maya Angelou once observed, "'All people laugh, eat, worry, and cry. If we try to understand each other, we may even become friends.'"

He urged campus community members to get involved in the initiative, and said he hopes the essays will be discussed in "classrooms, in dining halls, among friends, among those drawn together simply by a quest for greater understanding."

Perhaps, he added, the essays will serve as catalysts for "further reflection and dialogue in everyday interactions" both on the campus and within the broader community.

Other convocation speakers included Dan Simmons, chair of the Academic Senate, and Rahim Reed, executive vice chancellor for campus community relations.

Simmons highlighted the value of faculty talent on campus, noting the significant contributions of research to the academic mission of campus.

"The faculty is largely responsible for maintaining the UC," said Simmons, adding that faculty success is "highly dependent" on quality staff.

Writing an essay

In writing an essay, be specific in naming your belief — and refrain from saying what you do not believe. And be concise. Essays should be no more than 350-450 words in length. To submit an essay, see http://mypersonalcompass.ucdavis.edu.