The Purposes of the University

A selection of speeches from UF’s 11th president Bernie Machen, offering insights on public higher education and its challenges and changes

The modern university is a beacon for students, a home for scholars, a hub of culture in the community, an engine of discovery, an economic force—a place of many purposes, all facing change or reinvention. This selection of speeches from University of Florida’s 11th president Bernie Machen, with executive speechwriter Aaron Hoover, offers insights on public higher education and its challenges from the helm of one of the largest land-grant universities in the country. The Purposes of the University sheds light on many upheavals within academia. Machen defended against legislative pressures and criticism of the liberal arts and sciences, cemented the university’s bonds with donors as public funding crumbled, worked to maintain student diversity post-affirmative action, sought to define innovation as a central mission, led a major turn toward sustainability, and forged new educational models online and on campus. The speeches in this volume also highlight milestones and key moments at UF, from the expansion of the campus to mediation of town-gown relations to the launch of research projects all over the world. They offer candid portraits of the life and people of the university and its hometown of Gainesville, celebrating iconic figures like Gatorade inventor Robert Cade and campus personalities such as UF’s longest-serving employee, Betty Jones. And they include reflections on university life: tributes to the first black students, the history of the marching band, the trees of the historic campus, and the legacy of student veterans who enrolled after returning from the nation’s wars.

Perhaps the most traditional public role for university presidents is to encourage and help students. In his speeches—at commencements, convocations, and other events across the state—Machen aimed to inspire and to celebrate young people and their passion. On topics both weighty and whimsical, his perspective combines openness to change with full faith in the university and its many purposes.