Jared L. Cohon Lecture: The Accidental President

Carnegie Mellon University's president Dr. Jared L. Cohon believes that the goals and plans that you set for yourself can do no more than prepare you to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. Not coincidentally, this is more or less how Carnegie Mellon has led its institutional life for the last several decades. Most important, though, he says, is to enjoy each leg of the journey, no matter where you ultimately end up.
Joel Tarr, Carnegie Mellon's Richard S. Caliguiri University Professor of History and Policy, received the 2008 Leonardo da Vinci Medal of the Society for the History of Technology for his outstanding contributions to the history of technology. He has never thought of himself as a historian of technology, and his surprise at receiving the award caused him to reflect back over his life to try to understand what influences shaped his interest in technology and its effects on the city and on the environment. In his Journeys Lecture, he retraces some of these influences from growing up in the industrial city of Jersey City through the influences that Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh have had upon him since he joined the university in 1967.

"Journeys" are special University Lectures in which Carnegie Mellon faculty members and special guests share their reflections on their journeys -- the everyday actions, decisions, challenges and joys that make a life. For more information on this and other lectures, visit www.cmu.edu/uls/journeys

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Education

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• Carnegie
• Mellon
• Jared
• Cohon
• accidental
• president
• engineering
• journey's
• lecture

[HostingReviews1]

great speech.

[thegreeensky]

nice so down to earth.. nice speech...

[correct0mundo]

I enjoyed hearing the personal history, first-hand, of this remarkable man leading one of the top universities in our nation, but couldn't resist google'ing: "Crusty Nostrils"

If you do, you''ll be rewarded with a 15-min YouTube of President Cohon sporting Nike tennis shoes, wearing shades and a fedora while playing the bones for "The New Crusty Nostrils".

Good thing he kept his day job! LoL.

It's all good,

MikeA

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute '75

CMU BSEE '79

[jscotthamilton]

It's great to see a university president who is so down to earth! Years ago I had MIT's president, Dr. Paul E. Grey as my freshman academic advisor. And Dr. Grey was also a very warm individual, even while I was being an academic disappointment.

Like any important person, they put their pants on one leg at a time. And their greatness usually comes from supporting and being served by great people.

[jimmysjazz]

Jared Cohon is a dangerous "George Soros" Communist. His "global" outlook reveals that he is one of the greatest "enemies within".