Weill Hall Dedication

October 13, 2006

To the Ford family, we are absolutely delighted that you are with us today. We have been looking forward to this celebration for many, many months.

It was three years ago that President Ford and I stood just a few yards from here, when this was a dusty construction site and we had yet to break ground.

I promised him we would build this hall in his lifetime. While we sorely miss his presence today, I am so proud that his family is with us to see a promise fulfilled.

A building is only as strong as the people who live and work inside it.

Michigan Stadium is a sports icon, and it was elevated by the play and natural leadership of Captain Jerry Ford.

The United States Capitol is a spectacular structure, and it was a symbol of well-reasoned bipartisan governance under the leadership of Congressman Jerry Ford.

The White House is recognized worldwide for leadership, and that leadership was wholly restored by the integrity of President Gerald R. Ford.

Today we are dedicating a magnificent building—one that was made possible by the vision of friends like Joan and Sandy Weill, Leonore Annenberg, and many other generous donors.

As the home of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Joan and Sanford Weill Hall will become one of those great campus buildings known both for its elegant architecture and for the excellence it inspires because of our faculty and our graduates.

President Ford is widely admired because he personifies the ideal of noble public service. With a school that carries his name and the opening of Weill Hall, the University is providing our students, faculty and staff with an exceptional environment for promoting public policy and civic leadership of the highest order. In our increasingly complex and fragmented world, let it be a source of knowledge, understanding and thoughtful discourse.

President John F. Kennedy once wrote: “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” We thank President Ford for inspiring our teaching and research with his leadership. Weill Hall cannot contain the respect and affection we feel for him.