"It also means a great deal to me to be here in your country, for important parts of our national histories have been intertwined in ways that have affected all of us."
Professor Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard University, began her speech to hundreds of students and lecturers at USSH, VNU-HCM.
The topic “American Civil War” was neatly interlaced in the bigger message of maintaining peace and good relations between the two nations.
"You have a slogan directed at tourists: ‘Vietnam: A Country, Not a War.’ Like so many other Americans who have travelled here, I have wanted to make Vietnam into a place in my mind — not the name of a conflict that overtook my generation of young Americans, but a society and nation with all its complexity, its beauty, its history, its vibrancy, and its promise," Professor Faust said.
"And somehow seeing your country has come to seem for me necessary to understanding my own. American men of my generation confronted the military draft, which cast many into a struggle of conscience about whether they would comply with laws that required them to serve in a war they believed unwise and unjust," she further shared.
"For young women, like me, the dilemma was less immediately personal, but it propelled us to ask unsettling questions about our nation, our democracy, and our very humanity. Michael Herr, a journalist from the United States who covered the war, once wrote that Vietnam was, and I quote him, 'what we had instead of happy childhoods’," Prof Faust told her generation’s perspective.
During the visit, Prof Faust also had a brief discussion with the president of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City and the rector of USSH on potential cooperation opportunities between the two universities.
In the press conference, Prof. Faust stated there were 16 Vietnamese students studying at Harvard University. Answering the question on ‘whether this visit opens opportunities for Vietnamese students to receive Harvard University scholarships’, the president expressed that she hopes Vietnamese students will consider Harvard when planning to study abroad.
Prof. Faust confirmed that there will be equal opportunities for both Vietnamese and American students at Harvard in terms of financial scholarships.
About Prof. Drew Gilpin Faust, she took office in 2007 and became the 28th President of Harvard University.
Her journey began in 1968 when she earned her bachelor’s degree with honors in History from Bryn Mawr College. She continued her studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. She was later awarded for distinguished teaching in 1982 and 1996 at the University of Pennsylvania, and was appointed the Lincoln Professor of History in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Besides her teaching career, Prof. Faust was successful in other fields. She is the author of six books on American history and the Civil War, many of which earned her honorable awards. She was also the president of the Southern Historical Association and vice president of the American Historical Association. Additionally, Faust has served on numerous editorial boards and selection committees, including the Pulitzer Prize history jury in 1986, 1990, and 20041.
Professor Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard delivering her speech. Photo: THUẬN THẮNG
Students at USSH, VNU-HCM listening to Prof. Drew Gilpin Faust’s lecture. Photo: THUẬN THẮNG
Harvard University’s leaders meet with VNU-HCM’s leaders after the event. Photo: THUẬN THẮNG
Như Quỳnh Lý
1 Broad Institute. (n.d.). Drew Gilpin Faust. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.broadinstitute.org/files/news/media-kit/DrewFaust.pdf
