UF President Bernie Machen questioned what the good life is in front of 733 people Thursday night.
Machen gave a lecture in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. The lecture in connection with a UF class called What is the Good Life.
He spoke about what he said are the main purposes of college and pondered what the good life is and is not.
“How about watching the bus pass you by when you have a 7:25 [a.m.] exam, not the good life, is it?” he said. “Receiving more texts from the UF Alert system than from your friends — definitely not the good life.”
Machen said the three purposes of college are self-discovery, finding a career and making a contribution to society.
Under his presidency, What is the Good Life became a mandatory class for all freshmen. Machen said he wanted something other than football to unify the incoming students.
“With 50,000 students from more than 200 countries studying on this wonderful campus, I wished and hoped that students would have more in common than cheering together in a stadium,” he said. “I wanted them to gather around a playing field of ideas.”
The event was organized by Andrew Wolpert, the coordinator of the course of about 3,000 students. Students taking the course were required to either attend the free lecture, which 580 students did, or watch it online.
“One of the things we’re trying to do with this course is create a common UF experience that sort of paves the way for students as they enter the university,” Wolpert said.
Every semester, the course instructors invite an inspirational speaker to address the class. Last semester, the lecture featured George Rupp, the former president of Rice University and Columbia University, and current CEO and president of the International Rescue Committee, which responds to humanitarian crises.
Besides attending a lecture every semester, students in the class are required to participate in two other outside activities. This semester, those activities include a performance at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and a tour of the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art.
“We use these activities to show how these questions and ideas we’re raising in class touch on all aspects of the students’ lives,” Wolpert said.
After the lecture, Machen opened the floor for a Q-and-A session.
When asked if he believes he is living the good life, Machen said he has the best job in the world.
“In fact, I can’t give it up,” he said. “Like all journeys, the journey through college can be a destination all by itself.”
UF sustainability studies senior Stuart Block, 21, joins UF President Bernie Machen in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom on Thursday.
