I recently wrote two letters to the incoming Class of 2013. One was to welcome them to this wonderful community that we call Trinity College. The other was to give them their first official reading assignment as Trinity students. Over the summer, they are to read Elizabeth Kolbert’s Field Notes from a Catastrophe, perhaps the most cogent of the current crop of books on global warming. Ms. Kolbert will be here to address the first-year class at the opening of the school year in September.

In my welcoming letter, I pointed out that even though these students are beginning their college years during challenging economic times, it is certain that the most durable investment they will ever make is their Trinity education. As we all know—far too well by now—jobs can disappear overnight, investment portfolios can shrink, and the value of real estate can quickly diminish. But the value of a liberal arts education can only grow over time as the lessons it teaches us become more and more relevant. As I am sure all of you can attest, the ability to think critically and communicate effectively; to command the intellectual resources of history, science, and the arts; and to understand what it means to live in a global society are indispensable building blocks of a successful life, no matter what the condition of the economy.

Much of the same sentiment was running through my mind as I drafted my letter assigning Ms. Kolbert’s book on global warming. Like the economy, environmental issues are going to be front and center for the Class of 2013 once they have completed their stay at Trinity and go out into the world. Again, I am convinced that the best preparation for grappling with the complex questions raised by global warming is a liberal arts education. The environment is not a simple matter, and the ability to think in complex ways that incorporate science, politics, history, and diverse cultures is exactly the skill that will be needed as these young people take their place in the leadership ranks of our nation.

I have visited with many of you who are alumni of the College in my travels around the country, and I have heard repeatedly that your Trinity education has served you well through all manner of challenging times, economic, political, and environmental. Because of your liberal arts education, many of you have been called upon to assume the leadership of many of this nation’s great institutions of finance, education, medicine, religion, government, the arts, and a host of others.

As we start the Class of 2013 of on its four years of growth and change, I can think of no more sound, reasonable course of action than the one they are about to embark on. On their behalf, my thanks go out to all of you—graduates of the College and parents of current students—who continue to support the College so generously through the Trinity Fund and the Cornerstone Campaign. It is through your generosity that their Trinity education is made all the more substantial and relevant. Thank you for all you do for Trinity.