The Rhode Island School of Design must "rise to the challenge" of the digital era "because we can," said John Maeda, former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, during his inaugural address Friday as the 16th president of RISD.
Speaking to a large audience that filled the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of America before heading off to the post-inauguration block party, Maeda painted a picture of a future in which "the new conventional wisdom must recognize the essential nature of right-brained innovation, and policy makers and employers should take note."
"What's missing today is the notion that artists and designers are among the most passionate people about what they do - and this world needs more passion," Maeda said.
Also the former associate director of research at the MIT Media Lab, Maeda assumed his responsibilities as president of RISD last June. His work blurs the border between art and design. According to a RISD press release, his resume includes projects for major corporations like Google and Samsung, as well as museum and gallery exhibitions of his own artwork.
With an ensemble playing Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," Maeda entered the church as part of a procession of trustees, faculty and representatives from 22 other colleges and universities, including President Ruth Simmons. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I. and Mayor David Cicilline '83.
In his address, Maeda drew a parallel between MIT's rise as a top research institution and his own vision for RISD. MIT, he explained, came to prominence amid the great technological challenges posed by World War II, elevating the status of science and engineering.
"What if there's one art and design school out there that can elevate a new set of skills that are crucial to our continued livelihood?" Maeda asked. "What if the new form of American invention that will solve these problems isn't a machine anymore, but is the invention of a feeling? The right feeling - an emotional experience articulated in the principles of art and design."
"What MIT did for technology, RISD will do for creativity," he said.
In this theme, Maeda echoed the words of his teacher and mentor Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder and chairman emeritus of the MIT Media Lab, who delivered the keynote address. In his speech, Negroponte expressed a hope that RISD could become a place where new media could be produced by artists and designers, who would then utilize those media to their fullest creative potential.
"The future of expression, the future of media in general, has got to come from the people who use it, not just the scientists that are going to invent it," Negroponte remarked. "And I think that's something that can happen here, something that will happen here."
In her speech welcoming Maeda, Simmons drew laughs by alluding to the blog he has maintained since last December, when it was announced that he would succeed former RISD President Roger Mandle.
"John, not only do I not blog," Simmons joked, "but I am a university president who perceives the activity that this noun-verb neologism entails as a troubling trend."
She continued, "Yet I have to confess that when I read your blog, I found the freshness, immediacy and simplicity of this medium effective and endearing."
As several speakers noted, Maeda donned a student volunteer T-shirt on move-in day and helped RISD freshmen unload their luggage. RISD Provost Jessie Shefrin described Maeda's giving $2,000 toward books for a student looking for scholarship money. A video on RISD's Web site shows Maeda on his first tour of the campus, shaking hands, talking to students and commenting on various aspects of the school, all with an air of ingenuous nonchalance.
The inauguration of this approachable president spilled out of the church to a block party across the street from RISD's new Chace Center. Maeda arrived, still wearing his official robes, to join the throng crowded under a large tent to avoid the rain.
"I love John. He's awesome!" said Murphy Chang RISD'11 at the block party. "I've seen him more in the last two weeks than I've seen the last president in a year."
"He really listens to the students," said Lauren Jack RISD'09 before the inauguration. "I've heard a lot of talk about him saying that he wants to bring more of a business aspect to the school, which I think is a really good idea. But, at the same time, I think that he has a lot of care for the students and what they want to do."
Natalie Herrera RISD'09 hoped Maeda's presidency would lead to a greater integration of the various RISD departments and more interaction between the school and the city of Providence.
"I expect him to say the unexpected," Herrera said.
