| 编者语： "神七"飞天，中国人在太空迈出了第一步。这一步的跨越，代表着中国人勇于探索的坚持与执着。正值此时，新同学也要迈出他们在UIC的第一步。向未来量步，你准备好了吗？ |
Dear Colleagues, Dear Students,
Please look at the sky, you can see the three astronauts are watching and maybe participating in our ceremony. UIC would like to invite you to, jointly, send our best wishes to them, wish them all the success and have a safe trip on earth.
UIC is like a spaceship, it's a pioneering job to fly the spacecraft of educational innovation. The campus we are situated in, in fact is also a spaceship. You can walk around here and you can see the surroundings, all the buildings, and the hard work we put in. Life is like a spaceship, If you want to become a genuine member of the spaceship, you must have the courage to try something that you have never done before. That's life. You want to have the new experiences that you can remember all your life. Studying in the university is always a challenge for a lot of students. But it is meaningful life experience. Education is not something easy. As Prof Zee said (a while ago), you must work hard. And, as Dr Zhang Cong said: Try to find out things that you have never learned before. Therefore, let's all try.
The three astronauts that are now circling the earth, will, ultimately, walk in space. You have started a journey to walk in the space of UIC. You are the astronauts that will bring this university, this college to a new horizon. We are here to serve you. We are here to help you. But you are the astronaut that needs to take the first step out of the spaceship, to prepare to fail, to prepare to risk. Maybe you will be hurt; maybe you have to suffer. That's life. If you look back to your life, so far, you may have enjoyed a very peaceful, comfortable life. Your parents are doing all the dirty work and donkey work, trying to provide you with a kind of quality education, as UIC is advocating. You owe a lot to your parents, and they suffer, they worry about you. But, no matter what, they have successfully brought you to UIC.
This is the fourth year of UIC. We have gone through a lot. We have succeeded in some areas, failed in others. There are so many things that professors, teachers, administrators do not know about building a college. We are pioneers and we had no one to guide us in the walk in space. We are doing it alone. You can see all our problems through the criticism on the web. We make mistakes but we are pioneers. We dare to take the first step. The first step is always a difficult one, whether you like it or not. You would be confronted with all kinds of difficulties. This new century is a century for discovery. Unlike the age of Columbus, this is the age that knowledge has exploded. Life changes all the time; the world is changing all the time. You need to take the first step out of the spaceship and walk on the path that you have never walked before. You may be frustrated; you may fail. But please remember, there are a lot of people that have confidence in you. Your parents are supporting you. Your teachers are supporting you. Your friends know how much difficulty that you may be confronted with. And that's life.
UIC is only a small college; we will not have too many students. There are a lot of problems that a small college like us face. We do not have government funding. Our resources are limited. We are not a rich college. We have very few donations from outside. Therefore, you will find out in the coming four years, in this small college that we are building together----you, all the teachers, and your friends----that this college we are building is a new venture. So please make it a new home for you. If you remember UIC is your home, then you will forget about living in a palace, and understand that it is not a paradise. It's a place we call home. Bear with us, bear with your fellow students, and bear with your teachers. We may not be doing as successfully as universities of four hundred years, or fifty years. We are only four years old. But you can make this place a home. Put your feelings into it. Try to find out more about the place. Try to improve on things. Make constructive suggestions and criticism to make it grow. Do not worry about professors, teachers taking revenge on your criticism. We are as open as the sky. As I said, we are in a spaceship. So make this place a home. Love it, help it grow and make it a place you will long remember. Thank you very much.
(中文翻译稿, 译者：Emily Wu)
各位同学、各位同事：
首先请大家抬头看看天空，此时此刻，"神七"的三位航天员正在太空观看和参与我们的开学典礼。让我们共同祝愿他们成功完成任务，安然返回地球。
UIC也是一艘太空飞船，在广阔天地里遨游，为中国高等教育的创新与发展担负起先锋的使命。我们此时所处的这个空间其实也是一艘飞船，你们可以在环绕四周的建筑群之中尽情行走。生活同样是一艘飞船，如果你想真正成为这飞船中的一员，必须敢于尝试之前从未尝试的事物——这就是生活。你渴望获得一切全新的体验，而这些体验将在你的人生旅程中历久弥新。大学生活在同学们的热望下即将开始，这是一个充满希望的起点，更是一个意味深远的起点，这段路程并不容易。诚如徐是雄教授刚才所说，你们必须刻苦认真；如张聪博士之前所言，你们要试着发掘不曾学过的事物。让我们一起来努力。
明天三位航天员即将开始太空行走之旅，而你们也踏上UIC之旅，这两段旅程将会同样奇妙。你们都将成为航天员，你们会将UIC号飞船带至一个新视界。我们会在这里提供所有协助和支持。但是请记住，迈出舱门第一步的人只能是你们自己，要准备接受种种的考验，承担未知的风险甚至失败，可能你会经历伤害和痛苦——这就是生活。回顾你们迄今十几年的人生，可能你们会觉得生活平静安宁、舒适愉悦。但那是因为你们的父母默默地包揽了全部的艰辛困难，只为了给你们提供更好的生活，更好的教育。对于他们，你们亏欠许多。他们忍受，他们奋斗——当然最终未必能成功——但是至少，他们今天成功地将你们带来UIC，这所令他们充满期待的大学。
UIC已经进入第四个年头，我们经受了许多痛苦，也经历了许多挫折。由于是先锋，所以无先例可循，许多前所未有的状况，我们不知道如何处理。在浩瀚无边的太空世界，没有人引领我们前行，我们只能独自向前。在这摸索的行程中，我们犯过错，也失败过。你们可能通过网络了解到太多关于UIC大大小小的问题，批评声不绝于耳。我们的确会犯错，但是，重要的是我们敢为天下之先，敢于迈出第一步，尽管这一步通常都不容易。无论乐意与否，我们终究要面对各种各样的困难。21世纪是一个倡导发现的新世纪，与哥伦布时代有所不同，这是一个由知识领航的时代。生活变幻万千，世界日新月异。你们必须学着迈出舱门第一步，踏上你们未曾走过的旅程。你们可能遭受挫折和失败，但是请记住，有许多人正在满怀信心地注视着你们，父母、老师、朋友，对你们所经受的困难感同身受，时刻伸出援助之手——这就是生活。
UIC是一所很"小"的大学，我们不想招收更多的学生。对于像我们这样小规模的大学，总存在这样那样的问题。我们没有政府的资助，我们没有丰富的资源，我们没有充足的财力，我们没有足够的捐赠。在未来的四年之中，你们会发现这是一所由大家共同建设的大学。你们、老师以及你们的朋友，大家一起开辟新的天地。所以，请把UIC建成我们共同的家园吧。当你把这里当作自己的家，你便会忘却所有的浑浊污痕，因为这里既不是圣殿，也不是天堂，而是我们的家。请试着对你们的老师宽容一些，对你们的同伴宽容一些，对我们的学校宽容一些。我们可能还无法做到像拥有数十年乃至数百年历史的大学那般成功，我们还仅仅走过四年。然而，这丝毫不影响你们把这里当作一个家。请尝试着用心去感受她，去发现她，去提升她。我们会如同这广阔的天空一般，敞开胸怀，乐于接纳你们的建议和批评。这里是你们的家，请爱护她、帮助她，让所有人伴随她一起成长，我相信，这里终将成为你们永生难忘的地方。
谢谢大家!
