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From the Foster Hall dedication speech, 1922 (Samuel P. Capen Papers, 1894-1955, 4/7/19, #19.38):
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A university is not a place. It is not a group of buildings. Its is an aggregation of scholars voluntarily assembled for the pursuit of learning... The qualities of a university and hence its reputation depend on the earnestness and skill of the persons who compose it.
And just as a man's home becomes associated in intangible ways with his personality until it seems the visible manifestations of his essential qualities, so the buildings in which a university is housed become merged with the university. Not only do they represent the university to the eye; but around in the course of time cluster the traditions of the institution.
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caricature, The City's Chamber of Commerce watches Buffalo's industrialists meet the University of Buffalo unknown artist, c.1930s
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From Commencement Day address, 1924 (Samuel P. Capen Papers, 1894-1955, 4/7/19, #20.11):
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The University of Buffalo is more than a university. It is a great popular movement. It represents the devotion of the people of Buffalo to an idea, the idea of intellectual improvement. It expresses their willingness to deny themselves, not for future material advantage, but that knowledge and taste and high ideals may be spread more broadly in the community and so that Buffalo may become a finer place to live in.
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From Centennial Celebration address, University of Buffalo, October 3-4, 1946 (Samuel P. Capen Papers, 1894-1955, 4/7/19, #24.18):
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Anyone who looks back on the early record of this institution cannot fail to be struck by the readiness of those who organized each part of it to improvise. Often with resources hardly more substantial than moonshine they dared to undertake an educational venture which they believed to be necessary and trusted that they could find a way, however unconventional, to make it succeed.
This institution prides itself especially on three attributes: the democratic character of its institutional life, its willingness to experiment, and its devotion to intellectual freedom.
Only by exercising the prerogatives and the responsibilities of freedom do men learn to be free and to be strong. The most precious of all these prerogatives is freedom of the mind, and it entails the gravest of all responsibilities. To the free exercise of the mind this University is irrevocably committed. Any student or teacher may here investigate any subject that attracts him and may report anywhere, in or out of the classroom, the conclusions he has reached. Any student or teacher may voice his opinions on any question, no matter how unpopular they may be, or even how foolish. He will not be restrained or penalized. On the contrary, the University will defend against any one who attacks him his rights of free inquiry and of free speech. This is what academic freedom means. At the University of Buffalo it has never been invaded.
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From Chancellor's Message, 1950 (Samuel P. Capen Papers, 1894-1955, 4/7/19, #24.12):
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The only forecast relating to the immediate future that I will hazard is this: The University of Buffalo will continue to grow in distinction, in power to enrich the lives of its students, and in ability to serve its community and the nation. The privilege of belonging to it will be increasingly a source of justifiable pride to all of its members.
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University Archives home » Online Exhibits » Capen: University Man » Quoting Capen » On the University of Buffalo...
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