In my dual capacity this evening, as Master of Quincy House and as Dean of the Harvard Extension School, let me extend a warm welcome to you all to Quincy House and to the annual HEAA banquet. My colleague, John Adams, informs me that this banquet marks the largest gathering of Extension alumni in recent years, and it is a pleasure to see both familiar faces and new faces at this celebratory gathering.

This year marks the 86th anniversary of the Harvard Extension School, and the Class of '96 constitutes an academically distinguished and numerically historic addition to the HEAA. In 1995-96 we will graduate 118 undergraduate degree recipients, 65 graduate degree recipients, and a record 226 graduate certificate recipients--a total of 409 new members to join the ranks of the HEAA. These new alumni are from more than 30 countries around the world, and they add an important international dimension to our graduates of recent years.

We have alumni present this evening who have received degrees and graduate certificates through four decades--the 60s, 70s, 80s, and the 90s. We have alumni present this evening who came to the very first Extension alumni gatherings--Edgar Grossman and Ella Smith--and we have alumni who aren't really alumni yet, for they won't receive their degrees or graduate certificates until just about 31 hours from now at Harvard's Commencement.

We welcome you all to the annual HEAA banquet--the 29th consecutive annual banquet. But Harvard being Harvard, we really can't consider this event a tradition until we hit, say, 50 consecutive banquets or so, for with the weight of 360 years of Harvard history bearing down on us, 50 years is probably the minimum length of time to develop a new tradition around here. So we expect to see you all at the next 21 consecutive banquets as we move this happy event into the Harvard "traditional" category.

This year marked the first contested HEAA election in well over a decade with the largest number of ballots ever returned in an election. Thanks to the diligence of Ruth Gove and her nominating committee, Extension alumni this year had a choice in selecting those stepping forward to lead the HEAA in the latter part of this decade--and millenium.

Thanks, too, to outgoing president Bill Benson for leading the organization for the past two years, presiding over the new regular meetings that brought interesting speakers to the alumni body, and overseeing the constitutional changes that have encouraged more graduates to become involved in alumni matters.

In closing, let me acknowledge, collectively, the hard work and many contributions made by my staff colleagues in the Harvard Extension School during this past year. This has been a banner year, and they have all helped to make it so.

My best wishes to all the HEAA members for continued success, health, and happiness.