“I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”
Music journalist Jon Landau famously wrote that line in 1973 about his first time seeing Springsteen in concert. Having been lucky enough to experience a few Springsteen concerts myself, I understand the enthusiasm.
Knowing what we know now about the incredible career “The Boss” would go on to have, Landau’s observation seems downright prescient, but his predictive powers were limited at best. Had he seen the actual future that night, he surely would have been shocked to discover that, just two years later, he would become Springsteen’s producer and manager, and that their partnership would span five successful decades. Even in moments of great clarity, the future is always full of surprises.
I’m not sure I’ve ever made a prognostication quite as bold as Landau’s; if I have, it surely turned out wrong. But the beauty of being part of a university is that you don’t need much in the way of speculative skills to get a glimpse of what the future might have in store. It’s all around us every day at Dalhousie.
Looking ahead
Universities are tasked with the future’s concerns like no other segment of our society. Each year, Dalhousie welcomes thousands of new students on the cutting edge of social movements and generational change. They inspire those of us charged with their education to help prepare them not just for this world but the one they themselves will help create. In labs, studios, and workspaces of all stripes, Dal researchers are challenging orthodoxy and forging new frontiers as they rethink and reimagine our society: how we fuel it, how we feed it, how we make it fairer and more favourable for everyone. And as we collaborate with partners in government, industry, and other sectors on lifting Nova Scotia to new heights, we have an opportunity to connect our community contributions to the continued growth and success of our province like never before.
It can be easy to lose focus on the future in a present-tense world. This past year has seen more than its share of hand-wringing about the state of our universities, particularly in light of international enrolment challenges across Canada and globally. As I write this, Dalhousie is working through its own budget shortfall. The problem of how to sustainably support higher education in this country is real, and it will require real work to settle it out. But if we focus all that work on the ledger books and don’t find ways to engage people in the inspiration and discovery and joy that universities create on our campuses and in our communities, then we risk failing to forge the kind of bold future that we wish for our students and our society at large.
And if that task can seem daunting in the face of current circumstances, let’s remember where we’ve been. Because here’s the thing about that “rock and roll future” line: it’s become so famous that it’s overshadowed the first part of the quote, where Landau wrote how that night in Boston he also saw “rock’n’roll past flash before [his] eyes.”
Reflecting on the past
It wasn’t that Springsteen’s concert excited him with something entirely new, but that the experience reminded him of how and why he fell in love with music in the first place. Even the article’s title, “Growing Young with Rock and Roll,” cheekily acknowledges how sometimes we find our way into the future by way of reflecting on the past.
I find that idea reassuring, and not just because Dalhousie has been forging future possibilities for more than 200 years now. It also means the experiences all of you have had with Dalhousie—as students, as alumni, as faculty and staff, as supporters—hold an important place in this conversation. We know we can build a better future for our university, our province, our country, and our world because we all have stories about how Dalhousie has helped shape our own futures for the better.
This magazine has been telling stories just like that for many years now. Starting next year, it will start telling them a little bit differently, connecting them with readers like you in exciting new ways—see AnnMarie’s note. I hope you’ll continue to see some of the Dalhousie you know in these stories, but I also hope they inspire you about the future with the same passion and enthusiasm as a truly great concert—one best experienced singing at the top of your lungs.
This letter appeared in the DAL Magazine Fall 2024 issue. Flip through the rest of the issue using the links below.