SDU’s 60th anniversary
Three new quotes are ready for Interstitiel
To mark SDU’s 60th anniversary, three new quotes will be added to the staircase area around Interstitiel, the column by sculptor and painter Jørn Larsen in front of SDU’s main entrance.
In the spring, students and staff were invited to suggest quotes that are clearly relevant to SDU and which say something significant about research, education, personal development, critical thinking, academic freedom or the university's role in society.
A committee chaired by Rector Jens Ringsmose and comprising representatives from management, researchers and students has selected the three quotes that can now be revealed.
Solvej Balle
One of the quotes is by the author Solvej Balle:
'I wake up and walk through history. I can feel my brain growing.'
The quote was submitted by Anna Hestbek Mørkeberg, a member of staff at the University Library on the Sønderborg Campus.
In her recommendation, she points out that Solvej Balle holds a Master of Arts (cand.phil.) from SDU and studied at the University when she did her research for On the Calculation of Volume. (The quote is from On the Calculation of Volume II from 2025.) According to the submitter, the quote depicts education and research as a process one lives within and can feel in one's body.
Hannah Arendt
The second quote is by the political philosopher Hannah Arendt:
'To think and to be fully alive are the same' (The Life of the Mind, 1978).
The quote was submitted by Ditte Bjerrisgaard, SDU Communications, Central Administration.
In her recommendation, she emphasises that the core of a university is curious people who take a critical stance towards the world around them and engage in dialogue across differing viewpoints.
Malala Yousafzai
The third quote is by Malala Yousafzai, who became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014:
'One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.'
The quote is from Malala Yousafzai's speech to the UN Youth Assembly on 12 July 2013 and was submitted by Julie Nauerby Kristensen, specialist consultant at the Faculty of Engineering.
In her recommendation, she points out that the quote encapsulates why education is important and that access to education cannot be taken for granted. It reminds us that great changes begin in small ways within each of us and that we have a responsibility to use our knowledge for something greater than ourselves.
SDU will award each of the three submitters a gift voucher for the Academic Bookshop.
The new quotes will be presented at Interstitiel on 15 September at 9.30. After that, the anniversary celebrations will continue with speeches and cake at the Campus Square at 10.00.
