Sessions on four campuses feature internationally renowned faculty, including poet Paul Muldoon and literary critics Isobel Armstrong, Robert Stepto and Michael Wood.

Vermont campus and Mills College welcome students.

"The truth is that all of us here have won the lottery of life. The fact that you are graduating from a great college in America means that you have won the global jackpot. And then the question becomes, how do you go about discharging the responsibility that comes with that? What will you give back and how?" -- Nicholas Kristof

The Initiative will include investments focused on sustainability issues such as clean energy, water, climate science, and green building projects.