Remarks by Norman J. Arnold
Dedication of the Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health
USC President's Home
November 21, 2000

I know that many of you must be wondering: Why me? Why now? Why the USC School of Public Health and my gift to it?

To go back a ways, my grandfather told me at least once a day that there were three things I had to do in my business life: work hard, save your money and put it in a safe place. He left it to me to find out on my own that the whole point of doing those three things is to live long enough to give your money away, and that has been the most valuable lesson of all.  

As some of you may know, I am one of the rare survivors of pancreatic cancer. In the summer of 1982, when I was 53 years old, I was told I had six months to live. Eighteen years later, I am cancer free.

Of course, I feel blessed and very grateful. There's nothing that will focus your attention on the important things in life quite like facing your own death. I became acutely aware of some important truths, not the least of which is the ultimate value of good health and loved ones.

Another was the money my grandfather had told me to save. I came perilously close to dying with some accumulated wealth, and I want to explain what I learned from that experience, about the nature of wealth.

A diamond is the hardest substance in nature. The only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond. They are insoluble in acid and alkalis and are normally infusible. Yet, diamonds are not easy to identify. In fact, the only way to be absolutely certain you have a diamond is to suspend the stone in a jar of oxygen and raise the temperature to 875 degrees. If the stone burns up completely with a blue light, you now have - nothing. But you know for sure that you used to have a diamond.  

What's the point of this story? Well, dying with accumulated wealth is like burning up a diamond to prove you had one. It's a good story to tell, but you're still left with something pretty worthless. I believe there is a much better use for wealth - to realize our dreams. And I don't simply mean our individual dreams for a bigger house or a better car. I mean our collective dreams as a society.

The explosive affluence in America today gives us the means to achieve our dreams and to live out our social values. Wealth can afford our society the luxury of many things - and foremost among these for me are the absence of disease and the concurrent presence of good health. These two concepts led me to support the University of South Carolina School of Public Health: the nature of wealth and the nature of health.  

I firmly believe in the importance of public health. Even more, I believe in the essential role-the fundamental mission, if you will-- of institutions like the USC School of Public Health in creating a healthy community.

It seems clear to me that most all health is "public health." Said another way, complete health- mind, body, and spirit working in harmony - can only be achieved as a societal, not just an individual, goal. 

More than a century ago, Benjamin Disraeli spoke of that connection between health and community: " The health of the people is the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers depend." This remains true today. The health of South Carolina's people is the ultimate source of our individual and collective happiness and success, and the USC School of Public Health is essential to helping us achieve it.

There are still people -- especially in the Southeast and in our own state of South Carolina -- who are not aware of the intimate connection between health and the environment, diet, habits, and lifestyle. They lack not only the knowledge to prevent their ills but also access to the treatments to address them. 

The USC School of Public Health, its staff, and its graduates, are essential to providing this knowledge and access to care for so many. They teach and serve, helping individuals become healthier so our state can become healthier. Through the leadership of Dean Pastides, longtime staff members have joined with new people to improve an outstanding institution.

I feel very privileged and honored to do what I can to strengthen the USC School of Public Health to help give us the opportunity to use our bodies, minds, and spirits to work toward peace, health, and a more productive and happy life.  

So if you ask, " Why me? Why now? Why the USC School of Public Health?" I can only answer, because my grandfather and father taught me well about hard work and savings, and I felt called to do something special with what their wisdom brought me by supporting this institution. 

I will conclude with one of my favorite prayers from the Talmud: "Blessed art Thou, O Eternal, our God, who has preserved us, sustained us, and brought us to enjoy this season."