From the Desk of the President

As we began this week by remembering members of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and freedom on Memorial Day*, I want to express thanks to you for the sacrifices and examples of what it means to teach and support our learners in the face of a health pandemic.

Even though the number of infections continues to decline and about half of Americans have at least one vaccination shot, I want to acknowledge the sacrifices made by you who have been working to help our students achieve their academic goals. I also honor those who have been working on our campuses over the past 15 months risking your own safety and health to ensure our students and employees remained safe and healthy.

I have worked in higher education for 30 years. However, the past 15 months have taught me a great deal more about all of us who serve in and out of the classrooms on the front lines of a pandemic. Your commitment, sense of purpose, innovation, persistence and willingness to serve a cause greater than any single one of us is remarkable. I have been fortunate to see this commitment firsthand during my daily work as the president.

As I reflect on the past year and the sacrifices you made and the service you provided to each other and our learners, I am reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King’s words about service: “Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. All it requires is a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.” Thank you for your willingness to serve, lead and be a people whose souls are generated by love. In addition, thank you for using our values of excellence, inclusion, innovation and integrity to guide our decision-making processes.

THANK YOU for persevering and recommitting, daily, to working together, looking out for each other, lifting each other up and keeping each other and our students at the center of our work. We did this despite the obstacles, barriers and threats.

*Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, was originally started by a group of recently freed African Americans in Charlestown, South Carolina on May 1, 1865.

The highest result of education is tolerance -Helen Keller