January 19, 2024

Dear all,

There is something in the air. It’s not snow, about which many of you seem to have strong feelings. It’s a little buzz of excitement that is steadily growing. This weekend, move-in begins and we welcome returning students back to campus and new students to campus for the first time. The little buzz will grow into a loud hum. On Wednesday, the first day of classes, the loud hum will undoubtedly grow into a boisterous cacophony. I can hardly wait. Or can I?

This message provides a few updates and a brief overview of what to expect this semester. Below the line you will find my own version of a boisterous cacophony.

Be sure to come join us in Ewell Hall for a Spring Semester Reception on January 25 from 5-7 pm. We’ll enjoy tasty bites, beverages, and each other’s company as we celebrate the start of the semester. No need to RSVP, just show up!
I sent out a message earlier today requesting nominations for the Shirley Aceto Award (attached for those of you who missed it). Please note the deadline for nominations of Wednesday, January 31^st.
On Monday, I am meeting with the Future of A&S committee as they kick off their work. We’ve created a Future of A&S webpage where you will soon find updates, and where the committee will be able to post event dates, survey and form submission links, and more. I look forward to supporting the committee as we all move forward together.
As the result of a recent budget review, I am delighted to let you know that A&S is in a position to partially restore the mission critical reductions made to department, program, and center budgets in FY22. Funds were loaded to unit budgets last week.
I am very pleased and grateful to report we had a fantastic month of fundraising to wrap up 2023. A&S received 724 gifts in December, of which 126 were over $1,000 or more. That resulted in a total of more than $1 million in cash that arrived during the month to support our A&S students and faculty! Thanks as always to our Executive Director of Development, Gerald Bullock, for his unflagging energy and enthusiasm.
We look forward to welcoming Carey Clow as an additional member of the AS development team. Gerald has been soldiering on with only the wonderful Susan Adams, the A&S Development Assistant, for four years since Pam Sardeson retired. We are thrilled that her position will finally be re-filled.
Our A&S development team are now housed in the side of Ewell formerly known as the Music Department. It’s great to have them close to us again, after their sojourn in Discovery (aka Disco). Next, we need a sledgehammer to knock through the wall between them and the Dean’s side. (Only kidding).
I’ve heard from several of you requesting resources for course syllabi to communicate the value of free expression and respect in classroom discussions and student options for reporting concerns. We have provided some suggested language in our library of resources for teaching and course development. Please feel free to include this in your syllabi if it is helpful.
The Year of the Arts continues in 2024! Check the Arts at W&M events calendar and join in on the vibrant arts events and experiential opportunities happening across campus. You may also have seen that Year of the Arts will be highlighted at Charter Day, with the leader of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie G. Bunch III, headlining the event.
On Thursday, Feb. 22 and Friday, Feb 23, Arts & Sciences will host the second annual Inclusive Inquiry Speaker Series. This year’s events is part of the Year of the Arts celebration and features a film festival with screenings of four short films, (Bleach, Break, Still Fighting, and Mass Ave), and a feature-length film, African Giants, written and directed by keynote speaker and W&M alumnus, Omar Kamara (Economics, ‘15). This event is free and open to the public. I hope you will make plans to attend and encourage your students to do so as well!
Ben Boone and Shelly Laurenzo sent their semesterly policy matters email yesterday. Some of you won a Wawa card because you read all the way to the end. To those who don’t know what I am talking about, shame on you.

And here’s a look ahead at a few things we can expect this semester:

Onboarding of new A&S Dean’s office leadership team members:
- Trey Mayo, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies
- Eric Despard, Executive Director of the Arts Quarter
- Tarikul Islam, Sr. Associate Dean of Finance & Administration
Continued work on SACSCOC reaffirmation process.
Implementation of new registration system (PATH) and Banner waitlist for registration in spring 2024 for fall 2024.
Continued transition planning for the new school.
Development of Arts & Sciences funding priorities for the next W&M campaign.
Exploration of the identity and the future of Arts & Sciences, in collaboration with Future of A&S committee.

And on the topic of the semester/year ahead, we’ve posted an administrative calendar for AY 23-24. Though designed primarily for chairs and program directors, this may be helpful for anyone to take a look and see what’s coming up.

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I said above that you have strong feelings about snow. I miss snow, but in Washington DC this week they saw lots of it. Snow tickles all the senses: the world looks different (it’s white); it sounds different (that weird muffled almost-silence); it tastes different (surely you’ve felt a snowflake on your tongue); it smells different (those hot-weather smells completely banished); and it affects our sense of touch (so cold! So icy!). (In its sensory fullness, it is similar to fishing, at least when you’re actually wading in the water. But I digress.) Another odd thing about it is that it both moves and is still (again, a bit like water, but I digress.) Snow falls and lies still; it lies still but it also melts and flows; it flows and then it freezes. I am told by members of my team (one in particular) that chemistry is the key to almost everything, but I think that person must be right when it comes to snow.

Here are some lovely words about snow.

The snow is deep on the ground. Always the light falls Softly down on the hair of my belovèd. Kenneth Patchen

Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air, Claude McKay

Now, trekking home through grit that’s mounting higher,
faces upturned to test the whirling snow,
in new masks, we whistle to make breath-clouds form
and disappear, and form again, and O,
my love, there’s sun in the crook of your arm. Grace Shulman

May there be sun and love in the crooks of all your arms as we move through winter into the semester.

Take care

Suzanne Raitt
Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English
Pronouns: she/her/hers