February 2, 2024

Dear A&S faculty and staff,

I’m penning this Friday message from a plane, in which I am awaiting take-off. I enjoy planes and airports not only for the people-watching opportunities they provide, but also for the feeling of suspension from reality. Though, when I’m connected to my laptop as one might be to an IV, mug of coffee, tea, or other lifegiving source, reality isn’t all that suspended.

I’ve spent the week in California at a course learning about all things financial and when I return, I will terrify you. Go below the line for a quiz that shows off all the acronyms I now know. In all seriousness, I’m grateful to the President’s Office for suggesting this course. It will make me a better Dean and that will be better for you.

For your attention and reading pleasure this week, a few updates.

The Jefferson Awards, Monroe Prize & Plumeri Awards Ceremony will take place Monday, February 5 at 4 p.m. at the Brinkley Commons of the Mason School of Business. I hope you will join me in attending to celebrate our wonderful colleagues.
On Monday, Elizabeth Harbron, director of the Charles Center, sent out a helpful overview of the Spring 2024 Charles Center opportunities for faculty and students, attached for reference.
Charter Day is nearly upon us! This special event takes place on Friday, February 9 at 4 p.m. in Kaplan Arena. Please note the Kaplan Arena Clear Bag Policy. I hope you’ve read about the two students and two faculty members, including our own Claire McKinney, assistant professor of government and gender, sexuality and women’s studies, who will be honored at Charter Day. Claire will be receiving the Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award. Congratulations to Claire on this remarkable achievement!
The University Professor for Teaching Excellence Award and the University Professor for Research Excellence Award submission deadlines have been extended to 5 p.m. on Friday, February 16. Materials for both professorships should be submitted directly to the Provost’s Office. Please see webpages for more details.
Also, the W. Taylor Reveley, III Interdisciplinary Faculty Fellows application deadline has been extended. Applications require sign-off by the Dean before final submission to the Provost. Please send the completed required application elements to Erica MacLeod (eemacleod@wm.edu) no later than February 16, 2024. I will sign and then Erica will return the signed package to you by February 21, 2024. Proposals are due to the Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs by February 23, 2024. Email your completed application package to Pamela Eddy at facultyaffairs@wm.edu.
Special thanks to Wanjiru Mbure, A&S associate dean for diversity, equity & inclusion, for joining several on-campus partners to co-sponsor the Black Faculty & Staff Forum’s dinner in celebration of Black History Month on Wednesday, February 28 from 5 – 7 p.m.
A reminder of President Rowe’s announcement that nominations for the 2024 Charles and Virginia Duke Award are now open. Submissions are due by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28.
Earlier this week, the president announced the upcoming transition to Workday, a comprehensive suite of software services that will make everyday activities – such as hiring and onboarding new employees and budget processing – smoother, faster, and easier. This is an early notification of a transition that will unfold in stages over the next several years. I’m very grateful to our colleagues across the university who are leading this transition.
The Year of the Arts continues to generate new and exciting partnerships, including a wonderful collaboration between the W&M Libraries, the Office of the Provost, Arts & Sciences, the Washington Center and Student Affairs: an opportunity to attend the opening performance of the Washington Ballet's "Jazz Icons: A Fine Romance" at the Kennedy Center on February 14. Open to students, faculty and staff.
Eric Despard, our inaugural executive director of the arts, was featured by W&M News.

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This quiz invites you to guess the words behind some of the acronyms I learned this week. Obviously, there is absolutely no Googling allowed. Anyone who is even slightly suspected of Googling, and cannot provide a convincing alibi, will be chastised in a special message generated by ChatGPT. And like an elephant, I will never forget who you are. The first person to get all the questions right will be the recipient of an exceptionally exciting prize. The person who comes up with the funniest answer (only one is necessary to win this particular competition) as determined by ME gets another, equally exceptional prize.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Suzanne

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