March 29, 2024
Hello friends,
We’ve made it to Friday again, and I hope you have managed to stay dry this week. This week I acquired a dark leather couch from surplus (actually, from surplus via Abbie Schaefer’s office, but don’t tell her) which reminds me of the couch in Sigmund Freud’s psychotherapy treatment room (see below the line). There’s talking and there’s listening and there’s trying to understand, and all can be equally hard, in different ways. We are a large community and I know it may be difficult at times to feel that you are heard. My door is open, so please come through it. You don't actually have to sit on the couch.
On that topic: thank you to those of you who took the time to talk with me about why the request for transcripts was so unsettling and annoying for some. I think I understand better now, which is helpful. And thank you to those of you who have submitted your transcript already. These are being collected so we have verified credentials on file for all our faculty. Why isn’t your CV or diploma enough? Because if a course you are teaching is not 100% aligned in its academic area with the field of your graduate degree, we can easily explain that to SACSCOC if we can show that you have enough graduate credits in that area. It’s more efficient to simply have your transcript on file to consult without bothering you every time this happens. You may be thinking that it must happen infrequently. Not so. In Spring 2024, 98 people were in this situation. Not a small number.
Thank you for your participation in a record-breaking One Tribe One Day on Tuesday! We far surpassed the Council of Arts & Sciences challenge of 2,024 donors. Stay tuned for official results next week. I’d also like to recognize the hard work of Gerald Bullock, Carey Clow and Susan Adams, our powerhouse development team, and the entire advancement team for making this event an annual success to help strengthen the community.
The Future of A&S Committee is eager to hear from as many people as possible as it gathers input to shape future A&S wide conversation about where we go from here. To that end, the committee invites A&S faculty and staff to attend one of two listening sessions to share ideas about the role of the Arts and Sciences at William & Mary. The sessions will be held Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18 from 12:00-2:00pm in the Sadler Center Commonwealth Auditorium. To provide anonymous feedback, you may also respond to the Future of Arts & Science Feedback Form. You can now access the Future of Arts & Sciences website from the A&S homepage. If you’re curious about what the committee is doing, please go to the website or ask Hannah Rosen or Matthias Leu (co-chairs) if you can sit in on a meeting. This is a completely open process - no hidden agenda.
Commencement is fast approaching and I know you’ve likely seen the announcement of this year’s Commencement speaker, Judge John Charles Thomas, the first African American and youngest appointee to the Supreme Court of Virginia. While you can check the Commencement website for future updates, please note the upcoming deadline of Sunday, March 31 to register for cultural/affinity group ceremonies.
As the semester draws to a close, it’s important to take time to celebrate the many accomplishments of our Arts & Sciences community, which is why you should save the date for May 7 from 5-6:30pm for our year-end celebration at Ewell Hall. This reception will immediately follow the last Faculty of Arts & Sciences meeting of the year, and all A&S faculty and staff are invited and encouraged to attend as we close out the academic year.
This week, as you can tell from the opening of this message, I've been thinking a lot about listening. The couch that I stole from Abbie doesn't really look like Freud's couch, but I want it to, though that might involve acquiring expensive rugs. Here is Freud's. As many (all?) of you know, he invented talk therapy. I have been reading his work for years, and it has shown me that listening is a complicated endeavor in which the surface meaning of the words is only the tip of the iceberg. Bring me your icebergs, and I will listen.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
Suzanne
Suzanne RaittDean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English
Pronouns: she/her/hers
