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• 2023-2024

September 1, 2023

Dear all,

As we approach a glorious long weekend and the all-faculty meeting and picnic, and as we leave the first day of classes behind us, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of you - new and continuing – during these early weeks of the new semester. Some highlights of this past week:

• A really smooth orientation and pre-major advising process. Thanks to the Dean of Students Office, and especially to A&S’s own Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, who did an amazing job welcoming new students to campus.
• I can’t resist mentioning that this year’s Convocation speaker, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin ’73 was an English major. Her career shows that you can do anything with an English major (and probably with all our other majors too, but I know some people – none of you, of course – are concerned about careers for English majors). Presidents Martin and Rowe are here to tell you that anything is possible.
• The Arts buildings got wet. Inside, unfortunately. Still a little way to go on the construction/finishing front, and I can’t say enough good things about the cheerfulness, patience and resilience of the faculty – especially the Chairs – of the departments involved. They are working in some pretty stressful conditions, and the construction team is too. We’re grateful to them for working so hard to get the work completed. The patience of the A&S space liaisons is nothing short of miraculous. But these are beautiful facilities and once the growing pains are over, hopefully the stress will fade into the past and we will only see the opportunities opened up by these spaces. I’m very excited.
• We will be helped in this regard by the performance of Nine on Saturday September 9th at 7:30. Please look out for announcements.
• We welcomed many of our new graduate students (over 120 in total) at a reception earlier today. Thanks to all involved for putting this together and for inviting me to speak. Unfortunately I spoke to a black screen (I was exposed to Covid on Monday, symptoms started yesterday, isolation, yada yada). But an attendee reported “wild applause,” which I know was most likely just an example of supreme tact, but I was grateful nonetheless.
• I hope you all are now at the faculty picnic in the Wren Yard. I will miss you all.