Messages from the Dean

We’ve nearly reached the end of the semester and this is the last Friday message you’ll get from me until 2025 (though I can’t promise it’s the last you’ll hear from me this year).

I hope you all enjoyed a restorative break and quality time with family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday. Today is a milestone: the last day of classes for undergraduate students. I’m grateful to all who made it possible for our students to reach this day, and very mindful of our two students who are not here to celebrate with us: Lana Fellows and Rose Way. We feel their loss keenly and my thoughts remain with the families of Lana and Rose.

We’ve very nearly made it to the end of the semester and next week we are on break! A final (and probably unnecessary) reminder that while classes continue through Monday and Tuesday, they must be held remotely.

As a Brit, I feel duty-bound to talk about the weather occasionally, so I must mention that, just in time for Thanksgiving break, it finally feels like fall. I have been finding peace and solace in nature this season, letting the scenery and (occasional) crisp temperatures serve as a reminder to be present. Also, being rained on reminds me to stay awake. Two quick notes before I dive in. Congratulations to Regina Jones, Fiscal Technician in A&S, for being the first to correctly identify the three locations in this week's A&S newsletter. Regina gets the prize! And also, for those of you who are linguistically minded, the subject line is in Thai. Very beautiful.

I recognize this may be a time of reflection and heightened sentiment for many. As we navigate the impact of events this week, I look forward to continuing our work together toward our shared goals.

It’s been a busy week across campus and this is a full message. I strive to keep you updated with only the most important, current information in my Friday messages and I am truly grateful for your continued attention to these weekly missives.

I’m not sure if you feel the same, but this fall semester seems to be flying by in a blur—an exciting and intellectually stimulating blur, at that! As we move forward, I wanted to take a moment to share several important opportunities to connect and engage on campus this week.

My heart is heavy with the news of the passing of one of our students, Rose Way. My thoughts remain with the Rose’s family, friends, and all who knew her. The William & Mary community cares deeply for its own and this loss impacts us all.

I hope this message finds you well on this second day of Fall Break, and that you’re able to find some time during the break to rest and recharge for the remainder of the semester. Please take a few minutes to read these important updates.

W&M's Board of Visitors met on campus September 25-27. Members of the Dean Team attend every BOV session and below are a few key updates to be aware of following this BOV's meeting. As always, the board agenda, minutes and pre-reads are available online.

We are wending our way into October, and toward the middle of the semester. I don’t hear the word “wend” often, but I enjoy this definition: “If you wend your way in a particular direction, you walk, especially slowly, casually, or carefully, in that direction.”

As parts of the U.S. are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene, my thoughts are with any of you with friends, family or loved ones impacted by the storm.

After a rather grey and humid week, I’m happy to see the sun today. So many exciting and curious things are happening across campus. You need only to take a look at the university events calendar – and the many individual calendars – to see what I mean.

I want to start with gratitude for all you do. As we settle into the swing of a semester, yet prepare for energy and activities to ramp up this fall, please know that your work is seen and deeply appreciated. The Council of Arts & Sciences, our philanthropic advisory board, is meeting on campus today and it’s great to catch up with them. I’ll have more details about our meeting next week.

Though it’s been a short week (has it?), we managed to pack in lots of quality time, including our first Faculty of Arts & Sciences meeting of the semester, followed by our kickoff celebration. My request for temperate weather was evidently received and granted because it was a beautiful day to spend some time together, to talk, laugh, eat delicious food and enjoy each other’s company.

We’re off to the races! That is, if “the races” involve late-night syllabus updates, employing your best mnemonic devices to commit new students’ names to memory, and more semester kick-off celebrations than you thought possible. What an exciting time of year, and what a pleasure it was to witness our new students walking through the Wren arch lit up by their dreams and hopes. Oh to be young again.

Welcome to the fall 2024 semester. I’m back in your inbox, wielding (gently) my first (rather long) Friday message of the semester. As we begin this busy and crucial time, especially for our first year and transfer students and our new faculty members (to whom, welcome!) I want to share some important updates and reminders.