Each time I visit our labs, studios, classrooms, centers, museums, and offices I see a dazzling array of endeavors that, despite their variance from each other, are united by a powerful commitment to the highest levels of creativity and the production of world-changing knowledge. Where I expected to find disparity among the college’s parts, I have overwhelmingly found unity that is forged through a shared sense of purpose, a dedication to excellence, and deep veins of creativity of the sort that run through the very best, curiosity-driven research, scholarship, and artistic production. There’s nothing more energizing than seeing our faculty, staff and students engaged in the work they do so uniquely well. I wish for all of us to be tourists in this wonderful university so we can be reminded of the brilliant nature of this daily work and the ways it both advances the very best liberal arts education and the new knowledge that makes our world a better place.
The year ahead will surely pose ongoing challenges as the pandemic continues to constrain and newly shape our lives. These challenges are not to be minimized or downplayed. They are real, and they exact a price that varies according to a wide range of personal and institutional factors. Yet in higher education, many of us have noted some of the pandemic’s silver linings, such as finding new audiences for our work through use of the Zoom platform and — on the flipside — an increased and deepened appreciation for the particular and irreplaceable benefits of face-to-face, research-informed instruction.
For me, the pandemic has also brought a new appreciation for and interest in cultivating a shared commitment to the common good. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s our interdependence, both locally and globally, and the importance of sustaining a healthy sense of community. We really are far more than the sum of our parts. We are at our best when we “think like a college,” working as a powerful alliance of units, enhancing our vibrancy and our ability to do what we do best for the multiple publics we serve. As we model a commitment to the world beyond ourselves, we shine a light on pathways to a future that will require all of us to productively collaborate in ways that lead to innovation and address the world’s biggest challenges, and in doing so serve the common good.
So, I will continue to be an informed tourist in this wonderful college, seeking points of overlap, connection, intersection, and common ground. I can’t wait to learn more and invite you to join me by staying in touch.
Dianne Harris
Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of History
