The semester's end is in sight

Dear students, staff, and faculty,
 
Late April is always a busy time for those of us in academe. Students are working hard to complete their remaining assignments and prepare for finals, and faculty are drafting final exams, grading papers, and calculating semester grades. At the same time, many staff members are planning virtual and mask-to-mask events to celebrate students’ hard work. The biggest ones, of course, are the special in-person commencement ceremonies that are coming together thanks to the efforts of a small but mighty team of staff in the President’s Office, Academic Affairs, Registrar’s Office, and Alumni and Family Relations.
 
As all of this is occurring in our campus community, a lot is happening in the world. As we have seen, read, and discussed this week, a jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges of murdering George Floyd. Watching the trial, waiting for the verdict, and processing the information and reactions associated with all of it is emotional for many. Having those emotions swell up while we are still navigating through a global pandemic generates fears, concerns that so much work still remains to be done, and perhaps some hope that better times are ahead.
 
For those of us who wish to process any fears and concerns, let me remind you that the following resources are available:

Counseling and Psychological Services for students at 805-493-3727
Employee Assistance Program for staff and faculty at 888-628-4824
Office of Campus Ministry for all of us at 805-493-3228.
 
Along with the difficult issues we are facing as a country and a campus are joyous ones. They, too, deserve some of our emotional and spiritual energies. Our Festival of Scholars, which showcases the scholarly work of undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Psychology, and the School of Management, has been in full swing since Monday. The festival shines a bright light on student research, senior capstone projects, film screenings, art exhibits, first-year writing projects, and poster presentations, and on faculty sabbatical work as well. I encourage you to visit the website to view posters and on-demand sessions and find links to the remaining events being held on Zoom. Speaking of remaining events, I invite faculty and staff to attend the reception honoring our colleagues for their published work and grant awards from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday in the Pepper Grove in Kingsmen Park.
 
The Festival of Scholars also provides a wonderful venue for recognizing the recipient of the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence. This year’s award went to Rafaela Fiore Urízar, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American studies and chair of the Department of Languages and Cultures. Congratulations, Dr. Fiore Urízar!
 
As the Festival of Scholars comes to a close tomorrow, I hope its spotlight on excellence guides all of us to a strong finish. In less than one month, the academic semester will be over, and we will have all completed a challenging academic year. I am not one to wish my life away, but I am not too sad to say goodbye to academic year (AY) 2020-21. I am already looking forward to welcoming in AY 2021-22. But until that time comes, I encourage all of us to stay strong, to take care of ourselves and each other, and to ask for help when we need it.

Lori E. Varlotta, Ph.D.
President