Happy New Year
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Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty, Welcome to Fall 2022! Nothing makes our campuses more vibrant than welcoming new and returning students and employees to our shared spaces and places. This is my favorite part of the year — a new beginning to chart our course for a bright future. For many, this is a year of firsts. For some, it is the first time living in a residence hall, working on campus, teaching indoors. For others, it's the first time living on the West Coast or in Southern California, the first time seeing, up close and personal, what active outdoor living and learning feels like. For others still, it might be the first time joining or leading a team, a club, or an affinity group. Participating in firsts can be anxiety-producing but now is the perfect time to try something new. There are countless folks around to support and challenge you. I am grateful to the many faculty and staff members who planned engaging opening events that I hope helped you feel welcome. A big thank you to Allison Moore and everyone who made the All-Campus Picnic* a smashing success for 500+ faculty, staff, and student employees. They enjoyed food, (short) speeches, games, and each other’s company. Another thank you to the Faculty Community Committee that planned a highly engaged and spirited retreat in Ventura (for all full-time faculty), and to Judy Beaulieu for taking care of all of the logistics. The retreat covered everything from high impact teaching strategies, to student-faculty research collaboration, to equity-minded syllabi creation, to the faculty handbook. The week concluded with an activity-packed New Student Orientation** that included Opening Convocation, hiking to and painting the CLU rocks, the Cal Lutheran Walk of Fame, the All-Affinity Social, and the Kingsmen and Regals Recognition of Scholar Athletes. Thank you to all who worked tirelessly over the last few months to plan and implement these programs. We send our best wishes to our friends up north in Berkeley as PLTS finished its orientation just yesterday. With the first week winding to a close, here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:
Happy New Year one and all! I wish you all the best in the 22-23 Academic Year. |
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Lori E. Varlotta, Ph.D. |
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* Photo Credit: Obinna Anyanwu ’23 ** Photo Credit: Tracie Karasik, TLKmultimedia |
More
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Con la esperanza de que ya hayamos dejado atrás los días más calurosos del año académico — en cuanto a temperatura — me emociona compartir que esta semana, la Universidad Luterana de California está celebrando la Semana Nacional de las Instituciones al Servicio de los Hispanos (HSI). Solo 600 instituciones en los Estados Unidos tienen el honor de participar en estas festividades, y nos enorgullece ser una de ellas.
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