Having a grand time at Grand Reunion! History faculty Barbara Molony and Paul Mariani, S.J. See more photos of Grand Reunion.

Dear College Faculty and Staff,

Happy Halloween! With last week's rainstorms, I felt a true change in the seasons. The dust was washed off of our buildings and streets, and the gardens sparkled a bit with the welcome moisture. The nervous Nellie in me, however, soon worried that there would be no more storms, with the drought deepening over the next year. And then I remembered to be grateful for the good we have now, even if we know that much more is needed.

The return to campus and the beginning of the year was marked by so many events, and they all seemed grand: Grand Move-Ins, Grand Reunions, Grand Openings (of the new athletic center and the new SCDI building), Grand Commencement for the Class of 2020, Grand Sinatra artist-in-residence BD Wong. Okay, they weren't all named "grand," but they felt that way, and the campus sure looked grand in its festivities!

Now we are deep in Fall Quarter, our students have been hard at work with midterms while they adjust to their return. They're so glad to be back, as we are to have them here. They also arrived with scars from nearly two years of profound disruption, so I know that they appreciate the extra care and patience so many of you have shown them—thank you for that!

Most recently, I have been working on:

• Keeping the lines of communication open (or creating new ones)
• Taking a close look at staffing in the College, with the goal of growing our staff, if we can, so that we keep pace with increased enrollments and program growth
• Looking at service in the College with an eye toward finding efficiencies that can improve our work environment and lessen the workload on faculty, especially chairs
• Championing projects that benefit students, including internships during the academic year, smoother processes for junior transfers, and new curricular initiatives coming from departments all across the College, and
• Weaving diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our academic and personnel processes.

I am grateful that so many of you in the College have joined me in these projects. Collectively, they give me much optimism for the road ahead.

Have fun this weekend—and speaking as a parent, I can't help but say enjoy the candy, but don’t have too much!

Best,

Daniel

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