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April 2025
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students in the Klingler College of Arts & Sciences,听
We鈥檙e almost there! April marks the start of our final sprint to the end of the semester
and the academic year. This month has been a time of contrasts: sun and cold, eager
anticipation of commencement but meanwhile so much to do. The stark sadness of Good
Friday gives way to Easter joy.听听
April began on a high note thanks to the at the end of last month, where several of our colleagues were honored, including
Dr. Brian Bennett (physics) who received the Haggerty Award, 蜜桃影像鈥檚 highest honor
for research. The accolades continued this month, with sophomore Natalia Beans (biochemistry
and molecular biology) receiving a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. The excellence across Arts & Sciences was in full view during various admissions
events, including our Admitted Student Days on April 5 and 12. Thanks to all of you
who were on campus for one or both of these Saturdays to welcome prospective students
and their families. Feedback from these events has been extraordinarily positive and
we are on track for strong enrollment results in Fall 2025.听听
April provides a special opportunity to honor and thank our staff colleagues on Administrative
Professionals Day, celebrated this year on April 23. It鈥檚 also the start of the staff
annual performance evaluation process, an occasion to express appreciation for the
many contributions and achievements of staff colleagues and to plan for the coming
year.听
Our spring all-Colleges meeting took place on April 28, with an in-person format as
well a virtual option. As in previous years, the meeting brought together faculty
and staff from across Arts & Sciences and Education to commemorate the achievements
of the past year in research and scholarship, teaching and curricular innovation,
and service. We were able to celebrate our new retirees as well as those who were
promoted this year. In addition, we recognized this year鈥檚 A&S Outstanding Senior,
Victoria Zeisig, a double major in Psychology and Criminology and Law Studies who
exemplifies our college motto: 鈥渢he difference is in the and.鈥� We also looked ahead to future goals and the strategies that will get us there.
This meeting demonstrated that, even as we face serious challenges, we are capable
of excellent work. Hope prevails.听
When times are tough, it can be tempting to lower our sights. But let鈥檚 make sure
we don鈥檛 dream too small. Let鈥檚 keep reaching for things that may seem beyond our
grasp. Time and again, you have amazed me with what you can do. That same amazement
infused our April 24 and Alumni Awards event, where we celebrated seven alumni who live out 蜜桃影像鈥檚 mission
every day and strengthen our hope for the future.听
The contrasts of this month were epitomized in deep sorrow at the yet our hope in the resurrection. David Tracy describes 鈥渉ope for a vision of the
whole beyond present ambiguity and brokenness鈥� (The Analogical Imagination). Even as we hope for clarity, we must learn to embrace paradox, as Sr. Julia Walsh
explains: 鈥淸T]he healthiest and holiest people [鈥 can love those they disagree with
and want goodness for those who have harmed them. They are the saints who can hold
two contradictory truths together, who aren鈥檛 threatened by inconsistencies. I wonder
how different our church and our world might be if we were taught from a young age
that prayer [鈥 is the practice of embracing opposite truths as they coexist鈥� (Wisdom from the Global Sisterhood). May these words inspire and guide us through the end of the semester and beyond.听
As always, please feel free to鈥�contact me鈥痺ith questions, concerns or suggestions. I appreciate hearing from you and exploring
ways we can all work together for the common good.听
Dr. Heidi Bostic
Dean, Klingler College of Arts and Sciences
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