It seems impossible that the semester is already coming to an end.
Weren’t we all just on the Anderson Hall lawn for our Student Welcome Picnic or outside Gabel Hall for the Sweet Tea with the CoE event?
Yet final exams are upon us, commencement is this weekend and the winter break is right around the corner.
And, as you prepare to spend some restful, relaxing and rejuvenating time with family and friends, I want to provide some assurances about the spring.
My move across campus to serve as NIU’s interim executive vice president and provost for the 2023-24 academic year is still months away, starting July 1.
Before then, Provost Beth Ingram and I will work together to develop and implement a comprehensive transition plan. During that same time, Provost Ingram will oversee an internal search for an interim dean for the College of Education.
Please know that I am confident that the College of Education is well positioned to maintain our positive momentum. With your help, we’ve just revised our Strategic Action Planning Framework that I’m excited to launch at our spring All-College Meeting: This living document will continue to lead and guide decision-making moving forward.
Clearly, we have much to celebrate here.
Together, we have built a strong college committed to excellence and to diversity, equity and inclusion; our successes are well known to NIU’s senior leadership and applauded during last week’s State of the University Address.
President Freeman’s message to you on this topic called our college “visionary and impactful,” and I could not agree more. She recognizes and appreciates our creative and roll-up-the-sleeves attitude toward access, recruitment, retention and persistence to graduation.
She sees that we are proactively creating new paths to our degrees at all levels, that we team with partners throughout our state to confront the educator shortage and that we innovate how we deliver and schedule our courses.
Every one of you contributes in multiple ways to make this all possible, and I am honored to serve with you.
My best, and happy holidays,
