Our Collective Synergies

Dear Colleagues:

The remarkable number of events and the high quality of those events during inauguration week gave me a much closer look at the interconnectivity of our campus community.

As I saw members of our team prepare Nold for the inauguration proper—right down to shining the stanchions in the gymnasium—and watched an ever-changing set of public displays and announcements, witnessed the engagement of our student-athletes in support of the week, noted the deep dive of our marketing and communications team, saw dozens of individuals who ensured a proper flow of paperwork and necessary funds, better understood the supportive activities of our facilities and operations team and University Police, recognized the incredible attention to detail of our inauguration committee and my own office team, and on and on, it became more evident that my analogy of our campus as a coral reef during my inaugural speech was spot on.

As a whole, the week brought our campus together but the months and weeks leading up to it brought teams together, brought individuals together, and brought to mind our national platform...e pluribus unum. We have dozens of separate "units" and divisions across campus, but none operate successfully in a silo. Our strength is in our individual talents but our ability to succeed is when we come together and unite those talents. As in a coral reef, there can be hundreds of individuals, each "doing their job," but they are each interdependent on the others in the colony if the reef is to flourish. This synergy was palpable during inauguration week but truly exists year-round. Without this sometimes-unseen cooperation, we could not do what we otherwise do so well, and do every day, in support of our students.

I want to take this moment to publicly thank each and every member of our campus who not only ensured a successful and celebratory inauguration week, but who work tirelessly every day to make sure our College is prepared to follow through with our primary charge—to educate and support our students for their futures and for what will come tomorrow.

Robert S. Prezant, PhD
President
Professor of Biology