LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Friends,

As a faculty member for a decade and a higher education leader for more than 20 years, I have learned a thing or two about university communities and how they live and breathe, and some of the secrets of their success. Institutional communities make successful colleges and universities more than their buildings and grounds. Students know this, and faculty and staff do as well.

It is an honor to write to you as the 10th President of Caldwell University and to welcome you to the Fall 2023 issue of our magazine.

I write this letter of welcome having just completed a weekend full of events celebrating Caldwell alumni–from an Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony to a milestone anniversary Reunion Day. Hundreds of guests came together to celebrate Caldwell University and experience the institution of today as well as to hear a bit about the vision for the Caldwell of tomorrow. The past, present and future of this University are grounded firmly in the wonderful community that has been created here.

The feeling of community has been apparent to Alicia and me as we have gotten fully settled in here. We have encountered an incredibly warm, caring faculty and staff who have been excited to welcome us personally and sincerely to the University. We have met passionate alumni who are more than fond of their alma mater. We have met elected officials and civic leaders who view Caldwell with respect and appreciation for our decades-long role in service to the broader region. And in many ways, most importantly, we have met students who are excited to be part of the Caldwell story.

Caldwell University leads as a community. Congressman John Lewis used to tell people that we come together around a mission and that that mission must be grounded in a strong sense of community, and in so doing, we can together make the impossible possible. And so I feel that as my time here at the University begins, one of my most important initiatives for leadership, faculty, staff and me to focus upon is to work with others to strengthen and continuously reinforce the Caldwell community to pursue important possibilities. For example, one tradition we have added is a faculty-staff “Community Day” before the semester begins, which is an all-campus meeting and a State of the University conversation followed by a reception where we can talk with each other about issues and build deeper relationships. We also held a summer ice cream social designed to get employees out of their offices to enjoy each other’s company. New employees were recognized at a Welcome Breakfast and new employee orientation. And I am meeting with faculty, staff and student groups to listen and gather feedback as we put the finishing touches on a new University-wide strategic plan that was created –you guessed it– as a community.

In this issue, I hope you will see the theme of “community” as you read how we’ve accomplished much as a University. Faculty work with students to help them to achieve their learning goals and in producing amazing research as they aspire to their career goals. Student-athletes and coaches work together in the pursuit of success, and hopefully additional championships. Alumni and donors partner with the institution to ensure resources and connections are in place to make ideas come to life. And certainly our Trustees work collaboratively on the governance and sustainability of the University and in countless other ways to help Caldwell move toward its aspirations and continued success.

All that Caldwell has achieved in her first 84 years has been as a community. All that distinguishes the University today is because of the work of this community. And all that Caldwell plans and prays to accomplish in the future will only be possible with a strong community.

Saint Francis of Assisi preached that God works through each of us. And so I ask that each of you consider yourselves as a full part of this University community, and indeed a valuable member of it. Now more than ever, we need to count upon your passion for the University, your participation and your prayers. While your University is certainly sound, and definitely healthy in many ways, we exist in a changing time for higher education generally. It will take all of us, working together as a community, and God’s grace, to ensure Caldwell University’s next decades are as meaningful and impactful as our first.

In closing, let me just reaffirm how grateful I am for the warm welcome I’ve received from so many of you and for your continued support of our beloved University. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you!