Pomp and Circumspect

Let me open this entry by congratulating the CASL graduates of 2014! Your hard work and effort have paid off and the faculty and staff of the college, along with the alums who walked across that stage before you are very proud. We cannot wait to see where your futures lead and look forward to boasting of your many accomplishments. The end of the academic year is always an exciting time in CASL. Awards ceremonies, Commencement, the Sargon Partners CASL Student Research Showcase, Meeting of the Minds, and numerous other events showcase the many accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff. They also have me reflecting upon what it is that makes the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters such a special place. Certainly, similar degree programs exist at many other universities throughout the area. Likewise, our facilities mirror what you can find on many other campuses. In thinking back on my own experience in CASL, both as a student and as a faculty member, what stands apart for me was the ability to interact with caring faculty and staff. For those of us familiar with CASL this will not come as any great surprise. Time and time again students, their parents, alumni, and friends of the college share with me stories of the accessible, caring faculty and staff in the college. Indeed, it takes little prompting from me to get people to share a personal story about their favorite professor or staff member or about the professor or staff member who gave that extra effort to help them out. Inevitably, they report how this one individual transformed their lives forever. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education based upon a Gallup-Purdue Index Report confirms the importance of these connections and demonstrates what UM-Dearborn CASL students and alum already know: “College graduates, whether they went to a hoity-toity private college or a midtier public, had double the chances of being engaged in their work and were three times as likely to be thriving in their well-being if they connected with a professor on the campus who stimulated them, cared about them, and encouraged their hopes and dreams.” This is certainly true for me. I will always be grateful to professors such as Don Proctor, Pater Amann, and Dan Moerman who took the time to mentor and encourage a timid, uncertain student and to point me toward a future career in academe. Without them, and others like them, I cannot imagine where I would be today. I know that this is true for all of our students and alums. So, as the academic year winds to a close and we reflect back upon another school year come and gone, I invite you to reflect back on your own experiences here in CASL. I’d love to hear about that one person who changed your life and would encourage you to reach out to them to let them know how much their mentorship has meant to you. I know that there is nothing that they could hear that could make them happier. Enjoy your summer!