August 29, 2016

Welcome Back From Executive Council

Welcome back from what we hope was a relaxing and rewarding summer for each of you. We look forward with enthusiasm to a productive academic year.

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

Welcome back from what we hope was a relaxing and rewarding summer for each of you. We look forward with enthusiasm to a productive academic year.

We are excited to welcome to our community the new classes in each of our three schools and to see our returning students. We are excited too about the slate of academic offerings, events, and cocurricular activities in store for the coming year. Of significant note: on February 2, 2017, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of our founding.

While we greet the new semester with great optimism, we cannot help but note that in our nation and around the world violent acts and violent discourse grow increasingly disturbing. The use of force against unarmed citizens of color, terrorism, and divisive political rhetoric spring readily to mind.

We are a community that commits itself to diversity and sustainability as dimensions of a just society. We hope, too, that we are a community that supports each other, that gives others the benefit of the doubt, and that does not rush to judgment. As we affirmed last year, a diverse and inclusive community requires patience, dialogue, mutual understanding, and adherence to campus policies that ensure the functions and operations of the college remain undisrupted.

As the new academic year begins, we recommit ourselves to the ideals of liberal learning and a Lewis & Clark education. These include the time-tested elements of careful study, original research, and spirited debate.

We believe the best of Lewis & Clark is yet to come, and we look forward to working together to get there.

We wish you all the best for a productive fall semester.

Sincerely,
Executive Council

Members
Barry Glassner, President
Jane Atkinson, Vice President, Provost, and Title IX Coordinator
Joe Becker, Executive Director of Public Affairs and Communications
David Ellis, Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel
Mark Figueroa, Associate Provost for Institutional Research and Planning
Alan Finn, Vice President, Business and Finance, and Treasurer
Scott Fletcher, Dean of the Graduate School
Anna Gonzalez, Dean of Students
Jennifer Johnson, Dean of the Law School
Catherine Gunther Kodat, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Lisa Meyer, Dean of Enrollment and Communications
Janet Steverson, Dean of Diversity and Inclusion
Josh Walter, Vice President for Institutional Advancement