To everyone in the LSA community: Welcome to the Fall 2021 semester. To say "welcome" and "welcome
back" has a special resonance this year because we're all coming to campus with fresh eyes.
For some, it's a return to campus after almost a year and a half of remote work. For some,
who've been on campus through the pandemic, it's having the campus fill up with everyone else.
And for some, campus is entirely new. We are delighted that all of you are here.
I'm Anne Curzan, Dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and a professor
of English and linguistics. I feel deeply lucky to work on a university campus and specifically
in LSA. And this is one of my favorite times of year with the energy that comes with new people
and new classes and fresh school supplies. I also know that this is a year that comes with ongoing
uncertainty about exactly how the COVID-19 pandemic will play out for all of us, and we
will need to continue to exercise flexibility, and patience, and compassion with each other,
and we will need to be nimble if and as we need to change. This has been a rollercoaster,
and the rollercoaster isn't over. It's also true that with widespread and effective vaccines, and
good testing, and much more knowledge about the virus, we are well-positioned to navigate our
way through this together. And we will need to work together as we navigate our way.
I am also deeply honored to be the dean of one of the largest and leading liberal arts
colleges in the world. We have never needed the liberal arts and sciences more than we do at this
historical moment, and that's why we're here. The world needs reimagining and we will do that
by asking the hard questions that push our understanding of the human experience and of
the natural world and the universe in which humans live. And we will model what it means to explore,
and invent, and create, with rigor and empathy. Rigor in how we seek the truth, in how we test
facts, in how we analyze and interpret texts and data, and how we hold ethical practice at our core.
Empathy in the quest to understand the world from perspectives that are different from our own,
which is one of the hardest and most valuable skills to hone.
To create a truly just, diverse, equitable, and inclusive institution and societies,
we must stretch the limits of our own knowledge. We must push ourselves to realize that there
are other ways of understanding the world and we must listen hard to what others have to teach us.
Others can and will change the way we think if we're open to it. And again, that's why we're here.
So, welcome! I'm so pleased to welcome all of you. I know that in the coming weeks, many of us will
be honing our skills at small talk. I know mine are very rusty. And we'll be figuring out whether
we're greeting each other with handshakes or hugs or fist bumps or head nods. But what a
joy that we can be together again, even with some awkwardness, and may we show each other care and
extreme kindness. May you make the most of your fall semester. Be safe, and be well, and Go Blue!