Dear CAS Community, 

This is an exciting time of year in the College of Arts and Sciences. We say congratulations and bon voyage to the class of 2022 and prepare to welcome the class of 2026. As we approach the end of the academic year and head towards summer, I am reflecting on our recent time and one word keeps coming up: resilience

Miriam-Webster defines resilience as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” That definition, while correct, seems woefully inadequate based on what we have witnessed on our campus in the past few years. Recovery assumes a return to normal. And, if the pandemic taught us anything, it is that there is no such thing as a simple return to normal.

In a now-famous 2016 commencement address at UC-Berkeley, Sheryl Sandberg, author of the now-famous book, /Lean In/, said, “You are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up and draw on it when you need it. In that process, you will figure out who you really are—and you just might become the very best version of yourself.”

The College of Arts and Science students have built that muscle by digging deeply to become better versions of themselves. In the process, they strengthened our entire community and reminded all of us that what makes this University special is not just what we do, or how we do it, but equally important is who we do it with. Our community of faculty, students, staff, and alumni have been the rock we build on. The College is in a strong place because of this solid foundation. 

As a community, I celebrate you and remind you as members of this Jesuit University — you are always called to be more (the Magis). This is true for the class of 2022 and all those before it. We never stop reaching for the Magis.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Greenwald, PhD
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences