October 1, 2024
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to fall! It is wonderful to be back in New England for this glorious season, especially on such a stunning campus. It still feels a bit surreal when I take my morning walk on the green; I enjoy the view and Koda enjoys soccer practice!
Thank you to those who attended the September faculty-staff meeting and reception. It was wonderful reconnecting with and meeting so many of you. FSCC and Staff Council are continuing to gather feedback on faculty-staff meetings to ensure that they are addressing the needs of our campus community. October’s meeting will focus on an overview of the Library and Information Technology Division, including current issues such as AI, cybersecurity and the rising costs of library materials.
I continue to seek ways to interact with students, faculty and staff to listen, learn and build relationships. Thank you for your time and thoughtful conversations, which have been insightful, informative and inspiring. To expand opportunities for direct dialogue, in addition to campus “walk-abouts,” I am instituting open office hours for faculty and staff in my office (see below). I also will host a year-long series of small gatherings at the president’s house. Lauren Middleton will send out invitations for these gatherings; if you cannot attend the first time, you will be invited again at a later date.
Two weeks ago, Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) visited campus for three days. About 40 community members – students, faculty and staff participated in workshop, dialogue and strategy sessions with the facilitators during their visit. In addition, MBBI also led a virtual session with the Board of Trustees. The Board found the conversation engaging and reaffirmed its support of this important work of conflict resolution and civil discourse. Most of the community members who participated provided feedback in follow-up sessions last week that will help to inform how we move forward with dialogue efforts on campus going forward. For those who participated, thank you very much for taking the time to do so – it helps continue forward movement in building a healthy campus climate.
Academic Initiatives:
- Joined the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, a NASA-funded program administered at the state level that sponsors faculty and student research and student internships across the U.S. Professor Alex Gianninas will lead this endeavor.
- Received ARPA funding from the Connecticut Department of Education to fortify the New London Scholars Program. Amy Dooling will lead this initiative.
- Connecticut College was awarded $251,418 from the National Science Foundation to acquire a scanning electron microscope for multidisciplinary research and research training. Funds will replace a defunct scanning electron microscope at Connecticut College, with shared use between the Coast Guard Academy and UConn Avery Point. Faculty members who led this application were principal investigator Stan Ching (Chemistry) and co-principal investigators Peter Siver (Botany), Rachel Spicer (Botany), Taegan McMahon (Biology) and Maria Rosa (Biology).
- Assistant Professor of History Matt Swagler was awarded a $30,000 stipend to be an AKP Visiting Faculty Fellow for the Fall 2025 semester.
The PPBC (Priorities, Planning, and Budget Committee) has begun to meet and set its agenda for the year. Building on last year’s work, the committee will focus on developing strategies to implement the three recommendations from last year’s PPBC report (i.e,. prioritizing infrastructure and compensation in the budget, adopting a new peer group and putting the First Dollar Rule into practice). The committee will seek input from various constituencies across campus to guide its work. This year’s members are Anne Bernhard (chair), Victor Arcelus, Merrill Collins, Carey Cseszko, Susan Daniells, Danielle Egan, Christopher Hammond, Eva Kovach, Nancy Lewandowski, Jay Nash, Bella Castellanos Palacios, Yong Jin Park, Rob Richter, Madelyn Rose, Andy Strickler and Justin Wolfradt.
I am in the process of convening a working group on Freedom of Expression and Assembly to “develop institutional language that recommends to the president and senior team a College-wide policy and procedures applicable to students, staff, faculty and guests governing matters related to freedom of expression, including posting on campus, posting on social media and listservs, and freedom of assembly (e.g., protests or speakers/performers on campus).” Given the central importance of these policies and processes to how we live our mission and values, I am committed to developing them through our shared governance. Accordingly, I am reaching out to trustees, faculty, staff and student governing bodies to appoint members to the task force, and will request that the task force keep our community informed of their progress and provide opportunities for input from all campus constituencies.
Looking forward to the spring, the College has created a committee to oversee planning for my inauguration, which will take place Saturday, April 26. I have asked the committee to ensure that the event is fiscally prudent and is a celebration of Conn’s academic excellence and other points of distinction. The committee includes representatives from students, faculty, staff, senior administration, trustees and alumni. If you have suggestions for possible activities or are interested in helping, please contact John Cramer, vice president of Marketing and Communications.
Upcoming Events
Oct. 7-8 Fall Break
Oct. 8, 12:30 p.m. Community Connections (gather for lunch and community, Ernst Room) hosted by Finance and Facilities
Oct. 9, 4:15-5:30 p.m. Monthly Faculty and Staff meeting
Oct. 10, 7 p.m. Congressional Debate
Oct. 11, 1-3 p.m. President’s open office hours for faculty and staff
Oct. 18-20 Fall Weekend
Oct. 24-26 Board of Trustees fall meeting
Have a good Fall Break. I hope you can take some time to relax and do something that brings you joy. And for those of you taking a break from campus, safe travels.
Sincerely,
Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D.
President