As we draw near the end of another term and of another year, I trust the holiday season will afford each of you a time of refreshment and renewal as you celebrate the holiday with family and friends.
At this moment, when we stop to celebrate and reflect, I am deeply grateful for each one of you and all that you do to make Wake Forest a special place of learning and community.
I am grateful for the special dramatic event we shared this fall, “From the Ground Up,” which showed the power and dignity of so many faithful colleagues who keep up the buildings, grounds and systems on which we all depend.
I am grateful for all those alumni, friends and parents — tens of thousands of them — who have contributed generously to Wake Forest and made our Wake Will Lead campaign so successful, and in doing so, strengthened our common life. And I am grateful for our University Advancement staff, who have orchestrated this campaign so effectively.
I am grateful to our Trustees who give faithfully of their time, wisdom and treasure to make Wake Forest live up to its dreams.
I am grateful for our faculty and all of their commitment to research, teaching and service. I am grateful to our academic departments for all they do to support faculty and students.
I am grateful to our Office of Diversity and Inclusion; our Women’s Center; our LGBTQ Center; and the special efforts of the Commission on Race, Equity, and Community; the Slavery, Race and Memory Project; and the Committee on the Intersection of Bias, Expression and Conduct for all that they are doing to make this in inclusive community.
I am grateful for so many other offices that nurture our students: our chaplains, our Counseling Center, our Thrive program, our SAFE Office, our Title IX Office, our Office of Personal and Career Development — and so many more.
I am grateful for all of our staff in Campus Life for all they do to educate the whole person, not only during business hours but at night and throughout the weekend.
I am grateful to our coaches and all the support staff in Athletics for all that they do for student-athletes and all that they bring by way of enjoyment to our whole community. All best wishes to our final four men’s soccer team and our football team that will face Michigan State in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27.
I am grateful for our professional schools — Law, Medicine, Business and Divinity — for all their efforts to form worthy professionals.
I am grateful for the outstanding students and faculty who share their artistic talents with us — by song and instrument, in band and orchestra, in theatre and dance, in painting and sculpture.
I am grateful for all those who work in Finance, Accounting, Budgeting and Audit for all they do to make Wake Forest a viable and prosperous organization.
I am grateful for all the tremendous service offered by administrative offices such as the Legal Office, Human Resources, Information Technology, the Registrar and University Police.
Finally, I am grateful to the officers of the University, the deans and directors of centers and institutes — all those who are charged to oversee and make coherent this entire community of learning.
Wake Forest is a special community. We have our great strengths, and we have our weaknesses and faults. But I am deeply grateful for all that you do for this place and for our mission to be a lively and committed community of learning. May you have a wonderful holiday filled with joy and may you face the new year with hope and confidence.
