It
is that time of year again – our students are preparing for and taking final
exams, or finishing their final papers or projects. Many are engaged in these
activities for the last time as an undergraduate. Our Class of 2014 will receive many, many
congratulations from family, friends, faculty and staff, and from their fellow
members of the Class.
I
will add my congratulations as well, but I am really writing to say “Thank
you”. This spring, like all the springs
in prior years, it was a real privilege for me to attend the Rainville Awards,
the Diversity Awards, the student-athlete awards, and many other events that
celebrated the contributions and achievements of our students. You are an
amazing group, just like the classes that preceded you at the University of
Rhode Island. Thank you for the
leadership you have provided to the campus, thank you for your service to the
people and communities of Rhode Island, thank you for the new ideas you have
shared, thank you for your achievements in research, scholarship and creative
work, thank you for your contributions to the important discussions on arming,
sustainability, and the new General Education curriculum, and thank you for
just being who you are.
No
graduating class is perfect because no individual is perfect. We’ve certainly
had our collective ups and downs. However,
your talent, dedication, hard work, and numerous achievements inspire optimism
for the future, regardless of the substantial challenges we will face together. So thank you for that, too.
As
we finalize our preparations for commencement, many of you already have your
next job secured, others of you are going into some of the finest graduate
programs in the world (including programs at URI), and some of you are still
thinking about, or looking for, what comes next. My hope is that the University of Rhode
Island has prepared you well for success, whatever your course might be. Over the years ahead, all of us who remain at
URI will be delighted if you remember your time here and remain an engaged
member of our community. And I thank you in advance for that.
While
I’m at it, belated “thank you’s” to the Classes of 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
What I wrote above is just as applicable to you. You make me proud to be a part
of the University of Rhode Island.
Best
wishes, and please stay in touch.
