John Carroll University’s Class of 2025 will arrive in the coming days, first in a trickle and then in a rush. In so many ways, I share their sense of welcome, transition and discovery.
The first 100 days of my presidency could be characterized as breathless; three and a half months marked by fresh insights and a shared urgency as we set John Carroll University on a new and more certain course.
Each of us, from eager freshman to senior athletes and longstanding alumni can be said to be finding our way in this moment. That’s the nature of withstanding something as large as a pandemic. That’s the significance of change. For some of you, it will be the simple but profound act of sleeping away from home for the first time. For me, it’s getting comfortable at a new desk, in a new seat, one reserved for the university president.
Plenty will continue to change as we find our way together. Thankfully, we have allies — people of good will and lots of experience who will help. A faculty committed to growing John Carroll’s intellectual capital and program mix, and alumni who want to build an inspired future for the institution and everyone that it lifts. As students, you walk alongside an army of good people, from the staffs at the writing, recreation, career and student success centers, to residence hall leaders, athletic coaches, and academic advisors.
You will experience that support in many ways, starting with new friends who’ll pitch in to carry boxes and show you where to catch the free campus bus to the nearby Target. And you can pay it forward, by extending a hand of friendship.
Emotions will run high during move in. A couple of weeks later, September 9, I will be officially installed as the 26th President of John Carroll University. While the spotlight might fall briefly on me that day, I plan to turn it right back in your direction.
You will begin to hear us talk about Inspired Futures. The promise behind this new university strategy is simple. The future will not surprise you. You will surprise the future.
We have already begun to shift our focus and investments toward making such a promise reality. I embrace my role as president knowing that it comes with great responsibility. If the events of the past 18 months prepare us for anything, it’s the realization that the combination of human ingenuity and technological power will make for a very different century ahead. My job is to prepare each of you to pursue and realize an Inspired Future by giving you unmatched academic, experiential and formational opportunities.
Over these past 100 days, I have felt a clear and unflinching commitment from faculty, alumni, donors and corporate partners to keep this promise. It’s more than blind optimism. We know that the challenges facing this world will require a generation marked by fresh insights, and an ability to match each technological gain with a deeper look at how we have preserved our dignity and improved the human condition.
I will check in with you several times a month here to track our progress, and to share ideas that come my way. I say to John Carroll students, be more than curious bystanders. I invite you to claim an important role in this process. By looking forward with me, you can help me put the right pieces in place so that Inspired Futures delivers for you not just an impressive set of skills, but a far more honest and wholehearted engagement of your humanity.
Thank you.
