It’s the start of the 2024-25 academic year, and I can’t help but feel the excitement of a new beginning. As a lifelong teacher, this time of year has always held a special place in my heart. It’s a feeling of reinvention, brought to life by new people and new experiences. In fact, the Block Plan gives us small moments of reinvention all year long — which may be why I love it here so much.
On July 1, I shared a video about what drew me to CC 13 years ago as a postdoctoral fellow, what keeps me here today, and our vision for the future. If you haven’t yet, I hope you’ll take a moment to watch.
In that video, I shared that we are prioritizing institutional strength, ensuring the college’s success and longevity for the next 150 years by:
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- expanding access, affordability, and opportunity,
- reducing reliance on tuition through revenue generation and operational efficiency,
- investing in our people with expanded mental health resources and a new compensation philosophy, and
- engaging in initiatives that deepen our sense of place, community, history, and institutional identity, thereby furthering our commitment to antiracism.
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We are also focused on reclaiming the liberal arts — reminding the world of our purpose and value by:
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- leveraging the Block Plan in service of interdisciplinarity, community-building, and applied learning,
- equipping students to be citizens of their communities through civic preparedness skill development and public engagement,
- bolstering the arts and athletics as integral to the liberal arts experience, and
- expanding lifelong learning, career support, connection, and mentorship programs for alumni.
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While the design and implementation of specific initiatives will be led by offices and departments across the college, as Interim President, I will provide the clarity, vision, resources, and advocacy for all of this to happen successfully.
When I’m not on campus, I’m likely on the road, connecting with alumni and prospective students to support our engagement, fundraising, and enrollment goals. I will attend the occasional higher ed panel or workshop, learning from leaders of other institutions and building visibility for CC and the Block Plan. If you want to know where I’ve been and where I’m headed next, check out the Map of Manya, an interactive tool that I’ll keep updated year-round.
I want to close by acknowledging that last year was challenging for our campus. We felt heightened tension in academic, personal, and professional settings. Relationships were tested, and at times, our individual and collective values seemed to conflict. As I shared at Opening Convocation, working through these challenges is how we become active participants in our community, society, and democracy, which is the goal of a liberal arts education. It takes practice — but we must continue to listen to each other and ask questions with the intent to understand. In doing so, we build empathy, which is the only way we can heal division.
That’s why I am requesting proposals for “Conflict & Community” — a new, year-long series of trainings, workshops, lectures, and small-group discussions designed to engage our community in discourse across perspectives, experiences, and identities. This series is sponsored by the President’s Office, and faculty, staff, students, and alumni are invited to submit for funding. Find more information and proposal requirements here.
Here’s to a year filled with hard work, discovery, and collaboration. I look forward to growing alongside all of you.
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