Dear Students and Colleagues – 

Congratulations, you’ve just about made it. As of this morning, we have only three days remaining of in-person classes, and it seems our “Halloween Spike” in COVID-19 cases has peaked and is beginning to taper off.  Given the scheduling of this semester, some of you have already had your last in-person class. We’ve made it this far because of you – your commitment to this community and to each other. The news of the pandemic is simultaneously gravely serious and encouragingly promising. The progress on the development of multiple vaccines gives us reason to realistically hope that we could see the end of the pandemic before summer, yet we know many more will suffer and die before we get there. Realizing that a vaccine being available to us is still months away, let’s continue to focus on what we can control: wear your mask, wash your hands, maintain physical distance, and tighten your social circles. These steps are crucial, and will remain so over our well-earned break next week. Let’s keep it up. 

Earlier this year I referred to the two viruses we face: COVID-19, and systemic racism. Neither are going away soon enough, and while the pandemic captures a lot of attention this fall, our work to become a community of equity and inclusion remains at the top of our shared goals. The Board of Trustees completed an exercise this fall of a shared reading of Me and White Supremacy, by Layla Saad. Yesterday’s meeting of the Board was at times a gut-punch as the lived experiences of several of our Trustees were shared. The work of our Dismantling Racism Task Force continues, as does our Board’s, as we learn the steps we will take together to walk the talk, and become the Edgewood College that our mission and values demand. 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love getting together with extended family to enjoy a meal and conversation, and I love the idea that our nation has collectively set aside a day to give thanks. This year will be different, of course, with a lot of those extended family conversations happening via Zoom or Face Time. I will try to not be disappointed by these pandemic adjustments, but instead to be all the more appreciative of the people we miss and wish we could be with. There’s a good deal of research that suggests being thankful and expressing gratitude makes us happier, healthier, and more productive. I try to be mindful of things for which I am grateful every day. One of our professors personifies that very approach this week. This faculty member was in-person, and on campus for their classes for the entire semester. Their message? Gratitude. Gratitude for our students, for our faculty and staff, and for this community. You have all worked hard to get this community to this break. I will miss the physical presence of this community during Advent, which begins for Christians on Sunday, November 29 and goes through Christmas Eve. But I will be Thankful knowing that we remain connected, fulfilling our mission and looking forward to being together again in 2021.  

Be well, and be safe. Drive carefully and wear your mask.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Cor ad cor loquitur.

Andrew P. Manion, Ph.D.
President