President Rebecca M. Bergman
This week, I invite you to join me in celebrating academic excellence at Gustavus.
Last Friday, our faculty endorsed a proposal for development of a new general education curriculum for future Gustavus students, called the Challenge Curriculum. This vote was the culmination of several years of work by the Curriculum Committee and the entire faculty to design a core set of learning outcomes and experiences for students. The new Challenge Curriculum reflects both our commitment to the liberal arts and the vision of the Gustavus Acts Strategic Plan. I sincerely thank our faculty for moving forward with this contemporary and innovative general education curriculum.
On Wednesday, we will celebrate the 2018 MAYDAY! Peace Conference with keynote speaker and Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee. Gustavus employees will be admitted with a college ID, so take advantage of this unique opportunity to celebrate our core value of justice and hear a Nobel Peace Prize winner in person.
This weekend, we will celebrate Honors Weekend, which is a time for our students and their families to celebrate and showcase academic achievements, departmental honors, and scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year. I would especially encourage you to attend the Celebration of Creative Inquiry on Friday from 4-6 p.m. in the Campus Center, where you can enjoy learning about the impressive research and scholarship of over 100 students from 26 departments and programs.
We can all be proud of the many ways that academic excellence is at the center of our collective work at Gustavus, both in the classroom and through special events and milestones. This week, you can reinforce the importance of academic excellence at Gustavus by congratulating students on their achievements and thanking faculty colleagues for their vital role in delivering an excellent liberal arts education to our students.
Finally, please join me again in congratulating Brenda Kelly on being selected as the next Provost and Dean of the College. Under her leadership, all of this wonderful academic momentum will continue to build. I look forward to continuing to partner with Brenda and all of you to move Gustavus boldly into the future.
Until next week, keep up the good work, Gusties!
With respect,
Becky