November 21, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
Thanks to everyone who made it out to Coffee with the Chancellor last week. We shared good news and provided an update on our budget and the Academic Organizational Design Implementation. As always, the presentation can be found on the Coffee with the Chancellor webpage.
As promised, to make it easier to find these messages we have created a new page on the Chancellor’s Office webpage Speeches & Messages, that will have every message I’ve sent to faculty and staff over the last five years. The webpage is now live, and our web team will be working to get every message added over the next few weeks. I hope you are also enjoying our new Daily Titan format, designed to make critical information a little easier to find each day.
Before you depart for the long weekend, I want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful each and every day for all you do to support our students and the campus community. I also want to recognize the challenging change work so many of you are doing to address our budget challenges and position the campus for growth. We are making great strides that are laying a strong foundation for the future. I am grateful for your dedication to our campus and the work we are doing collectively.
I would also like to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region and recognize that IU South Bend was built on Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the Potawatomi, Peoria, Myaamia, Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, Mascouten and Meskwaki people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land. Over the past few years, we have been working to strengthen our relationship with the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi, especially around increasing access to higher education opportunities at IU South Bend for tribal citizens. I am excited to share that as of September, the Pokagon Band now has representation on IU South Bend Advisory Board.
In addition to wishing you a happy holiday, below are a few things to look forward to or celebrate as we finish out the calendar year.
On Monday, November 27 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm we will be illuminating a 16-foot trident in front of the library. Enjoy some cookies and hot chocolate while you take photos in front of the trident and enjoy a performance from the IU South Bend Tap and Kick Line, games, and more.
On Friday, December 8th at 7:00pm in the Campus Auditorium the Raclin School of the Arts will be holding their annual Sock Hop, an evening of holiday cheer!
Finally, don’t forget to RSVP by November 30 for the 2023 Faculty and Staff Holiday Celebration. This year’s celebration will be held on Thursday, December 14 from 5:30-8:00pm in the University Grill. It is always a festive time and an opportunity for me to thank you for all you do in helping IU South Bend meet its mission every single day.