Chancellor Harvey Perlman issued the following letter to faculty and staff on Aug. 24, the first day of classes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dear folks,
Here we go again. Seems like we are right in the heart of summer and yet the clatter of returning students is cascading all around us. Feels like a lot of them. Hope so.
It may be I also hear the more subdued steps of returning faculty and staff. Welcome back! I know, I know. Some of you have been here all summer contributing to the university enterprise, but they told me to write a “welcome back” email and that’s what I’ve done! If you never left, then welcome to a new academic year. It’s the wonder of the academic calendar that we get to “start over” every fall.
Seriously, the routine of the ebb and flow of the academic calendar may lull us into forgetting how important is the work we do. With our teaching we assume some responsibility for the success of the next generation. With our research we hold the promise of the continual advance and improvement of the human condition. We can play an important role in the economic and cultural development of our state. And we get to do all of this surrounded by the energy, enthusiasm and inquisitiveness of our constantly evolving student body. You know, it doesn’t get much better than this!
I hope you are refreshed and reinvigorated for the year ahead. Thanks, in advance, for all you will do this year on behalf of our students and the general welfare of the university.
Harvey
P.S.: This will be an important year for the campus with the search to select the next chancellor. I hope you will all give this your attention and engage in the process.
