Warm thoughts
January 31, 2019 |
Last weekend, members of Father Graham’s President’s Advisory Council returned to campus from around the country—to hear from current students and to offer their perspectives on Xavier’s past, present, and future.Our student leaders spoke of favorite professors, classes that changed their thinking, and the ingredients they consider essential to the Xavier they know.
Like the Black Theology class that—unexpectedly—won one student over to the value of the core curriculum; and the exploration of gender violence in a literature class that inspired another student’s late-night kitchen conversation with his parents, on topics deeper than they’d ever before discussed; and the cherished Mathematics faculty mentors who welcomed students before they even arrived and check in on them even when they aren't in class together.
Then the PAC members added their own advice: keep hiring great professors who will care for Xavier students and foster their learning; keep classes small enough to allow those key relationships to develop; and preserve the sense of community that the students of yesterday and today both treasure.
My reflection? A good and weighty charge. And we’ve got work to do.
And we also have good reason for great hopefulness. Our alumni and students give me hope; our early-career faculty give me hope; the many impressive candidates I’ve met in the past few weeks give me hope; and the deep care with which our departments are recruiting tomorrow's faculty mentors gives me great hope.
There’s more than enough to warm one’s heart—regardless of the polar winds.
