Dean's Blog
Dean David Mengel writes these posts for the weekly CAS Bulletin, sent to all faculty and staff of the College of Arts and Sciences.
August 06, 2020
Marking milestonesNinety years ago this week, St. Xavier College became Xavier University. Neither the end nor the beginning to our institution's story, this change nevertheless represented a milestone...
July 30, 2020
Good TroubleThe horse-drawn hearse carried the body of John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday. It was not Lewis’s first time at that place.The occasion...
July 23, 2020
AdaptationsSluggish. Glacial. Imperceptible.That's how some people characterize the pace of change at universities.I challenge anyone who has been paying attention to our college over the past four months to...
July 16, 2020
ReturnWith just over a month before the first day of classes, our community has begun its phased return to Victory Parkway. I hope that you, like me, took (or will take!) at least a little time away from...
June 25, 2020
SummertimeOne of the glories of university life is the academic calendar. There are rhythms to our year and our careers, measured by times of intense activity interspersed with times of reflection.And as...
June 18, 2020
Planning for ReturnThese days St. Ignatius watches over empty stairs.But as June days lengthen towards the solstice, our thoughts increasingly turn to our gradual return to...
June 11, 2020
GratitudeIn many ways, the past weeks have been the most challenging of my four years as Dean. There's no question. Yet at the conclusion yesterday of the college's role in the university's effort to...
June 04, 2020
Not EnoughYet another unjust death. Yet another name to add to our tragic litany. Yet another angry reminder (for those of us who don’t experience it daily) of systemic anti-black racism, that...
May 28, 2020
Sustaining HopeEach month a member of the University Cabinet offers a prayer to begin the meeting. This week was my turn. I offered a prayer—a supplication, really—for wisdom and...
May 21, 2020
Worth CelebrationIt's true: we didn't celebrate the end of this academic year in quite the same ways as normal. We celebrated nevertheless -- and rightly so!Many of you joined us on Tuesday or Wednesday...
May 14, 2020
The Path AheadAs we walk forward together into our college's future, I find myself wishing that we could see clearly around the corners ahead. What exactly will we encounter over the next months and...
May 07, 2020
Made For This Moment?Last evening as I read Fr. Graham's message to our community, I was caught up short by our university president's suggestion that we--the members 0f Xavier...
April 30, 2020
Prospective welcomesThe thought makes me smile broadly: watching new students stream along the academic mall in front of Alter Hall. Eager, nervous, full of energy.Ready to experience what they've been anticipating...
April 23, 2020
Honoring Our Adjunct FacultyDear colleagues,Some are you are departmental fixtures, others new to us this semester—you, the more than one hundred adjunct faculty members who teach in the college we...
April 09, 2020
Next year...“Next year in Jerusalem!”On this first day of Passover, the concluding words of the Haggadah* come to my mind. They are living words, intoned with resonances of the generations...
April 02, 2020
LifespringsI don't get out much these days--just like you. On day 15 since returning from Peru, I haven't left the house except for a too-occasional walk. So it hits me whenever I step outside. We...
March 26, 2020
Here we go again?I don’t believe that history repeats itself. I'm not even convinced that it rhymes. At times of uncertainty, though, I do find myself looking to the past. (Ok, I admit:...
March 19, 2020
Remotely“The Peruvian president just announced that he’s closing the borders. Get to the airport as soon as you can and try to get on any flight going to the United States.”...
March 12, 2020
Coronavirus: Meeting the challengeUnimagined. No one expected this, and we can’t know with certainty what comes next or when. Nor do we have firm answers yet to some of the critical questions that this situation will...
March 05, 2020
Celebrating AchievementI could not be more pleased to recognize our faculty colleagues who recently earned promotion. I encourage you to congratulate them when you next see them.
Tenure and promotion...
February 27, 2020
Glad for MarchAs we reach the final days of February, the coincidence of calendars can be almost jarring.The sober Christian season of Lent and the crush of midterm exam-taking and exam-grading (not to mention...
February 13, 2020
Listening to LearnListening. Nothing, in my experience, is more essential to maintain a flourishing community of learners. Shared governance, too, depends on listening. That insight led a 2018 faculty task force to...
February 06, 2020
Common Values, Extraordinary PeopleAmong my most cherished privileges of serving as the college's dean is the daily collaboration with an extraordinary team in the dean's office. Our common values daily call us each to become our...
January 30, 2020
Invitation to ThriveEarly in December, I asked you to share stories of first-year students – students who had faced obstacles and overcome them. Now I need your help again. The stories you told...
January 23, 2020
Our Beloved CommunityWhat an extraordinary moment! An impeachment trial blazes a fiery opening to this election year. In Cincinnati and across the county, we feel the pull to retreat still further into our polar camps....
January 16, 2020
Looking back and aheadWelcome to the new semester and the new year! By this point, I suspect that you've realized what I have: in 2020, the eyesight puns will be even harder to avoid than the gaze of Mona Lisa. So...
December 12, 2019
Feeding season‘Tis the season. Some of us, like Francis Xavier before us, are observing these Advent days in anticipation of the feast of Christ’s nativity. Others mark our...
November 21, 2019
Alumnus UnveiledNancy Pelosi. Kevin McCarthy. Chuck Schumer. Mitch McConnell. And an occasionally controversial Jesuit chaplain. What single purpose brought them all into the same room this...
November 14, 2019
The Sound of MillenniaHow does its sound, I wonder?The verses of our faculty members.The creative energies of our students of English.Voices of Xavier musicians.Brought together by...
November 07, 2019
In CincinnatiAs falling leaves give way to chill weather, soon we will again invite to campus finalists for faculty positions.I look forward to conversing with candidates. As ever, I'll explain my experience of...
October 31, 2019
Family visitingMy recent visit to Seattle brought home a powerful sense of family. I discussed possible collaborations with colleagues from two sister Jesuit Catholic...
October 24, 2019
Free. Safe. Contested. Free. Safe. Civil. Apparently anodyne words. And these days, also political whistles and triggers.Seems to be an awful lot of writing about campus...
October 17, 2019
See Chicago for Less Than $20More than three-quarters of Xavier students hail from beyond our immediate region. And this weekend many will welcome to campus their relatives for Family Weekend. Each year these...
October 10, 2019
Our Original SinHow might we confront our universities' role in what Jim Wallis has called America's original sin?Perhaps we need our very own Vergangenheitsbewältigung -...
September 26, 2019
Sparking Our StudentsIs it any surprise that our first-year students might be anxious about their futures?Ubiquitous claims that today's careers will be displaced by not-yet-invented ones--or perhaps by artificial...
September 19, 2019
How to teach Ignatian... on a bikeIn the face of ecological crisis, how might Jesuit education adapt--so that we can continue preparing young people for the world they will inhabit?This week Xavier faculty Kathleen...
September 12, 2019
Becoming
Who our students become. A former Jesuit superior memorably identified that as the best measure of a Jesuit Catholic university.The students on the CAS Student...
September 05, 2019
Spirit CelebrationThis time of year reminds me of the second mile of a long run—warmed up, striding, not yet fatigued. A good moment to share our hopes for the academic year ahead.That makes next Monday a...
August 29, 2019
A hope filled future?Ominous climate change threatens human welfare. Racism, rooted in our nation’s original sin, seems to be worsening. And rather than safe havens, college campuses too...
August 22, 2019
Begin as you mean to goI was invited this year to participate in“Ignite” – the Sunday conclusion toManresa for new students. The event’s name, I gather, evokes a...
August 15, 2019
Welcome backOn behalf of the College of Arts and Sciences, I want to offer a very warm welcome to all our new faculty and staff. At the same time, I welcome back all returning staff and faculty. We've got an...
May 16, 2019
We celebrateHard work. Late nights. Early mornings. Empathy. Problem-solving. Cramming too much into too little time.A community of people for and with others, learning together.And at the end of it all, we...
May 09, 2019
Beautiful weedsClick click. Click click clack.I hope that the compelling weather, the repellent stacks of grading in your office, or some other happy accident led you to cross paths this week...
May 02, 2019
Capstone achievements on public displayOur campus’s spring glory manifests itself not least through the vernal displays, presentations, and performances of our students. Seniors and other students offer to the community the...
April 25, 2019
The arc of student learningIt’s a wonderful week to observe the arc of student learning at Xavier.At Tuesday’s Flame, more than 200 students in First Year Seminars gathered in...
April 11, 2019
What’s a fandom, you ask?What’s a fandom, you ask? Don’t expect me to explain the neologism, but after this week I just may be able to show you. Yesterday in McDonald Library, fandom...
April 04, 2019
Thank You This week Father Graham hosted his annual reception to honor those of you who serve our community as adjunct faculty members.This year again I enjoyed the chance to thank some of you in...
March 28, 2019
From Nashville to NapervilleFrom Nashville to Naperville. Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Milwaukee to Minneapolis. Detroit to Dayton. Cleveland to Charlotte. DC, Boston, New York, Atlanta -- and more. Have you noticed?...
March 21, 2019
Welcome to Spring!Welcome to Spring! As we enter the homestretch of the semester, I hope that you find ways to take a moment, here and there, to appreciate the new life and warmth that this season...
January 31, 2019
Warm thoughtsLast weekend, members of Father Graham’s President’s Advisory Council returned to campus from around the country—to hear from current students and to...