I can’t believe that I am once again struggling to comprehend the senseless killing of black men and women. Coupling that with the rise in hate crimes against the Asian Pacific Islander community, I wonder, when our communities will become safer for people of color? To quote Chancellor May, it’s exhausting.  

Last year, the CA&ES Dean’s Office established the 2020 Academic and Strategic Planning (ASP) committee to review and update the 2015 Academic and Strategic Plan at the request of campus leadership. For the past five years, our college strategic plan has served as the foundational guide for how we continue to uphold our land grant mission to serve the public through research, academics and public service. 2020 marked the five-year anniversary of the initial plan, and we were due for an update.

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2020, we want to share with you a few bright spots—images of our faculty, staff, students and friends of the college who have continued to support our efforts in spite of the challenges we’ve faced during the pandemic. Every day, we are privileged to work and learn with a remarkable and inspiring group of individuals who balance learning, research, teaching and service to the community, even in the face of extreme adversity.

We are entering the holiday season—a time that has always been about coming together to share a meal and spend time with family, and this is probably the most unusual Thanksgiving any of us will ever experience. We’re being advised not to do what is our natural tendency—to gather with the people we care about the most. This is a hard request after nine months of sheltering in place.

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

Spring quarter 2020 has been a challenge for all of us, with a pandemic in full swing, the difficulties of teaching, learning and working online, and most recently, the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting protests nationwide.

I have struggled to find the words that express my shock, anger, sadness and despair. As an African American mother of an adult son, watching the George Floyd video on television triggered feelings of fear, distress and worry for all my family members.