Dear Colleagues,
I recently wrapped up the ELATES program, where we graduated the latest cohort of women in STEM who will go on to transform their organizations as academic leaders. The theme of balance recurred throughout the year-long program – from one fellow’s project presentation on stress distribution in circles, to our keynote’s commentary on the moral arc of the universe – and it’s an idea worth repeating here.
While the last two years may have seemed more like juggling, I see us on a new wave seeking better balance. Balance as we welcome students for spring term, many back to campus but a good number of whom have yet to experience our classrooms in person due to COVID or their co-op cycle. Balance as our office operations settle deeper into hybrid patterns of work and mask-optional spaces. Balance as committee work on strategic initiatives fills our calendars alongside teaching, research and daily work matters.
There’s no one size fits all approach to balance, but I trust you’ll find the following news and resources are a step in the right direction:
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As we find balance in our faculty community and plan to welcome new talent to our established ranks, I am pleased to share that as of today we have two new colleagues confirmed with an additional four offers out to top candidates. I look forward to sharing specifics on these new hires at our college-wide meeting later this spring. And in order to support the development needs of our growing faculty, we will also be splitting the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs role off from the Associate Dean for Research role – more on that in another email this week.
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As we seek balance in communicating the value proposition of higher education along with our colleagues across the nation in the face of challenging enrollment trends and uncertainty, our Dean’s Fellows have been hard at work supporting our strategic plan implementation and conducting projects on college finances, the first year student experience, enrollment management and industry partnerships that are already having a positive impact on the college.
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as you seek balance in your personal and professional lives, I encourage you to take advantage of Drexel’s many wellness resources. In particular, I’m pleased to share that as a college we support the “
Ten at 10” program. By joining in this movement, I hope you’ll not only feel better balanced personally, but enjoy a higher balance of wellness points!
Thank you, as always, for your partnership, and here’s wishing you a season of better balance.
