Dear Colleagues and Friends,
When I think of change, I don’t think of how things are different. I think of how things can be better: better boundaries between work and home. Better policies, grounded in empathy and compassion. Better access. Better opportunity.
How we define our commitment to each other has also changed. More than ever, showing up today means that our work has value, dignity, fulfillment and joy. This fits well into what we are achieving in Arts and Humanities, where we actively create a culture devoted to the common good: in the classroom, in the studios, in our offices and on the stage.
Changing also means challenging our core principles so that we, in turn, can make those better, too. Put your gratitude into the world and recognize that networks are built through mutual support and personal connection. We will learn how to work differently, and we will do it together.
This graduation season is perhaps closer to me than ever before, and as I watch our students become alumni I recognize that they, too, want change. But I see something else, something hopeful. They will be the ones to make this change — change for the better.
With gratitude,
Dean Cristina Della Coletta
UC San Diego School of Arts and Humanities
