欢迎回到太阳城集团和李

2022年3月9日

时机决定一切.

两年前，我推出了 独特的W&L – a monthly series on our place in higher education and the ways we are building on our strengths in the service of an even brighter future. 我推出了前三期: 我们的文科教育方法; 大学费用; and, 价值主张.

然后大流行来了.

From the day I had to announce the suspension of in-person classes and send our students home – March 13, 2020 – all of our energies have been focused on providing the best education possible, 在不断变化的环境下, 同时保护我们社区的健康.

The first phase of our response – which took us through the end of that school year – involved crisis man年龄ment and reinventing our operations on the fly. Everyone got home safely, and our classes resumed online within two weeks. Professors learned new technologies, and students adapted to virtual instruction.

We spent the summer of 2020 preparing for phase two – bringing students back to campus that fall, 在研制出疫苗之前. Facilities staff reconfigured classrooms to allow social distancing. 餐饮动员起来，每天生产数千份外卖. The Student Health Center prepared for testing, contact tracing, and quarantine. Student Affairs and 体育运动 created new safety protocols for every imaginable activity. 教师 determined how best to teach their courses, which often involved hybrid forms of instruction.

The emergence of vaccines was a game-changer and ushered in the third phase of our response this fall. Classes are in-person, sports and 艺术 are in full swing, and we are hosting campus events. The undergraduate and law classes of 2020 celebrated their commencements – 18 months after the fact – on the front lawn. 家长与家庭周末是一次非常成功的活动. 校友 are making up for lost time by making the pilgrim年龄 back to Lexington for reunions.

我们现在有充分的理由希望我们正在进入第四阶段, Covid-19何时会流行, 不会比每年一次的流感更具破坏性.

同时，我们在过去的两年里学到了什么? W&L students, faculty, and staff are flexible, resilient, and dedicated. 我们喜欢我们的传统和惯例. 他们被打乱了，但我们坚持了下来. Our community has made the best of an exceptionally adverse situation.

The value of what we do here at Washington and Lee – the topic on which I wrote in 独特的W&L just two days before emptying out the campus in March 2020 – has never been more apparent. 感谢这场大流行病夺走了我们的一切, it has also bestowed a heightened appreciation of precious things that we no longer take for granted. Each of us is grateful for the relationships and opportunities that we enjoy when we are here together.

Like many of you, I was moved by the pandemic to reflect upon what I do and why I do it. I have devoted a quarter-century to higher education, as a teacher, scholar, and academic leader. 这是我的职业，也是我的使命. 没有比大学校园更让我感到自在的地方了.  

我太阳城集团官网这么喜欢大学生活?

我们的企业基本上是乐观的. 我们是面向未来的. 学生占我们社区的三分之二. 他们是年轻的成年人，充满了可能性和希望. 他们带来了巨大的能量和广泛的好奇心. Students come to make sense of the world and to discover themselves. 他们的潜力已经成熟，渴望有所作为.

学生是在太阳城集团和李工作的最好的部分. 他们的才华和梦想鼓舞人心. 他们的幽默感和生活乐趣令人振奋. They give the campus the gift of perpetual youth – while we teachers get older, 学生们从不这样做. Each fall brings a fresh crop, for whom everything is new and ready to be made their own.

学生也是我们在这里的原因. 和他们在一起是一种快乐，但也是一种严肃的责任. 我们的使命 is to develop their intellect and character in ways that will be conducive to their personal, 专业, 公民的成功. W&L的存在是为了投资我们的学生, 通过他们, 在他们将为之做出贡献的社区中.

It’s easy to get out of bed in the morning with a purpose like that.

我也喜欢我们工作的方式. Our job is to help our students launch themselves, not to do it for them. 我们拓展他们的视野，让他们选择自己的未来. We give them the tools to examine the world, and they draw their own conclusions.  

Every student at Washington and Lee explores a broad variety of disciplines, 每一个都提供了一套独特的主题, 问题, 和方法. Students also acquire sustained experience with the specific modes of inquiry in their chosen majors.

不管是什么领域, our undergraduate and law faculty expect their students to become proficient at intellectual combat. 在我们的教室里, 学生们被要求表达自己的观点, 澄清他们的假设, 提出问题, 考虑其他角度, and revise their views on the basis of new information and compelling arguments. 我从每个秋季学期教我自己的研讨会中了解到，W&L学生渴望做这项工作. They are independent thinkers who enthusiastically and respectfully participate with their peers in the probing discussions led by our faculty.

学习和成长并不局限于课堂, 当然, and another great pleasure of university life is watching our students pour themselves into athletics, 艺术, 社区服务, 户外探险, 以及各种各样的活动. 在太阳城集团和李, 我们亲自了解我们的学生, 了解他们的激情所在, 支持他们的努力, 指导他们克服挫折, 庆祝他们的成功. 

Having come to know our seniors and 3Ls so well, saying goodbye to them is always bittersweet. 我们为他们的离去感到难过，但又为他们的未来感到兴奋. It is a treat when they return to campus, often with an even deeper appreciation of what W&L means to them, and with budding 专业 confidence, experience, and evolving plans.

我们的使命-准备毕业生终身学习, 个人成就, 负责任的领导, 为他人服务, and eng年龄d citizenship in a global and diverse society – is more important than ever. 作为W成员的特权和乐趣&社区比以往任何时候都更有意义.

这就把我们带回到了distinctive W&我两年前就不干了. Given the significance and value of what we do, who gets to be here? 我们如何挑选学生? And how do we make it financially possible for them to attend Washington and Lee? I look forward to addressing these issues of access and affordability next month. 现在, 在经历了难以想象的艰难两年之后, 我只想说回来的感觉有多好, and how much I look forward to celebrating commencement with this year’s graduates in May.