Convocation for faculty and staff is Sept. 18
Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard sent the following announcement to 草榴社区 faculty and staff Thursday morning inviting them to Opening Convocation Sept. 18:
Dear Colleague,
I look forward to our joining together – all of us – at Opening Convocation. We gather to kick off a new academic year – our 115th. While there is excellence to celebrate and other business to attend to, in the simple act of being together, I see great value. In so doing, we enjoy the company of colleagues and renew the commitments that bind us as a community and also as a calling critical to brighter futures for Washington and beyond.
Consequently, normal operation of the university is being paused the morning of September 18. All offices are closed (except for those several offices notified as being critical to campus safety). Tough as I know it can be to leave your desk or other obligations at this particularly hectic time, we are pausing operations with the expectation that, thereby, you will be able participate.
Convocation will be preceded by a complimentary breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Viking Commons. In order to allow Food Service to adequately prepare, we request that reservations for the breakfast be made by September 16th. No tickets are required. to make your required breakfast reservation.
Convocation immediately follows the breakfast and is in the PAC, concluding by 10:15 a.m. Just as the economists teach us that there is no free lunch, the breakfast also is not “free.” I will be making remarks.
At last year's convocation, I posed six questions bearing upon Western's future. These were thoughtfully considered by many, many groups over the last academic year. At this September's Convocation, I will be reporting back on the general themes and conclusions that seem now apparent even while recognizing these are questions we must continue to critically discuss.
I look forward to seeing you at this gathering of our Western community, to recognize the outstanding achievements of our colleagues, and to continue our shared engagement in shaping Western's future.
Warmest regards,
Bruce
