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From the College of Natural Sciences
No Student is an Island
Dear Students,Are you starting to feel like campus may be a little different? I'm picturing UT-as-archipelago – our Natural Sciences community fanned out across lots of little islands – instead of UT on Forty contiguous Acres. We are still together. We are just a little more spread out.The best way to make the most of our physically distanced time ...Here’s What Counts
Dear Students,It's 104 in Austin today, and that is as much bad news as I have room for in this message. I have decided to focus instead on Some Good News: Student leaders made a difference. You will have seen the news from President Hartzell earlier this week about UT's work to create a more diverse and welcoming campus. Included in these importan...A Dispatch from Campus
Dear Students,I have had a chance to go to the Forty Acres a few times since things shut down in March. A lot is different: With so few people around, turtles from the turtle pond have wandered all the way to the entry of W.C. Hogg. But other things are still the same: Domino the cat continues to soak up sun outside the UT Tower, and that ornery op...Leadership = Courage + Curiosity
Dear Students, So often we think of leadership as leading a team toward an endpoint. A to B. However, more often than not, leadership is more about making sure to look around as we move toward our goal. How we arrive at that goal is just as important as getting there.When we pay attention to how we go about our work, leadership looks different. For...Leading Change
Dear Students,This week I offer you all three pieces of wisdom that I've learned over the years about being agents of change. Our society is in need of people to step up and lead. What I know is, combined with your incredible work ethic and sense of duty to change the world for the better, you're excellent candidates to be the changemakers our worl...Being a Better Ally
Dear Students,I have struggled with what to write this week that would not sound like the same message I sent last week. I have wondered if you need to be hearing from me at all right now and how I can work to pull other voices into the weekly emails. While I'm working on ways to do that, I have also been asking myself how I can be a better ally to...The Hard Work of Change
Dear Students,One of the reasons I write to you each week is to keep us connected as a community, especially when our community is suffering. Part of being a community is recognizing the fact that our Black students, faculty, and staff experience the world in inequitable ways, and this happens because of racism and injustice, which demand our colle...Takeaways
Dear Students,I know I wrote up most of my end of semester thoughts last week, but I wanted to send a note of encouragement this week too. As you're finishing up finals and projects, please be sure to think about one tangible thing you got out of each of your classes. Maybe you found a new calling in life because the content excited you so much, ma...You Did It
Dear Students, Well, you did it. Classes for the spring 2020 semester are over. Granted, some of you still have finals, but classes are done. With that in mind, I have three messages this week: To everyone:You have shown a tenacity, dedication, and resilience I am floored by. For some of you, finding internet connection proved challenging, but you ...Read It Now
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