By Bill Henk – What kind of an academic dean would I be if I didn’t mention our mid-year graduation or the generosity of our College donors? What kind of a human being would I be if I didn’t address the importance of gratitude in the holiday season? And what kind of Christian would I be if I didn’t acknowledge the special gifts I’ve personally received?
It’s a tall order to cover that much territory in one post, but bear with me. I promise to be as brief as possible.
Graduation and Gratitude
I can’t take credit for putting the topics of graduation and gratitude together. The pairing belongs to our new president, Father Scott Pilarz, S. J. He talked thoughtfully about it in one portion of his outstanding commencement address. (No, I’m not sucking up here; anyone who’s heard him give remarks knows that he’s an excellent public speaker. Look for his address to appear soon on a Marquette commencement website, and you’ll see and hear for yourself).
In any case, Father Pilarz was exactly right. Everyone celebrating the event had someone or something to be grateful for. The graduates, most of all, had reasons to thank many others for the sacrifices that were made in their behalf. But appreciation was also rightful for their families and friends, as well as the MU faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and trustees.
We are all extremely fortunate to be part of the Marquette family.
As for me, I was grateful to have survived the first semester. In addition to my regular duties, I taught a course for the first time after a long hiatus. I owe my students a major debt for their kindness, patience, and tolerance for a rusty (and possibly crusty) old professor. Be forewarned, I’ll have much more to say about my eye-opening teaching experience in a future post.
For the record, the College awarded five Ph. D.’s, as well as 10 Master’s degrees, 23 Baccalaureates, and four graduate certificates. For a complete listing of our graduates, click here. They all deserve big-time congratulations for achieving their respective career milestones.
Generosity
In an earlier post this month I noted that one of my big jobs this time of year is expressing appreciation to our many friends and supporters. Given all of the loose ends I had with my regular job, plus bringing my course responsibilities to closure (mostly lots of grading), and lugging my leg around in a surgical walking boot, I dreaded having to send out a small mountain of holiday cards and write dozens of personal notes. What I didn’t expect was to be so uplifted and energized by the task of saying “thank you” once I got myself in gear.
Anyway, since I wrote that post a few short weeks ago the College received contributions in December that totalled around $185,000. Now THAT’s what I call holiday generosity! And no kidding, at least $40,000 came out of literally nowhere — an unexpected and very welcome vote of confidence. So you know, almost all of this precious funding will go toward supporting our incredibly deserving undergraduate and graduate students and our marvelous Hartman Literacy and Learning Center.
It’s true that the College of Education has a long way to go in securing transformative gifts if we want to accomplish our most ambitious aspirations. But given our recent success, including some significant funding from foundations to our life-changing Behavior Clinic at Penfield this fall, my hope is that we’re starting to turn the corner. Consequently, it’s fitting for me to once again thank our donors and our foundation partners for their generosity.
Gifts
I promised to be brief, so here’s what I regard as my greatest gifts, pretty much but certainly not entirely in order of importance:
- My God
- My remarkable wife and cherished daughter
- My wonderful family and friends
- My extraordinary spiritual mentors
- My truly amazing Marquette colleagues — an absolute joy
- Our talented, hard-working, passionate students — another great joy
- Our College’s extremely supportive alumni and friends — what an honor and privilege it is to work with such great people
- Any and all talents bestowed upon me and my calling to use them to do His work at Marquette
- My hopefulness that the College of Education will flourish with Father Pilarz’s help (OK, maybe this one does qualify as sucking up a little!)
- My serious belief that this is our moment for dramatically enhancing the quality of education for K-12 students in our region
- My health, especially recovering from a torn Achilles tendon without surgery and six more months of rehabilitation
- Our special new Long Lake neighbors
- Our home and the tranquility its setting affords
- The caring and skilled professionals at my daughter’s Catholic elementary school and her dance studio, as well as her saint-like piano teacher
- Our nutty but lovable Yellow Lab and our way cool, huge and affectionate, Maine Coon cats
- The profound role that music plays in the quality of my life
- Deeply fond memories of my beloved parents
- And last but not least, our Marquette Educator readers. It’s you who have made our blog, a labor of love for me, such a surprising, gratifying, and stunning success.
What, 5G Ahead?
When I look at the list and see how many people are mentioned as gifts, I realize that a 4G network has nothing on mine. Clearly I am blessed.
As I bring this post to a close, it’s not lost on me that I’m writing it on December 21st, the winter solstice. There was less daylight today than any other day of the year, yet symbolically the light of my life burns bright.
I’m encouraged that, from this day forward, the light will grow a little longer, although it’s hard to imagine how much brighter my life could be. Can you say, “Glorious?”
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