As the new fiscal year gets under way, we engage in a summer tradition—preparing for the start of the academic year. On Friday, August 4, we will hold our fourth Convocation for faculty and staff, our third as a university.
Just as Commencement closes each academic year, Convocation opens it. These events not only mark the passage of time, but create opportunities for us to engage as what we are—a community of learners.
Convocation is a day on which we celebrate what we have accomplished as an organization, we think, we share, and we set goals for the year ahead. Yesterday, faculty and staff received a few reminders about the logistics for Convocation, which can be found on InsideMGA.
I would additionally share that this year’s Convocation has particular significance for three reasons:
- This year will be the third and final year of our first University Strategic Plan—we want to finish it well;
- This year is also the first time we will hold our Employee Recognition Ceremony at the beginning of the year; and
- This year we will present our inaugural Staff Council Awards to honor a Champion, an Unsung Hero, and the example of Service Excellence.
In addition to gathering as a whole, Convocation provides an opportunity for colleagues in each division, department and office—who may work on any of our five campuses—to come together in person and decide how we will each contribute not only to daily operations or divisional imperatives, but our goals as a university.
As Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprang up.” I look forward to the growth of our ideas and to seeing all of you on August 4th!