Dear campus community,

As we prepare to celebrate the first two of our five commencement ceremonies this weekend, I am thinking of all those writing papers, studying for final exams, grading, and otherwise wrapping up the semester. Best of luck and many blessings with all you are working on. I also want to offer my wholehearted congratulations to those who will graduate in the coming days. We are immensely proud of you and look forward to celebrating with you and your loved ones.

In so many ways, the 2022-23 academic year has been remarkable. In the fall, we welcomed our most diverse and best academically prepared undergraduate class, opened the Knauss Center for Business Education, honored Sister Thea Bowman by naming a plaza in her honor, and were inspired by the Final Four run of our women’s volleyball team as well as the WCC championship of our men’s soccer team. In the spring, we celebrated the 30th annual All Faith Service, hosted the second Diversity and Inclusion Impact Awards, organized the inaugural Student Sustainability Summit, and learned from one another during Research Month. Our USD Rugby team captured both the 7s and 15s national championship titles and our women’s tennis, men’s tennis and men’s golf teams all qualified for the NCAA tournament. We also commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. And these are only a few of the many highlights which made the year so meaningful.

During these past 10 months, we also engaged in an inclusive, comprehensive process to revise our vision, mission, and value statements. I am delighted to report that at its May meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved new versions of these important documents. We will intentionally communicate our new vision, mission, and values in the fall and they will offer a firm foundation for the strategic planning process that will begin in September.

For now, I would like to thank all of you who participated in the process. Through meetings with more than a dozen groups representing all the major constituents associated with the university and two campus wide-emails, we gathered more than 900 discrete pieces of feedback on the existing vision, mission, and value statements as well as suggestions for revised statements. Without a doubt, the broad engagement of our community was critical to the successful completion of the work.

I would also like to express my great gratitude to the writing group who dedicated countless hours to reviewing all of the feedback we received and composing the new documents. That group was led by Michael Lovette-Colyer, PhD, Vice President for Mission Integration and included Satyan Devadoss, PhD, Fletcher Jones Professor of Applied Mathematics; Sr. Mary Hotz, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of English; Chris Nayve, JD, Associate Vice President for Community Engagement and Anchor Initiatives; Kristin Scialabba, PhD, Associate Provost; and Kimberly White-Smith, EdD, Dean, School of Leadership and Education Sciences.

As we approach the end of the academic year, I hope and pray the summer months will allow you ample time to enjoy family and friends, experiencing rest and rejuvenation after this outstanding academic year. Thank you for all you do to embody our vision, mission, and values and to make USD such an exemplary university.

Peace,
James T. Harris III, DEd