Dear Undergraduate Students:
I have been focused this academic year on celebrating and continuing to encourage a number of important themes in our community. One is resilience — demonstrated by our community’s ability to return this past fall, after a year and a half of relative isolation under complex pandemic conditions, to a “new normal” campus experience, and abide by critical health and safety measures to protect us in and out of the classroom.
I have also strongly emphasized prioritizing our culture of empathy. Though we returned eagerly to campus this year, I know it has not been an easy transition. However, we have offered robust support for each other through the continued challenges, enabling us to advance our academic mission and remain positioned for future success as an institution.
Now, with just weeks remaining in the school year, it is time to buckle down and devote your energies to crossing the finish line of final exams. For our graduating students, May 15 – Commencement on the National Mall – likely feels incredibly near, and you may be tempted to begin your celebrations early. It is therefore more important than ever for each of you to embrace your resilient and empathetic natures and encourage each other — and yourselves — to remain focused on your classwork until your last assignment is submitted and you are free to celebrate all you have accomplished during this unusual year.
Academic resources remain available to you as you finish the semester, including Academic Commons, the Office for Student Success, the Writing Center, and Disability Support Services (DSS).
As always, if needed, the CARE Team allows all members of the community to submit a care referral for any student who may need additional support beyond assistance with classwork, so I encourage you all to keep this valuable resource in mind. Also available to speak with our students are counselors with Counseling and Psychological Services.
My best wishes for a productive end of the semester.
Sincerely,
Christopher Alan Bracey
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Law