I would like to express my best wishes to Drew Hinderer, professor of philosophy, and Barron Hirsch, professor of art, in their upcoming retirements. Combined, they have 77 years of committed service to SVSU. I attended their farewell receptions last week and was pleased to see many of you in attendance. 

Speaking of retirees, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bob Braddock and Eric Petersen could still find their way to campus. Both attended last Thursday’s installation for SVSU’s chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society. My thanks to Nameeta Mathur, the group’s advisor, and all current colleagues in the history department who worked to bring this to fruition. It’s another valuable mark of distinction for our students.

As another academic year draws to a close, I would like to express my appreciation to the thousands of students who have volunteered their time, donated money, and otherwise supported worthy causes in our community and beyond. A special note of congratulations to Taylor Huebler-Davis, a nursing major from Saginaw, and Jennifer Philburn, a biology major from Melvin, who both received the Commitment to Service Award from the Michigan Campus Compact, joining just 34 other students statewide in receiving this honor.

It’s a festive time across campus, and last Thursday, I attended the celebration banquet for the Great Lakes Regional Youth Leadership Institute, which annually engages 96 high school students from Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties. I spoke with several of them and their parents, and they consistently spoke about how valuable the experience was in terms of the students’ personal growth and leadership skills. My thanks to Mamie Thorns and the SVSU student mentors who participate in this program. I’m glad we can offer such outreach activities to young people in our region.

With final exams around the corner, it’s a busy period for all of us, but I hope you take time to attend some of the many end-of-year events and activities taking place across campus. For example, tonight at 7 p.m. you can choose from the Cardinal Sins publication party or the Pros vs. Joes basketball game. There is a wide array of events, some scholarly, some social, some celebratory. Your presence at these matters to our students. I know, because they tell me. Most of them don’t know who I am yet, so I have good reason to believe they’re being honest with me.  A comprehensive calendar is available when you log in to the SVSU portal, so find what suits you and your schedule.