To the students. You are why we are here. Every day that I walk on any of our campuses I remember that your time with us is a gift and that we have the responsibility of making certain that your time is richly rewarded—not just through preparing you for a profession, not just through inspiring your civic agency, but most importantly through assisting you on this miraculous journey of finding out who you are, why you matter, and how you can offer yourself in service to the world around us. Every one of us has mentors, those who work with us directly and those who we watch and learn and grow from. I am richly blessed with many mentors, from my father and mother, to the faculty who taught me so well at the University of Tennessee and Colorado State, and to many of the faculty, staff, students and administrators at Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of Northern Iowa. I have learned so much from all of them. And each of us is supported by a network of family and friends. I am blessed that many of the faculty and staff and students who I have worked with over the years have become close friends who I cherish to this day. Thank you to my mother Pamela for her steadfast support; to my brother David, my sisters Kathryn, Bridgett, and Heidi, and my kids and best friends Zachary James and Kathryn Keene—you are my safety net, the place I come back to when I need to be reminded who I am. Most importantly, I am blessed with a remarkable partner. Sasha, you are a bright light shining in the world, each and every day, even in the most challenging times. You are my intellectual partner, my emotional and psychological partner, my spiritual partner. Without you, none of this would be possible. Thank you for dancing with me across this fragile and beautiful Earth. We should take a moment to acknowledge the land on which Central Washington University resides. It is the historic home of the Yakama people. The federally recognized Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation is made up of Klikitat, Palus, Wallawalla, Wanapam, Wenatchi, Wishram, and Yakama people. The Yakama people remain committed stewards of this land, cherishing it and protecting it, as instructed by elders through generations. We are honored and grateful to be here today on their traditional lands. We give thanks to the legacy of the original people, their lives, and their descendants. I read this statement as a reminder that the land is not owned. It is, rather, a gift that is inherited. In taking responsibility for that gift, we must think of the seven generations—of how we will pass this gift forward and create a legacy worthy of our inheritance. Reading this statement should disrupt our usual ways of thinking and being in the world—our epistemology and ontology—to help us think beyond ourselves to something bigger. I aspire to this new way of thinking and being in all that I do. Page 2
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