Dear Colleagues,

Happy Halloween! As I reflect back on the month of October, the first word that comes to mind is “full!” It included the Inauguration, Grand Reunion, a national meeting of the Association of Jesuit College and Universities’ presidents, a full-day retreat with our Board of Trustees, and travel with the Board of Regents to Seattle where we also hosted an alumni event. I came away from the events of the month with a deeper appreciation of Santa Clara’s history, traditions, and the life-long attachments of our alumni and parents to this institution. We truly are an important part of their families. 

Our rich history reminds me of the strong leaders and foundation from which we emerge to today. This goes back to the Ohlone and Muwekma Ohlone people whom I think of frequently. As I walk about on this beautiful campus today, I have a sense of connecting to their spirits and often call on them for wisdom. I also have a sense of the prior campus leaders and the community that prepared the wonderful alumni of today. 

Of course, learning more about our history helps to inform our plans for the future. We will be launching our strategic planning process during November. The process will be overseen by the Planning Action Council (PAC) and will involve many opportunities for our stakeholders to be involved. I will be sharing more details about the process after the PAC meets in November. My goal is to have a completed 5-year strategic plan to present to our Board of Trustees for their approval in October 2023. I am optimistic about the plan, as I sense a great deal of alignment from the faculty, staff, students, alumni and trustees about our opportunities for the future.

I am grateful for the continued opportunities to meet and learn more about the lives and hopes of our faculty, staff, and students. Thank you to those of you who have joined me for office hours. To accommodate the number of requests, we expanded the time slots in November and December, and they quickly filled. I will be announcing time slots for January and February by the end of November.

As we embark on the month of November, which is a month of gratitude and which begins with All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and a time of remembrance of the treasured students we lost last year, I encourage everyone to practice gratitude and self-care and to be grateful for all the lives that have helped individually and collectively bring each of us to this day.

With kind regards,

Julie Sullivan
President