Message From the Dean
Dean Kenneth A. Gould
Greetings, HSS Students, Staff, and Faculty,
I hope that the end of the semester is going smoothly for you as we approach the finish line. I know that a lot of us are running on fumes and will need some rest before gearing up for 2022, but I can’t help looking ahead.
Next semester is going to be a lot. Returning to campus is going to feel like the first day of school for many of us, with all the associated excitement and anxiety. In addition to picking out our outfits, packing our lunches, and hoping we meet new friends, we will also have to focus on keeping ourselves and each other as safe as possible. Faculty, if you haven’t been back to your office since we locked down in March 2020, be prepared to enter a bit of an eerie time machine. It’s a strange experience, so leave yourself some extra time to process and reflect. Bring a new office plant with you for a sense of renewal.
We have gone through this collective trauma together while apart, and it might be helpful for us to collectively acknowledge that in a ritual or two of our own design. Let’s put our heads together and come up with some appropriate ways to mark the occasion of return, remember what we have lost, and note what we have gained as well. We are not going back to an old normal, but forging ahead toward a new vision of the role of our institution in a new era. I find it a little thrilling to think about what we collaboratively contribute to our society and how we will make those contributions in new ways and in a new context. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences is the intellectual hub of our college, and the moment of return will be a great opportunity for us to take a leadership role in reconfiguring urban public higher education for a new age.
I want to thank all of you for keeping our school and our college going throughout this pandemic. Everyone drew on deep wells of skill and capacity to make it possible for us to continue our work remotely. In a time of crisis we pulled together and kept our great public service mission at the center. You all deserve a collective round of applause. HSS is a terrific team, with tremendously impressive students.
When you are done with the work of this semester, and before you begin preparing for spring, be sure to take some time to rest, reflect, and refresh. The life of the mind requires time for daydreaming. You have earned yourselves some serious daydreaming time. And when you are ready, turn toward the endless possibilities for innovation, and the excitement of reconnecting with students and colleagues. I’m looking forward to seeing you all in three dimensions again, working together, and sharing lunch.
Have a great winter break!
Thanks,
Ken
Back to Critical Thinking — December 2021
