A Message from the Dean: May 2023

The moment of truth has finally arrived—my last column. I’ve been anticipating writing this with both a sense of excitement and a tinge of sadness. For the record, the excitement is winning out!

I do not know where to begin in telling you all what a tremendous privilege it has been to have served CASL as Dean for the last 10 years. Indeed, I count this service as among my most important professional achievements. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined that the scrubby kid sitting in these same CASL classrooms might someday be Dean of that very college. That this actually happened, continues to boggle my mind.

Certainly, the work has not always been easy, nor have I always made the right decisions (though I think that I have made some decent ones). It is certainly the case that many of you shared your opinions about those decisions. But I have always appreciated the support that my faculty and staff colleagues have given and the encouragement that our students have offered. It is true that sometimes that support took the form of tough questions and impassioned challenges to decisions being made. Yet I always knew that the fact that my colleagues were eager and willing to put themselves out there and to speak their minds, was a wonderful thing as it was a constant reminder that you cared, not just about the college’s success but also about mine. I will forever be grateful to you all for that support. I learned more from you all than I could ever say. Thank you.

It would be impossible to thank everyone who helped me along the way over my 10 years, but I would be remiss if I did not specifically express my deepest appreciation for the work done by my team (Sue, Nada, Marie, Yunus, Kiara, Brandon, and Angie). When I started this position, there were 13 staff members and two Associate Deans (along with myself) in the CASL Office. There are now eight of us in total and at one point we were down to a mere five. I’m not sure that you all know just what a special group they are or that you are aware of how much they do for CASL or how well they do it. That they’ve tolerated my persistent shortcomings/mistakes and overlooked my many redundant queries/requests is nothing short of a miracle. I am grateful to them for partnering with me to move the work of the college forward and for the laughs and friendship shared in the doing of this work.

In spite of the challenges that we’ve faced, I still earnestly believe (and always will) in the power of what we do and am convinced that the college is positioned to do amazing things going forward. CASL is blessed with incredible faculty, devoted staff, and (as we all know) amazing students; students who need us and who need CASL to thrive. I remain convinced that our Practice-Based Learning initiative offers us all a positive path forward and that the skills and information inherent in a CASL education are more relevant than ever.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Dean. I look forward to returning to the classroom and to working alongside you all to continue our collective work.

With Deepest Gratitude,

Marty