From Aron’s Desk

Friends,

Way back when I was interviewing to be president of this wonderful university, I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out the culture of the place. By the time I signed, I had some small sense, and I am delighted to say the more I see and learn about our culture the happier and more impressed I am.

Since last weekend, I got to attend the Lunar New Year celebration, the showcase conclusion of our Black History Month events, the staff appreciation series this week, and attend the masquerade Dance for Health Equity and Educational Excellence. You do not need to read my recapitulation of the events, but I did enjoy origami, writing wishes, talking with students, and some great talent (kudos in particular to Darryl Stackhouse, Dr. Hector Rasgado-Flores, PhD, Andy Okhuereigbe CMS ‘29 (dance), Carl Marcelin CMS ‘28 (piano), and keynote speaker Dr. Kimberly Darey, MD, ‘04. As to the dance, the invite said semi-formal, but our people can show up and show out, smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy.

The dance is a fundraiser for one of the best student-run free clinics in the country. Over 460 people from the university volunteer at the clinic, including students, staff, and faculty, and the clinic provides a remarkable range of services all organized by our amazing student leaders. The dance raised about $60,000 for the clinic. A large part of that money came from the event’s platinum sponsor, Wintrust, who is a great partner of the university. The money provides supplies and equipment for the clinic as well as the food pantry attached to the clinic. It is not too late to help the clinic help our neighbors. As cuts to Medicaid and the ACA are implemented, we know there will be more families in need and more neighbors who will benefit from the work of this clinic.

In my whirlwind of events this week, I attended several of the staff appreciation events this week. Staff work hard, so it was nice to settle in for bingo, the potato bar, and popcorn. RFU, like all universities, runs on its staff, who organize everything from students and faculty to payroll to security to snow removal. We have a particularly dedicated staff here, and I appreciate all of the weekends and holidays they work and all of the solutions and innovations they create for the university. The only thing I will note, in the way of poignant irony, is that the staff seem to do the work behind staff appreciation week - kudos to the Staff Council, and specifically the events committee for being so creative with the carnival-themed activities!… For my part, I want to thank Johnna Purcell for all she does to make my work possible and fun. She is also new to RFU and a smashing addition to the university. In the last couple of weeks, we have added Alex Henkel to our merry little band, and she is doing a great job as she transitions into the office.

When you get past what I have been up to, the last week has been unpredictable and potentially frightening. Many of us have friends and family in harm’s way as conflicts range across the world. As events of the world transpire, I am not even sure we know who is and is not in harm’s way. As always, the university has resources available for those in need. More importantly, I need you to be present and supportive of each other. It can be hard to know who will be affected in circumstances like these. Thank you for looking out for each other.

Improving the wellness of all people with you,

Aron