Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2021

SPRING IS HERE, and along with warmer temperatures and blooming bluebonnets comes one other thing many of us haven’t experienced in far too long: a feeling of hope. As the COVID-19 vaccine continues to roll out across the nation, I marvel at how quickly the scientific community banded together to identify how to combat the new virus, prevent infection, and save lives. The pandemic may be keeping us physically apart, but it’s bringing us all together in new and surprising ways. At Southwestern, we alsomoved further and faster than ever before in response to the pandemic. Our strategic goals to improve our processes, embrace the use of technology in our classrooms, and build a culture of collaborative innovation and creativity were suddenly accelerated, and the South- western community responded. Our leadership teammoved quickly to shut down campus and transition to remote learning last spring and developed a thorough, effective reopening and campus health and safety plan for the fall; our faculty devised new ways to keep students engaged whether learning virtually, in physically distanced class- rooms, or both; and our students took full responsibility for protecting themselves and others by adhering to our health protocols. Thanks to the cooperation of everymember of the Southwestern community, we maintained impressively low positivity rates throughout the fall semester and sustained this success throughout the remainder of the school year. I’m especially proud of the efforts of our staff, who carried out the behind-the-scenes work that made it all possible. Fromdesigning signage to installing hand-sanitizer stations in every classroom, hallway, and common area, the South- western staff rose to the occasion to ensure our campus remained as safe as possible, 70% of our classes could meet in person, and our students could continue to receive an unparalleled educational experience. Early in the spring semester, our resilience was tested once again as a severe winter storm swept across the state, leaving power outages, water shortages, and devastated residents in its wake. This historic event affected every building on campus and our beautiful grounds. And once again, our staff rose to the occasion. They left their homes and families to come to campus, remaining there night after night and working around the clock to make sure our students would be kept safe and that food and potable water would be plentiful. I am grateful to them and to our partners Apogee, Dell, Sodexo, and Doleva for their service and determination as we worked together to return critical services, clear exteriors, and maintain supplies. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We have discov- ered that we have no weak links at Southwestern. This issue of Southwestern highlights how the University has applied creative problem-solving to persevere through these most unusual circumstances. I encourage you to take the time to read about these unique solutions (I guarantee that the Southwestern University Singers were not expecting to master the handbell when they joined the choir). While we originally sought out ways to resolve our immediate issues, we ended up learning so much more about how we can improve in the long term. Ultimately, the challenges of the last year have led to increased awareness of the need for greater accessibility for students with disabili- ties, expanded teaching portfolios for faculty, and updated digital platforms for students and their families. We will use this knowledge to improve our operations and enhance the Southwestern Experience . At Southwestern, we pride ourselves on teaching our students not what to think but how to think. We strive to equip students with the skills they will need in the future to adapt, create, collaborate, and view challenges from multiple perspectives. This year, our students displayed all those skills and more. They showed us their determination, they proved how resilient they are, and they demonstrated their commitment to community and compassion. I am so proud of each and every one of them. Despite the pandemic, despite the political upheaval of January 6, and despite all the uncertainties we are facing, Southwestern continues to move forward. Our spring 2021 enrollment is the largest in the school's history, and some of our upcoming initiatives include our efforts to help first-year students transition to college life. We’re also supporting our staff through the new Staff Training and Professional Development Fund, which was established to help staff gain new skills and knowledge that will enhance their performance, facilitate their career development, and benefit their department and the University. During these trying times, I like to remind myself of an oft-repeated Mark Twain quote: “Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.” Many of us feel as though we’ve aged decades over the course of the last year (some of us may look it, too). But one day—soon, I hope— we will all be smiling again. Best regards, President Laura E. Skandera Trombley SOUTHWE S T E RN | 5