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President's Letter |
Perhaps it’s because of the shortened days which signal the year beginning to draw to a close that we so often find ourselves reflecting upon our lives. When we were a more agricultural society, the approach of winter was a time to take stock of the harvest and begin the repairs and planning needed for spring planting. Today, many of us assuage this sense of seasonal re-evaluation by adding a bit of public service to the hustle and bustle of the approaching holidays through volunteering at our church or favorite community group. This giving back promotes a sense of community that our modern, fragmented world so often seems to lack. Community service and service-learning are mainstays for our students and not just as a response to the leaves on campus changing color. This past year, Ferris students logged more than 23,000 hours of community service. In addition, our faculty and staff engaged in and supported of dozens of community projects and causes. Walking around campus during these colder months, listening to the bells of the Carillon Tower or taking in a home Bulldog football game, it’s easy to feel proud (and maybe a little nostalgic) to be a Ferris alumni. What makes me even more proud, though, is the legacy of engagement being established today by student leaders like Nichole Wheelock (see “Student I.D.” on page 24) and so many others like her. And it’s not just students. Structured Learning Assistance Facilitator Diane Griffin’s leadership of a “Dump and Run” event that collected clothing and other goods, which would otherwise have been discarded by students, and distributed them to area shelters last spring is just one example of this engagement. And, of course, there are the thousands of alumni, friends, parents, faculty/staff, corporate partners, associations and foundations whose financial support helps our students to advance themselves. We make grateful acknowledgement of these contributions to Ferris’ learning environment in our Honor Roll, which is inset in the middle of this issue of Crimson & Gold. We simply could not be an institution that nurtures both academic achievement and altruism of the entire Ferris community without the help of everyone listed here, and everyone who has helped in the past. And those of you who will in the future make this commitment. Thank you, thank you and thank you! From all of us at Ferris State University, best wishes during this extraordinary time of year. Sincerely, Jeremy Mishler, E '96 |
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