December 7, 2007
Dear Susquehanna Parent/Guardian:
As we bring the fall semester at Susquehanna to a close, I know you
are eagerly anticipating the return home of your Susquehannan. Classes
end this Friday and finals begin the following Monday. I hope that
your student arrives home feeling a great sense of accomplishment
from a successful semester.
Finals are a time of great intensity. I know how valuable your support
will be as your students finish papers, study for exams, and prepare
final presentations and performances. As you talk with your Susquehanna
student, many of whom will be feeling a great amount of stress, please
be sure to encourage them to get enough rest, quality nutrition and
a healthy amount of exercise as they manage this time of the year.
Taken together, cultural events, lectures and performances contribute
to a rich learning environment that extends from the classroom to
virtually every campus location. I wanted to take this opportunity
to offer a recap of some of the learning and cultural opportunities
your students have experienced this semester and to forecast an exciting
spring event.
Over the last three months, we have welcomed to campus renowned speakers;
explored our university theme, Water, in varied and creative ways;
celebrated the musical and artistic talents of student, faculty and
invited guests; and competed in two new athletics conferences. I share
with you a summary of some of our latest happenings, which occurred
in a variety of settings, large and small.
- Fred Pearce, author of When the Rivers Run Dry, the
university's common reading for 2007–08, visited campus in September
to discuss the importance of conserving the precious resource.
- Kevin Quigley, president of the International Peace Corps Association
and Susquehanna's 2007 Woodrow Wilson Fellow, delivered a keynote
lecture Peace Corps and the 21st Century: How Expanding Peace
Corps Can Help Restore U.S. Standing in the World
- Professor of Philosophy Jeff Whitman led a panel discussion on
the limits of forgiveness, using Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower
to focus the conversation
- The Martha Graham Dance Company visited Susquehanna for our fall
Artist Series event. The sold out crowd was wowed by the talent
of the dancers, who performed several of the legendary choreographer's
most innovative works
- The Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society presented Defining
Judicial Independence and Accountability in the Context of Controversial
Cases. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Baldwin,
U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones and University of Pennsylvania
Law Professor Stephen B. Burbank discussed the controversial Kitzmiller
v. Dover Area School District case.
- The Department of Theatre presented The Pajama Game over
Family Weekend to rave reviews.
In a truly special learning laboratory, it was a great thrill for
me to join nearly two dozen students for a visit to the U.S. Supreme
Court, where we heard oral arguments and later had a private tour
followed by a session with Justice Anthony Kennedy. This off-campus
opportunity like other study-away-from-campus opportunities in which
approximately 100 other students have been engaged, is an incredibly
important part of the Susquehanna experience. I encourage you to be
talking with your Susquehannan about his or her plans for such off-campus
experiences.
As many of you already know, this fall we began a new relationship
with the Liberty League for football competition and the Landmark
Conference for our additional 22 intercollegiate sports. Because we
are known by the company we keep, we are lining up against formidable
competition with schools we want to have in our inner circle. Outstanding
performances by our fall sports teams and promising beginnings by
our winter sports teams forecast a rich future for our athletics programs.
Looking ahead, we are deep into the planning of the ceremonial kick-off
of Susquehanna University's Sesquicentennial – a March 7 concert at
Carnegie Hall! The program, to be held in the Isaac Stern Auditorium
at 8 p.m., will showcase our music faculty and alumni soloists. It
will feature the following:
- Susquehanna University Masterworks Chorus, which includes the
Susquehanna University Choir, select members of the Susquehanna
University Chorale, approximately 100 choral alumni, and 10 additional
Susquehanna faculty and staff. The chorus will be conducted by Professor
Cyril Stretansky on the eve of his retirement from Susquehanna.
- Susquehanna University Orchestra, including students, faculty
and alumni. Associate Professor of Music Jennifer Sacher Wiley will
conduct.
- A commissioned Sesquicentennial fanfare by Associate Professor
of Music Patrick Long that can be used on state occasions as we
begin the next 150 years.
I hope that you will mark your calendars to be with us in New York
City for this momentous event and for others planned to commemorate
our 150 years. Tickets will be available beginning Jan. 7 through
the Carnegie Hall box office. More information will be forthcoming
next month on the specifics of the Carnegie Hall concert, as well
as other events that will be held on campus.
A full calendar of events at Susquehanna is available on our Web
site at www.susqu.edu/pr/calendars.htm. You are invited to join us for any and all events that pique your interest
and fit your schedule. The spring schedule already includes noteworthy
events, some of which are listed below.
- James McBride, author of The Color of Water, will keynote
the Winter Convocation in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on
Jan. 21. His afternoon address will be followed by an evening concert
by Mr. McBride's jazz band.
- A symposium on the death penalty will continue the Adams Center's
tradition of productive dialogue on controversial issues.
- The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra kicks off the Artist Series spring
schedule in mid-January.
- Dan Doyle, founder and executive director of the Institute for
International Sport, will visit campus in March.
I invite you to follow developments at Susquehanna University in
these and other communications. You will hear from me again during
the spring semester on a range of topics including Susquehanna's new
science building and residence halls, green initiatives, the new central
curriculum and diversity.
Lastly, I encourage you to visit the Parents page on the Susquehanna
Web site at www.susqu.edu/parents/info/
for more information about SU and to update your e-mail address if
necessary to enable us to communicate as needed when events demand.
I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season.
Sincerely,
L. Jay Lemons
President |
