2108 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Friday, May 19, 2023

As we close out another school year, my seventeenth (gulp) at GW, I’m feeling thankful. To our intrepid 2023 graduates and current students, who’ve endured more than their fair share of ups and downs these last few years, thanks for joining and enriching our American Studies community—and for entrusting your education to us (and congratulations graduates!).

To my faculty colleagues, thanks for putting our department on the map, for keeping it there, and for inspiring me and our students with your teaching and scholarship, mentorship and public-facing work in museums and in the arts, on cable news and podcasts, at conferences and workshops. A special thanks to Professor Elaine Peña, a treasured scholar, teacher, advisor, and colleague, who’s leaving us this month. We will miss her and wish her the best in St. Louis.

Thanks to our far-flung community of alumni. They continue to engage and support our department, sometimes many decades since they last stepped foot in our beleaguered G Street townhouse. We appreciate you. Finally, many thanks to Andy Johnson, our ingenious and indispensable Senior Academic Administrator. Among many other things, he revamped the newsletter you’re reading right now, improving it at every turn. The day-to-day department hums along because of him. Enjoy the slower summer months, everyone. You earned it! 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2023!