Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Last week, we celebrated the College of Fine Arts Class of 2025, and we were honored to have Department of Theatre and Dance alumnus Steven Norman Lee (M.F.A., Theatre, 2001) as our commencement speaker this year. Lee, an award-winning costume designer for Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer, shared a few life lessons with our graduates that he’s learned along the way about being open to continual learning and adapting to new experiences.
I love the big celebration of commencement as our students start charting their new paths after graduation, and I’m confident about the work that their creativity brings to our economy and into our communities. While AI has been a big theme in the news, there’s no AI without creativity, and our graduates possess that skill in abundance. There’s no new economy without problem-solving, and this cohort of graduates will be the next generation of great artists, technologists and scholars. Their work will affect all facets of our lives with their ingenuity and ability to think outside the box to solve problems.
Commencement, as the word suggests, ushers a new beginning for our graduates as they venture into new paths in their post-graduation lives. It also marks the conclusion and initiation of a new cycle for us as a community. We’re already preparing to welcome a new incoming cohort of students and new faculty members for 2025–2026!
I’m excited and energized about the possibilities before us in the coming year. I can’t wait to watch the Class of 2025 make their mark in the world.
Sincerely,
