Speeches and Communications

Dear members of the Quinnipiac community,

I write to share news of the departure of Dr. Wayne Gersie, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, who will be returning for personal reasons to Michigan Tech University at the end of this year. My thanks to Wayne for the contributions he has made in advancing recruitment, programming and reporting around our important equity and inclusion goals.

We have hired an experienced higher education leader in this area as Interim VP for Equity and Inclusion. David Fryson most recently served as Interim VP for Diversity at Brandeis University, and prior to that as VP for Equity and Inclusion at West Virginia University. He is an alumnus of West Virginia University where he earned a JD degree, and has an undergraduate degree from West Virginia State University. David will begin his role at the start of the new year with a priority on building out the full team of the Office of Inclusive Excellence, including a new position we have added to increase retention of first-generation and diverse students. Once the complete equity and inclusion team has been assembled, we will launch a search for a permanent VP.

Over the last year we have also evaluated how to restructure the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement (DCGE) to enable singular focus on equity and inclusion on the one hand, and on international students and global education on the other. We determined that study abroad and academic programming would be best advanced under the Office of the Provost, and international student visa support and international student services under our Office of Student Affairs. Beginning January, the individuals serving these global functions will move to the Arnold Bernhard Library.

Finally, we have created a new position of Director of Spiritual Well-Being that will report into Student Affairs. Jewish Life under Rabbi Reena Judd will become part of that function.

The restructuring of the Office of Inclusive Excellence will enable our singular focus on execution of the university priorities around inclusive excellence — our 10-point plan for social justice, the goals of our LGBTQ+ plan, and the action plans derived from our climate for diversity survey — while also connecting global students and programs to the relevant functions at the university. While there may appear to be several shifts in reporting roles, nothing has changed about our unwavering commitment to achieving the goals of advancing inclusive excellence, and expanding the programming available to support students, faculty and staff of color.

Let me end by wishing Wayne much success as he transitions to his next role, and by expressing my gratitude for his commitment to our goals of inclusive excellence.
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Judy Olian
President

Dear students, faculty and staff:

As we enter the holiday season, a time to be grateful for the gifts we have in each other and in the freedoms we enjoy, I think of those less fortunate in other parts of the world, especially people embroiled in wars that are resulting in devastating loss of lives and the narrowing of their futures. No informed person anywhere in the world could observe these events without feeling compassion, pain, and even anger and repulsion.

The divisiveness of the Israel-Hamas war, in particular, has seeped into universities. How we express and resolve our feelings and emotions is a test of who we are as a microcosm of civil society. I return to my challenge in the 2023 Convocation that opened the academic year:

“Can we encourage and exemplify discourse as a respectful yet challenging process, where there is genuine humility in an effort to listen and understand? To discuss ideas across differences without fear, without canceling the other, without restricting their, or our own, freedom to speak. That we practice hearing across differences, prompt tough discussions in classes, raise difficult and controversial subjects in faculty and staff meetings – becoming the kind of micro-society that is inclusive of thought, and of people different than ourselves.”

Whether in the case of a war or in other situations that arouse extreme emotions or differences in how individuals or groups view these events, at Quinnipiac, we must center our discourse and reactions on our core values of respect for differences, of willingness to listen, of informed debate and attempt to understand. We can challenge, but with civility. We should not, and cannot, regress into harassment or group stereotyping, blame or anger against an entire group, and worse yet, conjure age-old antisemitic or Islamophobic tropes or symbols that evoke violence.

To be clear, even though one can legally engage in certain behaviors, even offensive or hostile behaviors under America’s protections for freedom of speech, it does not mean that one should. That is an important distinction that I urge each one of us to consider in our own discourse and behaviors – that even though certain forms of extreme speech or actions are legally protected, they do not advance civil discourse or bring opposing factions to a greater understanding of each other. And they may violate QU’s own code of conduct built on respect for differences.

We held a multi-faith community gathering on October 10 where each religious leader spoke of the sanctity of life, and inspired tolerance across differences. Quinnipiac’s “Critical Conversations Across Differences” Speaker Series begins tomorrow (Tuesday, November 28, at noon), with Ronald L. Jackson II, research professor of communication and former dean, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Cincinnati. The topic is "The Road to Community: Navigating Differences, Healing Traumas and Building Inclusive Communities.” The series will include a conversation in February between Mira Sucharov and Omar Dajani debating the genesis and evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At QU, we will not shy away from thoughtful, challenging and even divisive discussions, but we will engage in them through informed conversation and tolerance for a range of views to gain better understanding, even if the positions expressed are anathema to our own. We must learn to convey our diverse opinions and feelings with civility, with moral awareness, within an environment in which each person is protected and safe.

I come back to our Statement of Inclusive Values that describes the community we aspire to be at Quinnipiac:

“… We aim to always think and act with kindness to create a safe, respectful environment for these dialogues, with particular sensitivity to fellow community members’ individual or collective experiences.”

Let us live up to these aspirations and serve as a model for civil society.

All the best,
Judy

We are all seeing the terrible violence in Israel and Gaza triggered by an abhorrent act of terrorism. We watch with horror and anger as we see innocent people victimized. We offer our heartfelt empathy and support for the many in the Quinnipiac community who are touched and saddened by these events.

Tonight, we will have a Community Gathering, open to all students, faculty, and staff. This will be a time to come together, remember the humanity of every life, offer support for one another, and provide a safe space for quiet reflection. Please join us at 9 tonight (Tuesday) in the Piazza at the Carl Hansen Student Center on the Mount Carmel Campus. In the days ahead, we will address the history and long-term implications of the Israel-Hamas war, the geopolitical consequences, and its impact on the broader region.

The university has support services available to help members of our QU community. Faculty and staff can access the HealthAdvocate employee assistance program (EAP) at 866-799-2728, and students are encouraged to contact campus counseling services at 203-407-4020.

Our mission is centered on developing students who are enlightened global citizens and on nurturing the well-being of our internal community. Let us realize these values, learn, support and comfort each other during this emotional time, and keep the victims of this violence in our thoughts and prayers for a better future for the region.

Judy Olian
President

Debra Liebowitz
Provost

Wayne Gersie
Vice President Equity and Inclusion

Tom Ellett
Chief Experience Officer

Good morning! I’m so pleased to once again stand with you today, as together we embark on the 94th academic year of Quinnipiac University. And after an incredible 93rd year, and as we begin to look ahead to our centennial in just a few years, I couldn’t be more proud and optimistic about our future.

It’s hard to believe — Pete and I are in our sixth year as Bobcats. These have been five very special, and sometimes different, years unlike any other. It’s been a privilege and real joy to serve with you. The spirit of every member of the Bobcat family — your compassion, drive, resilience, and creativity —are inspiring, each and every day.

Today, we welcome more than 3,100 new members of our family including first year, transfer, and entering graduate students. We also welcome back 6,120 students who are already part of our Bobcat family.

Our new, first-time class of more than 1,800 students comes from an applicant pool of more than 20,000, reflecting the diversity of our nation and the world. Academically, our first-year class is strong, with an average high school GPA of 3.57 and with more than 300 of these admitted students entering our Honors program. Of those, 58% of identify as women, and 24% self-identify as under-represented, an all-time high for Quinnipiac.

And here’s a remarkable factoid: In a survey of incoming students, fully 62% of new first-time enrollees indicate that Quinnipiac was their first choice school! 62%! That’s pretty incredible, and unprecedented. Take a bow – Quinnipiac’s attractiveness has grown spectacularly for no single reason, but for many reasons for which each of you should take credit.

You, our faculty and staff alongside our terrific admissions team, are key to the recruitment of this year’s strong class – hosting students for visits to experience realistic previews of academic and student life, responding to anxious questions from applicants and parents, walking them around our beautiful campuses and sharing your contagious enthusiasm and dedication to our students’ intellectual, emotional and professional development. That’s what counts – the personal attention, the genuine interest, the authentic enthusiasm — and that was visible to all who considered Quinnipiac as their future undergraduate home or graduate program. And we have many people in our Bobcat family who exhibit this kind of behavior, this kind of commitment, every day.

In this context, I have the true pleasure to announce the six individuals who this year were selected as exemplars of teaching and service. Among 144 nominations, these six individuals were chosen as the Center for Excellence honorees for 2023.

They are, for teaching excellence:

• Julia Giblin, professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, who has been at Quinnipiac since 2012,

• Amber Kelly, associate professor of social work in the School of Health Sciences, at Quinnipiac since 2014, and

• Theresa Luersen, senior instructor of chemistry and physical sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences since 2004.

And for service to students, the awardees are:

• Jamie DeLoma, director of live channels, in marketing and communications, who has been employed at Quinnipiac since 2009,

• Eric Grgurich, executive director of the M&T Bank Arena in athletics, hired at Quinnipiac in 2006, and

• Kristina Lynch, director of CARE in Student Affairs, who was hired in October 2020.

Among such a committed and dedicated Bobcat family, you – their peers – see these outstanding colleagues as truly exceptional in their teaching and service. Congratulations to each of you, our honorees. Let’s give a huge round of applause and appreciation to each of these awardees.

Over the last year we welcomed new fellow Bobcats who will be lifting us further as an institution — some 140 staff and 27 faculty members were hired this past year. Welcome, all, to the family!

These new faculty and staff are fortunate to be standing on the shoulders of so many highly accomplished Bobcats. Let me give you just a couple of examples:

Grant Crawford is a professor of mechanical engineering, who has been a part of our community for almost a decade. Professor Crawford has two degrees in aerospace engineering — a PhD from the University of Kansas, and a master’s from Georgia Tech. He started out at West Point earning an undergraduate mechanical engineering degree. Recently, Professor Crawford was selected as the president-elect of the American Society of Engineering Education, a 130-year old global society that spans all disciplines of engineering education. In the year ahead, he’ll lead those educating the next generation of engineers, people who are training future engineers who will tackle some of the most urgent challenges for society and the planet.

Vince Contrucci, director of community engagement, has made a lasting impact at Quinnipiac for 17 years. Nearly a decade ago, Vince started an LGBTQ+-focused walking tour of New York City that he offers twice a year, so students can learn about key events in the gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Vince supports our students in organizing QTHON, which raised $100,000 this past year to benefit Connecticut Children’s Hospital, and he’s the force behind the campus-wide food drive during finals week each May. Since 2009, thanks to Vince’s leadership, Quinnipiac donates annually about four tons of food to the Greater Hamden community. Not surprisingly, Vince was named Quinnipiac’s inaugural LGBTQ+ Fellow in 2020.

It is this level of academic leadership, innovative research and community programs that exemplifies the Quinnipiac character and thirst for progress, and we can find it in every nook and cranny of this university.

In addition to welcoming our new and returning faculty and staff, we also welcome to our family:

• Dr. Larry Slater, our new dean of the School of Nursing, coming to Hamden from the University of Memphis after time spent at NYU and The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

• Dr. Wayne Gersie, our new Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, joining the Quinnipiac family from Michigan Tech after spending most of his career at Penn State University.

• And Dan Kim, our new vice president of marketing and communications, joining us from Brandeis University, and before that at College of the Holy Cross and the University of Michigan.

All of our new students, faculty and staff are joining an institution that’s on the rise, coming off a fabulous year.

There are so many reasons to be bursting with pride about our accomplishments at QU, and brimming with self-confidence as we look to the future.

Allow me to highlight just a few of these successes:

1) Our total undergraduate, graduate, medical and law enrollment for this year tops 9,200 students of which 6,293 are undergraduates. That’s a 3.6% increase over last year. That rise is the result of the collaboration of many people as I mentioned earlier, and numerous academic, student life, and facility initiatives and improvements.

2) The Mount Carmel Campus — while gorgeously maintained — has not seen new building construction in almost three decades, other than the recent opening of the Recreation and Wellness Center. Following our comprehensive facilities plan, we are unveiling the new South Quad. It will feature a 417-bed residence hall to be opened next summer, a new home for the School of Business, and an advanced academic and lab building — both of these buildings will be completed in May of 2025. All three projects will be LEED certified as sustainable buildings. The master plan also acknowledges other parts of our physical infrastructure that will need to be revamped, and later space opportunities that will emerge as we vacate certain buildings and populate the new facilities.

3) Our third pillar — nurturing wellbeing — is coming to life through the opportunities and programming created within the Recreational and Wellness Center, amplified by our partnership with Hartford HealthCare. The Rec and Wellness Center programming spans fitness and well-being, and over Spring 2023, we were delighted that we registered 114,000 visits of students, faculty and staff to the center. There are no excuses to avoid working out!

The HHC partnership is in its infancy still but has already had many impacts. Beyond healthcare and counseling services for our students, the partnership includes the creation of new residencies and internships for our students across disciplines; leadership programs delivered to HHC managers by the business school and our lifelong learning program; and philanthropic support from HHC for a nursing scholarship and Quinnipiac Athletics.

4) We continued the growth of a philanthropic culture at Quinnipiac. Each year we raise our philanthropic goals, and each year we are moving further along in developing a culture of philanthropy, and igniting alumni passion for the institution.
For 2022-23, we exceeded our fundraising and alumni engagement goals:

• New philanthropic commitments amounted to $20.1 million, the second best fundraising year in QU’s history behind, just 2018.

• The alumni participation rate was 5.06%, reflecting double the number of alumni who give now relative to three years ago.

• There were 788 student donors. The 1929 Scholarship funded by students resulted in the award of six scholarships by a student committee.

5) And in athletics, our excellence touches many sports as well as academics. Last year, our athletic teams earned six conference championships with ten of our teams participating in the postseason. Our student-athletes excel in the classroom too. The overall GPA of our 470 student-athletes was 3.52, with 182 student-athletes qualifying for the Dean’s List. And even more impressively, 85 student athletes of the 470 scored a perfect 4.0 average last semester! They are truly student-athletes.

I think we can all agree that watching our men’s ice hockey team comeback in such a nerve wracking and exhilarating finish — to capture the national championship — was not only thrilling, but an experience to savor for decades.

I give credit to the many who for years built such deep excellence, from the ground up – from President John Lahey, to Coach Rand Pecknold, to Billy Mecca and Greg Amodio, to every member of the hockey team and supporting staff. This was not a championship won in 10 seconds, or even in one season. This was a championship that was earned over decades, through hard work, tenacity, resilience, by overcoming setbacks, by setting a vision of what could be, and by building a team on character rather than on the usual stats.

That’s a metaphor for Quinnipiac. We are building from within, from the ground up, through character, effort and vision. Obviously the hockey program shined, but so did we, so did Quinnipiac – to the world.

These are just some of our many achievements during a remarkable year of much progress, of bringing so much of our potential to life. But there’s more to come, and this year can be even more memorable, even more impactful. Some of our plans for the year ahead build on what we’ve noted already – whether continuing to strengthen enrollments, diversifying learner populations, leveraging the benefits of facilities as they are completed, furthering wide and deep corporate partnerships, and yes, extending the winning streak in athletics.

We also have some challenges ahead, many of them from outside the boundaries of our campuses which I’ll discuss briefly ahead. But let’s not squander this opportunity — our university is at a unique moment in time. We are on the precipice of achieving true comprehensive excellence, let’s capitalize on this moment, on the momentum and energy.

As we move to the year ahead, I’m going to pick out just three university-wide priorities to discuss, recognizing that there are many more in each school, in each unit.

Our continued commitment to equity and inclusion

Let me start by emphasizing our continued authentic commitment to inclusivity and equity.

The shadow of the Supreme Court decisions in the Harvard and the University of North Carolina cases may change some aspects of higher ed admissions decisions across the country. At QU, no changes will be needed in undergraduate admissions in order to comply with the legal decisions. And importantly, I don’t see anything that should change in our commitment and intentionality around inclusive excellence, and the SCOTUS decision does not preclude consideration of individuals’ lived experiences – even in admissions.

We have made notable progress which is documented in the annual Equity and Inclusion Report, the third of which will be issued next month. Over this past year we hired 45 new faculty and staff of color, with a total now of 20% of our faculty and staff who are diverse.

Programs targeting developmental and academic support for students who may be at risk are a growing focus for us at QU. Examples are the Increasing Educator Diversity annual symposium, the new Bobcat Academy, designed to increase success and retention rates among first-time students, and the Sawhney Leadership Program providing leadership development, workshops and corporate immersion opportunities to economically disadvantaged and underrepresented students. The SCOTUS decision does not change the permissibility of, or our intentionality to offer, these and similar programs that enhance inclusive excellence.

Let me share, with honesty, where I'd like to see us do more. While we've made significant progress in diversifying the ranks of our faculty, staff and students, we still have a retention gap between students of color, and the majority. Some of that comes from economic challenges disproportionately affecting first generation students, and students of color. Much of that gap is attributable to unmet financial need.

We need to offer added financial support not just to equalize access, but to create greater equity in the opportunities available while in college — so that students with additional financial need do not have to work two or three jobs; so that they have the financial freedom to engage in research, service projects or internships; so that they can study abroad; so that they can be relieved of the stresses of economic worry while studying. A March 2023 Gallup Poll reported that while 40% of undergraduate students have had internships, only 27% of first-generation undergraduate students have had a similar opportunity.

Financial concerns are a primary driver of students’ academic difficulties, and of attrition from the university, ultimately affecting their early career opportunities. For QU, additional support to meet students’ full financial needs is a critical enabler of inclusive excellence. Our intention is to double down on efforts that bring resources to those who have financial needs not just for tuition, but for other forms of learning and development while at Quinnipiac.

The other area that is a challenge in this context — that many universities are grappling with — is how to have difficult conversations across differences. I’d like to ask all of you to participate in addressing this societal malady.

Inclusivity of thought is one attribute of inclusive excellence — that despite hearing concepts or ideas that are anathema to our own personal values, we are still able to truly listen and process, to engage respectfully without being dismissive.

As we observe more political distancing from the center on both sides, it becomes harder to reach across these conceptual and psychological distances, harder to bridge differences. Tolerance of, and engagement with others’ views requires greater intellectual and emotional effort because often the differences have expanded over time, we’ve grown further apart. We start to shy away from, or fear engagement with someone who speaks or thinks differently – in social circles, in the workplace, or in the classroom. We self-censor, we self-muzzle, and on occasion we are critiqued, or even attacked by others because we expressed a view that was too far from the view held by these others. And perhaps, on occasion, we do the same and verbally attack others for what they think.

This quandary to bridge across differences, becomes even more intractable when thoughts and words morph into perverse actions that cause psychological harm, that are physically threatening, intended to frighten, that are violent, and sometimes outright cruel towards those perceived as different. I don’t expect engagement when confronted with such threatening behaviors or actual violence. Of course, I despise and condemn speech that is inciting or hateful, or worse yet, in the face of threatening or violent actions. But it is precisely because sharp differences can mutate into misguided policies, laws, and/or egregious behaviors that we must try to find ways to improve our ability, despite differences, to engage in dialogue before this happens.

I would like us all to consider what this could mean at a university, at our university. Can we encourage and exemplify discourse as a respectful yet challenging process, where there is genuine humility in an effort to listen and understand? To discuss ideas across differences without fear, without canceling the other, without restricting their, or our own, freedom to speak. That we practice hearing across differences, prompt tough discussions in classes, raise difficult and controversial subjects in faculty and staff meetings — becoming the kind of micro-society that is — inclusive of thought, and of people different than ourselves.

I’d like to ask each of you, each of us, to be bold in practicing, advocating for, and championing that level of discourse, and to protect others who are similarly expressive in their views — however different — in classrooms, among guest speakers, in our meetings, in student gatherings. Vice President Wayne Gersie will be reaching out across the community to invite participation in seeding discussions and initiatives that protect and advance our capacity to engage with diverse ideas, as part of our unwavering commitment to inclusive excellence.

A new model of living learning

Here’s a second priority for the year: to develop new breakthrough models of living and learning. We build new facilities not as architectural masterpieces, but as enablers of new learning, of personal and professional growth, of human connections, research advances, new forms of collaboration, improved physical and mental well-being, and much more. Indeed, these are all goals we strive to attain in the design of the new spaces in the South Quad and everywhere else we build at QU. I thank every member of the community who, at some point or another, has offered input into the optimal design of these new facilities.

As we consider the opportunities unleashed through these new spaces, I’d like us to stretch our thinking into what could be. How can we exploit the possibilities embedded in these physical spaces to build audacious new models of living and learning? Can we blend the two so that creative learning is facilitated in the new residence hall, so that students can access maker spaces and can engage in ideation and creation right where they live, where faculty lead a residential floor or college, where a self-governance model in the residence hall is a preview of community living, where faculty advisors move seamlessly in their teaching, advising and research support between classroom spaces and the Living Learning Communities (LLCs), where advanced technologies, AI and augmented reality tools radically enrich how students can learn, experiment, travel virtually, partner across borders and break down the barriers between school and work while still at school.

I am sure that across our university there will be far more innovative and breakthrough ideas than I listed here. I would like to draw on our community’s creativity in imagining a small number of pilot projects that take this moment — the unveiling of the South Quad — to develop bold models of living-learning. CXO Tom Ellett and Provost Debra Liebowitz will take the lead in building out this opportunity.

Becoming a nationally recognized brand

And finally, I’d like us to seize this moment and become well known as a nationally recognized brand beyond the borders of the Northeast. There’s a reason for that aspiration — in fact it’s an imperative because of the declining, or slow growing, population of our region. Drawing on data from the Cooper Center at the University of Virginia, there is little projected demographic growth between 2020 and 2040 among the states from which we traditionally draw most of our students. The populations of Connecticut and Rhode Island are projected to decline, and New Jersey and New York will barely grow.

That tells me that we need to cast our eyes toward the south, the west, and abroad. To this point the Quinnipiac Poll was the most known feature, nationally, of Quinnipiac University. This year we were thrilled to add the national athletic championship to our renown. As much as we treasure these assets and accomplishments, we have so many more points of distinction. Certainly, the distinctions emanate from excellence in certain fields and student experiences. But these distinctions originate in the people who create them — in our faculty, our staff, students and alumni.

Let’s be deliberate about garnering recognition — nationally — through you, our people. I encourage you, our faculty and staff, to assume national roles in associations or on collaborative research projects, to present at national conferences or submit opinion pieces in media properties that have national reach. As experts and scholars in your fields, your voice should be heard to help better inform the public on subjects that are within your domain. We should prompt our students to engage in national competitions or appearances. And let’s stay connected to our alumni whose successes are a source of pride. They are our ambassadors to the world and I know that many of you have warm and deep relationships with alumni that can be rekindled.

The reputational and media metrics we track show that we have made enormous progress under the leadership of our MarCom team, but we have a ways to go, especially in currently untapped regions of the US and abroad. Your individual visibility, and sharing your expertise, are very important not just for your personal growth, but also for the growth and endurance of Quinnipiac. Vice President Dan Kim and his team lead the brand and reputation strategy for Quinnipiac and are a resource to you.

I thank each and every one of you for your remarkable dedication to QU, for your individual excellence, and for the selfless ways in which you have built Quinnipiac to become this truly special institution, home, and family that it is today to all of us.

With the momentum of the past year, we’re uniquely positioned to be bold in realizing inclusive excellence, in building breakthrough models, in letting the world know of our distinctions. Let’s be joyous about this moment, proud in what we’ve accomplished, and ambitious in unleashing new forms of excellence at QU.

Thank you, for all you do. And Go Bobcats!

I now turn to Provost Debra Liebowitz to congratulate her on her remarkable leadership of the academic enterprise at QU. Debra will shine the light on the major academic successes of the last year, and on the fascinating opportunities that lie ahead for AI.

Dear Quinnipiac Community:

Today, our nation honors the inspiring life, legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Since his assassination over 50 years ago, we have had many occasions to continue his teachings, to act in ways grandiose and small, to advance his ideals of justice and equality.

Yes, there are multiple facets of positive change in our nation and in our local communities today compared to when Dr. King died tragically in 1968. We see many examples of inclusivity and success in neighborhoods and communities that were previously deprived of opportunity.

Yet sadly, there are still so many groups and individuals who suffer just because they are a certain color, religion or ethnicity, or because of their sexual orientation, nationality, physical or emotional qualities, or simply because they are somehow “different.” That this continues is a mark on civil society, a stark reminder that Dr. King’s fight must continue, that his work is unfinished.

Our nation could benefit from Dr. King’s voice now more than ever, I am heartened by those individuals — both known and unknown — who carry the torch in everyday acts of courage and principle to stand up against hate and inequality. As Dr. King wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ... whatever affects one, directly affects all indirectly.”

We must continue to act, with courage and principle, at Quinnipiac. Our commitment to equality, justice and inclusion is a never-ending purpose, and we must hold ourselves accountable to achieve real change. While we have made progress, there’s much more to do. The aspirations embodied in our strategic plan demand our daily attention, and our commitment to actions and results. The urgency of action that was manifested last year has not lessened, nor has our determination for change.

Let us pause today, remember Dr. King and his purpose, and most importantly, recommit to acting with compassion and purpose, to achieving bold change in our own community, and to making our world … a little better. As Dr. King once remarked:

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”

Judy Olian
President

Dear QU Family,

Tomorrow, our nation will pause to reflect on the somber milestone of 20 years since the tragedies of September 11, as we remember the devastating day when we lost nearly 3,000 mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, partners, dear friends, and the valiant heroes who died attempting to save them.

Twenty years may seem like a long time to some, but for the families, friends and loved ones who lost the pillars of their lives, it can seem like yesterday. The sounds of sirens and the images from New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, are seared in our memories. Some within our QU community were not yet born at the time of the September 11th attacks. Others remember precisely where we were the moment the shocking news reached us. The events of that day changed our nation and brought a cloud of deep sorrow that hasn’t yet lifted for many.

We honor the memory of each of the beautiful lives lost on that terrible day, including three members of the Bobcat family: Frank H. Brennan ’72, James C. Cappers ’92 and Timothy C. Kelly ’85. We recognize also the courage, strength and resiliency of those left behind. Amidst the national grieving, our common humanity brought us together 20 years ago. Those bonds that fortified our country, then, must continue to be the foundation that knits us together in our shared future.

Reflecting on the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy on September 5, 2007, President George W. Bush said, “We remain a hopeful America, inspired by the kindness and compassion of our citizens and our commitment to freedom and opportunity.”

Let’s each remember and pay tribute to the lives lost and sacrificed 20 years ago. A quiet moment of reflection, a phone call to check in on a friend or family member, or another act of kindness — all serve as a personal way to honor the memories of those who were part of this national tragedy.

Take a moment to read the deeply personal stories shared by many across our QU community as they recalled their own memories of that tragic day. Please join us tomorrow at a special flag raising ceremony outside the Carl Hansen Student Center at 8:45 a.m.

Our Quinnipiac family will continue to remember and show reverence for the lives lost that fateful day.

Sincerely,

Judy Olian
President

Good morning. It is so terrific to be back, in person – yes, still somewhat obscured behind masks but nonetheless together, conducting our lives almost normally, and appreciating the togetherness of the Bobcat family, our family that is truly Bobcat strong.

As we prepare to begin our 92nd academic year, I think all of us are yearning for a return to a more normal rhythm. Let’s be honest. The circle of our lives became smaller over the last 18 months. I don’t think any of us can brush aside the trauma and stresses of the past year – whether we think about this on a global scale – the tragedy of loss of more than 4 million lives – or what happened across our country, in our communities, and in our own homes.

There is no one on this planet whose life was untouched by the pandemic in these last 18 months. There has been unfathomable pain when loved ones passed, or became very ill, children lost critical experiences that they deserve – whether in classrooms or playgrounds, students of all ages didn’t get to learn or connect as they do always, parents had to become teachers and protectors of not just their kids, but of their own parents, people lost jobs, livelihoods, a roof over their head, there was massive food insecurity, people of color suffered disproportionately, we all were isolated from colleagues to whom we’re attached at work, we missed our extended families and we lost the joy of time with our dear friends. And we were stressed because we didn’t know when this would end, or whether we’d get through the overarching anxieties of health and financial uncertainties.

I mention this knowing full well that most of us are among the fortunate. I don’t want to dwell on the past – I truly believe the worst is behind us — but I do think we all need to acknowledge and confront how deeply impacted we were, how hard it was to weather this last year and a half, and how profoundly the after-effects still endure even though – yes, again – most of us are among the lucky ones.

But — there were also many silver linings that we should remember and appreciate, among them – science that produced a veritable miracle in vaccines that came at record speed, vaccines that are saving literally billions of lives. The fact that many of us were blessed to be able to spend time in the cocoons of isolation YET with our loved ones, with more time at home enjoying the closeness of our families. That is also part of the silver lining.

I also experienced special moments that filled me with joy, admiration and even awe as part of our Bobcat family. That our faculty, staff and students pivoted in a nanosecond to teach, learn, work, and live in entirely new ways continues to amaze and inspire me. That our community showed so many big and small ways of expressing care and compassion to each other, and to others in the community, was truly humbling — volunteered and LED in unexpected ways across all parts of our university is a dazzling gift that will keep on giving, well after the pandemic has passed.

And I hope everyone here recognizes how much YOUR commitment and resilience impacted our students, because you offered them a semblance of “normal” in the midst of this very abnormal year and a half. In case you had any doubts about what that meant to our students, just go back and watch the videos of any one of our 13 Commencement ceremonies this past May. You’ll see everywhere jubilant graduates who – with their families – were expressing their gratitude for just being able to come together, in addition to their joy in celebrating the milestone of their graduation. These were truly moving moments.

I thank every member of our community – our faculty, staff, and our students – who kept our university fully functioning, a huge feat, while continuing to advance the distinctions that are building our University of The Future.

This past year has also brought to the forefront basic societal injustices that need to be reckoned with. There were horrific incidents of violence against racial and ethnic minorities. All across the country, despite the lockdowns, people came out to decry the history of discrimination that persists still today, and results in pernicious inequality in every aspect of life for people of color. At Quinnipiac, we are similarly roused to achieve inclusivity and change within our community, to advance racial justice and respect for every form of diversity. We hold ourselves accountable to tangible results that are measured against our stated action plans to advance racial justice and the LGBTQ community. We have an obligation to be a beacon of change in becoming a racially and socially just, inclusive and diverse community. And we are making notable strides in our student population, and among faculty and staff.

I am elated that we are coming back to campuses that will be alive with energy. This year, our campuses reembrace many of the personal connections, routines and traditions we lost temporarily. And although we are seeing rising infections due to the Delta variant, we have achieved near universal vaccination across our QU community, which gives us many reasons to be hopeful.

I think everyone here has been around long enough to know that straight lines – whether in the growth of an organization, a patient’s recovery, a student’s progress … or even our own daily exercise regimens – rarely exist in real life. There will be days or weeks when we lose traction and slip backward. That’s when resilience, perspective and optimism keep us focused so that, longer-term, we trend always in the right direction. We know we have that power within us because you demonstrated that unwavering resilience over these last 18 months.

It’s time to look forward. Our strategic plan, finalized in May 2019, has never been more important or vital to our future, or to our present. A changing world requires us to prioritize, to focus, to invest in the excellence of areas that offer true distinctions. I said that few lines are straight.

We are seeing that this year with enrollments. Our incoming freshman class is smaller than what we had hoped. The reasons are many and my summary of the past 18 months covers a lot of them.

We are an institution often chosen as a ‘see us’ campus – meaning when students visit us in person, they convert at a high rate into an interested applicant. The absence of campus visits during COVID, and a need to improve how we showcase our existing distinctions – more SHOWING, less TELLING – has prompted multiple changes for the next year. Now and over the next few months you’ll see upgrades to our admissions spaces, in signature spaces in various schools, in the redesign and messaging related to on-campus tours, in how we present the campus and academic programs through social media and digital narratives, and in our marketing campaigns.

We’re optimistic. For example, over the summer we’ve seen record numbers of prospective students touring our campuses, up 25% over 2019 pre-COVID levels. The feedback has been very positive as future students get to see – first-hand -- a university that will position them for the world of the future.

We continue to realize the four pillars of our strategic plan.

In executing the pillars of our strategic plan, we’re investing in more significant capital projects as we continue to build the University of the Future. Under Pillar 3, the largest current project of course is our Recreation and Wellness Center. It’s not just about physical fitness. COVID has been a pointed reminder of just how important it is that we continue to support our students’ total health: mind, body, and spirit. The data are compelling – in 2019, 90% of colleges and universities reported an increase in students seeking counseling services, and Quinnipiac has been no exception. And only half of college students rate their physical health as “excellent” or “very good.” The American College Health Association found in 2019 that over the past year, 87% of college students felt overwhelmed by all they had to do, and 66% felt overwhelming anxiety.

And among surveys of adult populations a fairly similar picture emerges: A Pew Research study conducted in February of 2021 reports that 21% of U.S. adults are experiencing high levels of psychological distress, including 28% who say the pandemic changed their lives in “a major way.” The levels of mental distress are higher among those with financial stresses, younger adults, or those with a disability or illness that limits their activities.

Accordingly, the Rec and Wellness Center is designed to serve the well-being of the “whole” person, with medical and counseling facilities within, and also programming space that addresses the individual’s total well-being. I know some universities have been accused of over-amenitizing their campuses with lavish facilities. That’s not what we’re doing. Our vision for the Rec and Wellness Center is built from within, from the concept of holistic well-being. There’s a demonstration kitchen to nurture healthy food habits, and programming space where we’d like to see our faculty and students in nursing, health sciences, psychology, and medicine, among others, engaged to help all members of our community build healthy life habits that endure for years. That’s what we mean by community well-being.

Under both Pillars 1 – academic distinctions -- and Pillar 3, we’ve significantly expanded the number of our Living-Learning Communities, with about 15 faculty who will be engaged directly in advancing students’ academic, societal and group interests within the residence halls. Our Chief Experience Officer, Tom Ellett, is even moving in to live in Commons, one of our residence halls. This shift – to a richer and more integrated learning-living experience – is a precursor to our movement toward a 3-year residential requirement for most undergraduates, because of the proven advantages of a dynamic and seamlessly connected academic-residential experience for students.

We’ve also upgraded the interior of the Complex residence halls, built several different lab and classroom spaces for this coming year, an esports facility, and maker and innovation spaces. We’re scoping a new academic building and a new residence hall, subject to the directions we pursue under Pillars 1 and 3 in building the University of the Future. And we’re pleased to begin realizing the Campus Sustainability Plan in all that we build, and how we operate daily in stewarding the environment and in engaging meaningfully with the communities around us.

In her recent update, Provost Debra Liebowitz shared some innovative developments and plans for academic programs and experiences. I am especially excited about new programs in Environmental Studies, and Cinematic Production Management, partnerships between the QU Poll and communications, political science and business coursework for immersive learning about polling and survey methodologies, and an important grant to launch the Connecticut Public Health College Corps under the auspices of the School of Health Sciences, training students as influencers over young adults who are vaccine hesitant in Connecticut communities.

A working group appointed by Provost Leibowitz is addressing opportunities for immersive learning and career advising that – in my mind – will become critical differentiators of the Quinnipiac experience. As I talk to business and healthcare leaders around the state, to a person they speak to the criticality of skill-ready graduates aligned not with past needs, but with how the nature of work is evolving.

We are already one of the most agile, market aligned universities -- we were just ranked by leading career preparation site Zippia – for the third consecutive year – as the no.1 university in the United States for career outcomes measured 10-years out. We can do even better if we examine – in every discipline across the university – how we build immersive learning experiences into our courses and curricula to remove the gaps between school and work.

That work is transforming at ever-accelerating rates requires intentional investment on our part to understand current and future needs of workplaces, and to reflect those skills and knowledge in how and what we teach, and in the opportunities we create for applied learning. More on this challenge in my closing remarks.

Advancing job and career readiness is also implicit in another goal for this coming year, and that’s the intent to expand our portfolio of short badges and certificates. Within the last year we’ve created many new badges and certificates for adult learners who are a vital, expanding learning pool we must serve. In addition, it is enormously valuable to our students if they receive badges or certificates in defined skill areas as they progress to their ultimate degree. That adds to students’ marketability and career readiness while still in school. There are countless opportunities in fields across the university to offer these value-added credentials for both adult learners, as well as for our current students.

In addition to the 14 faculty and 49 staff who joined the Bobcat family over the last year, there are several new leaders in our community who will be spearheading many of these initiatives. Let me highlight just a few:

• Mark Antonucci, ’06, Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Development Communications, most recently Vice President of the Arizona State University Foundation;
• Philip Boiselle, Dean of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, most recently the medical school dean at Florida Atlantic University;
• Khalilah Brown-Dean, who was appointed Associate Provost after a serving on the faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences and as senior director for Inclusive Excellence;
• Lynn Byers, who was appointed interim Dean of the School of Engineering where she where she was chair of the Department of Engineering and director of our Mechanical Engineering program.
• Holly Raider, Dean of the School of Business, who joined Quinnipiac from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, where she led executive education;
• Tony Reyes, our new Chief of Public Safety, from the New Haven Police Dept. where he served as Chief;
• Adam Roth, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, where he earlier served as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island; and,
• J.T. Torres, Assistant Teaching Professor of English, was named Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.

We welcome all of our newest arrivals to Quinnipiac – and congratulate those who are taking on new or expanded roles – and look forward to your contributions as we all work together to amplify the distinctions of the university.

The introduction of new programs and badges, like those in Lean Six Sigma, our gaming lab, and our new program in data science, equip our students with the interdisciplinary expertise they need to be not just career ready – but prepared for citizenship in an increasingly complex and polarized civic space.

I’d like to spend a moment on that last point. Many students indeed choose college to position them for jobs after they graduate. Of course we strive to provide that, yet our goal also must be to imbue in them a love of learning for its own sake, and to prepare them to be informed citizens who can separate fact from propaganda, and find the common ground where democracy flourishes.

Increasingly, our collective professional and technical proficiency is linked to the very notion of freedom. For example, the National Security Commission this year joined a chorus of experts – led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt – warning that China is eating our lunch when it comes to cutting edge technologies such as artificial intelligence. Yes, this is bad for our economy and competitiveness, but we also saw first-hand over the past year on everything -- from vaccine hoaxes to lies about the election -- how bad actors can use these technologies to manipulate people, and threaten democracy.

Which is why our second pillar of Inclusive Excellence has become so urgent. Academics, like democracy, are built on the fundamental premise that we can hold different opinions and disagree on some things, while still respecting a common set of facts and data. As Senator Moynihan said: “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” That premise almost sounds quaint these days, when the “facts” themselves are bifurcated and entirely shaped by one’s choice of media sources, and the social bubble in which we choose to live.

Learning can sometimes be uncomfortable. To learn, we must make room in our minds and our world view for a new perspective, even a perspective that we do not agree with. That can be seriously threatening. But all of us – students, faculty and staff – need to confront challenging questions about how we talk about race, gender, sexual orientation, political outlook, even health which has become politicized, and the myriad other issues that together fall under the big umbrella of inclusivity.

We must all make a special effort to step outside our comfort zone … to at least hear another perspective. As civil discourse has become not just polarized but entirely partitioned and at war, we have to find educated ways to edge closer to the uncomfortable, and to create experiences that inform and offer opportunity.

We’re doing that – creating experiences that inform and offer opportunity such as the QUEST mentoring program, our growing and strengthening relationships with diverse high schools and community colleges, as well as our summer programs that reach under-represented high school students. We are steadily increasing the representation of diverse faculty and students, and that diversity brings with it a more nuanced platform for debate and consideration of basic tenets of our university, of our educational offerings, of our lives. We are more thoughtful, more informed, more open, and kinder because of that diversity. I can tell you that I’ve experienced that first-hand – and I’ve learned a lot, with gratitude, because of the growing diversity that surrounds us.

This year, a group of students took the initiative to launch a magazine celebrating multiculturalism, and we issued our first-ever Equity and Inclusion Report. It puts a stake in the ground of where we are, and is an integral source of data to help accelerate our efforts to create and foster a more inclusive culture at Quinnipiac.

The last pillar of our strategic plan -- pillar 4 -- takes the longer view, of lifelong connections and learning. I mentioned badging and re-skilling, and the pandemic only amplified their vital importance for employees at all levels to stay current and marketable in a rapidly transforming work environment. Coursera’s second quarter 2021 results reported revenue growth of 38 percent on the strength of global demand for reskilling, and “sustained demand for career-oriented professional certificates targeted at entry-level digital jobs.” Coursera’s biggest competitor, online education company 2U which partners with many universities, reported 36 percent growth in its “alternative credentials” business segment in its most recent quarter. Demand is coming not just from people who lost their jobs. It’s driven by people who understand that the pace and scale of change seen in 2020 is not going to slow down. If anything, it’s accelerating.

And so must we. That’s why we are expanding – with your input and creative design – the number of offerings for adult learning -- badges, certificates, online degrees and summer programming.

The latest August 2021 update from EducationData shows that 45.5% of students enrolled in college are over the age of 22. We need to view lifelong learning the way we think about subscription services like Netflix or Amazon Prime – it’s there for students to engage with, on their terms, whenever they choose, and hopefully for life. And the rise of distance learning throughout the pandemic has pushed us to think long and hard about pedagogy and how we adapt and evolve learning, because we must acknowledge the extraordinary value of this medium as a delivery method for growing segments of learners.

I anticipate that we will be expanding digital delivery as we grow our badging and specialized programs, and as lifelong learning becomes as common as well … an Amazon Prime subscription. That’s clearly a growth opportunity we must pursue, recognizing the parallel decline in the demographics of the traditional undergraduate population. Several of us have been meeting also with major CEOs in the State of Connecticut -- to understand their needs and deepen our engagement that opens doors for long-term, reciprocally beneficial partnerships, boosting skills and training opportunities for both our students and local employees.

Forging strong lifelong connections with our 60,000 alumni is an especially gratifying goal. They are fabulous ambassadors and cheerleaders for our institution. And they are our partners for life. The Quinnipiac Advantage Program offers modules for lifelong learning among alumni, and we’ve provided hundreds of one-on-one career consultations to alumni. Bobcat Connect, a LinkedIn-style platform that connects students with alumni and parents for career preparation, continues to grow – now engaging over 5,700 alumni and friends in mentoring and career advising relationships with current students.

Engaged alumni become vested in the future of the institution, and are a primary source of philanthropic support. Indeed, donor support over the last 3 years, with the leadership of our Trustees, has been at all-time highs in the history of the institution and reflects growing opportunities for meaningful engagement of alumni, parents and friends of the institution in classes, campus-wide events, athletics, and directly with faculty, staff and students. You are each key to that deeper engagement.

I’ve covered a lot of ground to describe the excitement of the coming year, and years ahead. I hope you share my optimism and unwavering confidence in the future of the institution.

Each year at Convocation, I’ve put forth challenges to our university community for the upcoming academic year. And each year you have responded to the challenge and often exceeded any expectation associated with those challenges:

• I had asked you to commit to an “Institution First” mindset. Well, this QU community was a national role model for ‘institution first’ last year, in the way you sacrificed, selflessly, and overcame every challenge posed by COVID.
• I had asked that we embed data analytics throughout our curriculum so that every QU graduate is data savvy. We now have courses across our Schools that infuse the use of data and promote the critical thinking needed to understand and apply that data. More to do, yeenormous progress has been made.
• I had asked that we each engage in individual acts of kindness, and that has been evident in spades, never more than the last year as I described earlier.
• And I asked that despite the storm of COVID of the last 18 months, that we not divert our focus ALSO on advancing the University of the Future, and our strategic plan. And as is evident, we continue to progress with inspiring, strategically focused advances.

So I’ll end, as I have done in the past, with three collective challenges for this new academic year:

The first is to create urgency around structuring immersive opportunities into our curricula, especially as students advance toward their graduation. Every field has different forms and opportunities for immersive learning. Badges and certificates along the way may provide added opportunities for knowledge and skill alignment with the needs of employers. Engaging practitioners in the classroom is yet another way of structuring such immersive opportunities, but that’s up to you to design and shape. You most certainly will be more creative and knowledgeable than I could ever be on this. I view immersive learning embedded within the learning cycle of every student as a key differentiator of Quinnipiac’s educational offerings.

My second challenge is for each of us to consider how we step out of our zone of comfort, and to provoke ourselves and others to hear views other than our own, to see other experiences than our own. That alone will open us up, and likely move us towards greater inclusivity. It’s OK to be provoked into hearing and seeing contrarian world views – shared respectfully – in the classroom, as part of our Living-Learning Communities, in our lecture series, as part of the public service experiences of our students, among people whom we invite to dinner. Let’s each challenge ourselves to become part of the movement that is not warring, that crosses into uncomfortable terrain, and learns …

And my third challenge is for each of us to become an unequivocally enthusiastic, unabashedly proud, unrestrained cheerleader on behalf of Quinnipiac University, wherever we are. I presume that we each love this institution. We are each the most authentic ambassadors of this institution by virtue of our firsthand experiences, whether encountering a touring family on campus, speaking to a stranger in line at the grocery store, or watching our child’s soccer game with a fellow parent. We are Bobcat proud, and there’s a lot to be proud of!

So the three challenges for next year are to:

• Build immersive learning opportunities as a distinction across all of QU
• Provoke yourself to hear the counter thought, and to engage
• Be a vocal Quinnipiac ambassador and cheerleader.

The past year definitely tested us. We passed, I’d say with flying colors. That’s because of all of you. Thank you for your continued faith, resilience and passion, and for collectively propelling us toward the University of the Future.

Welcome back to our 92nd year! Now it’s time to get on with it and to see the excited faces of our incoming students who are joining us in a moment. I now hand it over to our terrific Provost, Debra Liebowitz.

Dear colleagues:

As I reflect on the past year, I give enormous thanks to the COVID-19 Task Force and associated colleagues for their Herculean efforts, brains and brawn in guiding us through the past 16 months of the pandemic. This group often met daily to resolve testing plans, address new hybrid instructional models, and design the logistics of housing and food delivery for students in isolation. Later in the year, they were key in guiding the establishment of a vaccination clinic. They and many others were a critical reason that Quinnipiac was successful in delivering an on-ground learning/living experience while safeguarding our community’s health and well-being.

Whether serving as a Task Force member, or member of the contact tracing team, quarantine and isolation support, Student Health Services, ITS, modeling team, academic and student services, faculty delegate, or medical advising team — these individuals were the on-ground leadership and support that enabled a successful year despite the formidable obstacles and occasional crises. In particular, I’d like us to recognize AVP Keith Woodward, who chaired this committee, and VP Bethany Zemba, who served as a liaison to the state. We are indebted to their service to QU in these roles. There is no doubt that QU’s effectiveness during the pandemic is significantly attributable to the leadership of this group.

Please join me in expressing our profound, collective thanks to Keith, Bethany and to all the Task Force members: Jason Burke, Christy Chase, Monique Drucker, Thomas Ellett, Sarah Fraser, David Hill, JoLynn Kennedy, Debra Liebowitz, Ryan Mahoney, Daryl Richard, Hilary Fussell Sisco, Betsey Smith, Anna Spragg, Stephen Straub, Fred Tarca, Mark Tortora, Janice Wachtarz and David Wang.

As we look toward a very different fall semester, I’d like to share our plan to regroup. A new, much smaller structure will be established to manage any COVID-related activities and decisions going forward. Led by our Public Safety Chief Tony Reyes, the group will include the following individuals:

• Mark Tortora, Associate Director of Education Abroad Programs (operational support and administrative oversight)

• Lynn Hendricks, Associate Dean of Student Affairs (bed management in residential life)

• Nancy Hunter, Associate Director, Student Health Center (Student Health Services)

• Mary Glynn, Information Analytics Manager (ITS support)

• Terri Johnson, Associate Vice President of Operations (curriculum and liaison to the deans/faculty)

Dr. David Hill, who has been invaluable in guiding our medical responses and providing public health and clinical insights throughout this pandemic, will continue in his advisory role as Senior Medical Advisor for the university. We are so fortunate to be able to draw on his depth of expertise in public health and infectious disease.

We all look forward to a much more “normal” fall semester. In the meantime, please recharge, get some rest and stay healthy.

My best,
Judy

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Each of you, from every school and department, has poured your heart and soul into making the 2020-2021 academic year a success for our students and for Quinnipiac, while you navigated countless personal and family challenges as a result of the pandemic.

The university’s leadership team and I recognize that your work often stretched into nights and weekends, took time away from your family, and required remarkable flexibility and creativity in continuing your work.

Our Trustees and the leadership team wish to acknowledge and reward the efforts and commitments displayed in every part of Quinnipiac, to convey how grateful we are for all that you do.

To that end, employees (including part-time faculty and staff) will receive a one-time appreciation award. Employees earning up to $100,000 per year will receive an award equivalent to 3% of your regular salary, and employees earning >$100,000 and up to $225,000 per year will receive an award equivalent to 2% of your regular salary. Members of the university Management Committee, employees making over $225,000 per year, and individuals employed by QU for less than six months, are not eligible for the award.

The awards will be reflected in your June 30 paycheck. Unfortunately, because of budget constraints in 2021-22, there will be a salary freeze in 2021-22 with no merit raises, which is also a reason we wanted to be sure to acknowledge and reward your exceptional efforts this past year.

Thank you again for your generosity of spirit and tireless dedication. Please know how deep our appreciation is for all you do. Because of you, Quinnipiac is such a special place to work and learn. I hope you enjoy your summer.

Sincerely,
Judy

Dear colleagues,

As I drove off campus on Saturday after the last of 13 Commencement ceremonies with the campus festooned with happy graduates, their families and gorgeous flowers surrounding them, I reflected on the year that was.

Each one of you in the Quinnipiac community — every professor, staff member, facility worker, groundskeeper, counselor, librarian, tutor, resident life advisor, public safety officer, tech specialist, nurse, coach, trainer … every leader — each of you made the year that was. You made it possible for Quinnipiac to be among the small number of truly functioning universities, and you helped our students thrive in the midst of deeply unsettling circumstances.

Simply said: You enabled and fueled our success.

There were so many challenges, crises, stresses and tragic losses over the last year. But there was also the confidence in knowing the depth of our skills across every part of the campus that would get us through the pandemic, and the comfort of each other’s support, care and friendship.

I am grateful to you, and proud of you and Quinnipiac for weathering the last 14 months with such grace, resilience and understanding, holding our heads up very high. We can all hope to get back to a pretty normal Fall.

Departing campus on Saturday, a quote from our Class of 2020 student speaker from the School of Communications, Kailee E. Heffler, kept replaying in my head. She said: “At the end of each day, we had Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac taught us to take the fear we had felt and make opportunities out of it. Quinnipiac taught us to take the fear we had felt, and turn it into fearlessness.”

Thank you for being inspirational role models for our students and for our broader community, and for turning adversity into opportunity. Please take a moment to reflect on all that you’ve been through, with pride in this shared accomplishment. And most importantly — take a break, get some rest, travel with your family and loved ones, and give them an extra hug.

With much gratitude, admiration and affection,

Judy

Dear students, faculty and staff:

The Bobcat family has come together in recent weeks to support each other as we attempt to find meaning and community amid frayed emotions and deep sadness, as traumatic acts of violence, racism and inhumanity continue around us.

The trial of Derek Chauvin and yesterday’s verdict convicting him of the murder of George Floyd only added to the roller coaster of emotions many are feeling — emotions further roiled when we learned of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant’s killing last night by police in Columbus, Ohio.

As President Barak Obama observed yesterday, “Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more.” One of the roles of educational institutions is to confront societal challenges with analysis, exploration of causes and solutions, and to engage constructively to achieve change to these corrosive ills. Many of us are soul searching to understand how and why these horrific incidents occur, and what – individually and collectively – we can and should do to achieve change.

We will hold an open Zoom forum on Monday, April 26, at 7:00 p.m. to analyze the Chauvin case and the spate of recent violence, with members of our faculty.

Quinnipiac will continue to take actions that promote lasting and community-wide progress to build a more inclusive, welcoming and compassionate community and to nurture in our students and graduates a commitment to contribute to a just society that values all.

Together,

Judy Olian
President

Don C. Sawyer III
Vice President of Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love book, 1963

On this Monday in January, we pause to remember a towering figure in our nation’s history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We remember his unwavering commitment to end the oppression of people of color. We remember how he championed change through peaceful means. We remember his sacrifice in dedicating his life to lifting others. And we remember the urgency in his actions to right wrongs. Dr. King serves as inspiration for generations to stand up against inequality, even when sitting down may be the easier path.

We honor Dr. King just two days before our nation partakes in the centuries-old tradition of a peaceful transfer of power, as Joseph R. Biden Jr. is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. The irony of two recent and related events is not lost on me. In November, we experienced the powerful expression of a democracy when almost 160 million citizens exercised their right to vote in the 2020 election – the largest number of voters in U.S. history. Yet, on the day of certification of that election on Jan. 6, domestic terrorists attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatened our elected officials and members of law enforcement, attempted to silence democracy, and challenged the most fundamental principles of our Constitution.

A peaceful transfer of power has been a hallmark of our democracy since 1801 and has served as an aspirational ideal for nations around the world. Inaugurations are days when we set aside our differences – often after fierce partisan campaigns – and we celebrate together the privileges of freedom of expression, of change through the voice of the people, of raising families in safety and security, of the aspiration of equal rights for all. These are the values that Dr. King espoused and which, ultimately, unforgivably, cost him his life.

While I cannot speak for Dr. King or know what he might say during these turbulent times, I imagine that still, 52 years after his assassination, he would conclude that we are far from a perfect union. There are countless challenges we have yet to overcome as a nation – pervasive injustices against underrepresented groups of all kinds; insidious disparities in economic, health and physical safety; unequal access to education; a worldwide pandemic that has disproportionately attacked those already struggling; and many others. Perhaps Dr. King also would draw on the insurrection at the Capitol to acknowledge a painful truth: Racism still fuels deep divisions and unrest in our country, and we must resolve to express our differences with strong voices, with urgency, but without violence.

A flourishing democracy requires acknowledgement of differences, a commitment to justice, and policies that create equity in opportunity and voice. Deeply entrenched differences may divide us, but a civil society learns to thrive by offering every individual the opportunity to live with dignity, respecting the cultures and roots of those differences, and confronting societal challenges based on reason and facts. That is the promise of a healthy democracy, and it is echoed in the words of Dr. King in his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, reminding us:

“This is no time to … take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”

As we witness a key rite of passage in a democracy during Wednesday’s inauguration, I ask each of us in the Quinnipiac community to reflect on our role as an agent of change. What do we do, together, to heal our democracy? How do we become The University of the Future that models globally enlightened citizenry? How do we embody the ideals of a just society, become a “beloved community” that embraces all who enter from their many doors of lived experiences? How do we prepare our students to be champions of justice in their personal and professional lives?

We have already embarked upon this journey, together, through progress on our 10-point Action Plan to Advance Racial Justice, heightened commitments to our LGBTQ+ community, curricula review to engage around difference, launch of an inclusive excellence teaching lab, conversations on challenging topics throughout the year, and outreach to diverse communities and schools to become a more inclusive community. The impact of these actions will be the measure of our progress. I am confident that we will see that progress embodied in the character of our university community built on inclusive excellence, and in the life journeys of our students as courageous champions of positive change.

But progress cannot be delayed. Dr. King, speaking at the Riverside Church in 1967, said:

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there ‘is’ such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”

Dr. King dedicated his life to striving for a better society, while inspiring generations. I am an incurable optimist. I am buoyed by the millions who do what is right; who “stand[s] at times of challenge and controversy” for our nation and for global communities; who commit — for ourselves and for future generations — to bettering the world with purpose and respect for our ideals, one day at a time. Let’s join together to achieve “a better society." It is the most fitting honor for Dr. King — and the bedrock of our democracy.

My best,
Judy

Dear colleagues and students,

Happy New Year! I hope you relaxed, stayed healthy, and enjoyed a special holiday with loved ones.

There is a lot to look forward to in 2021 – the much-awaited abatement of the pandemic crisis, some semblance of return to our healthy routines, and pent-up optimism for the future. With that eye on the future, I am excited to share the comprehensive vision emerging from our now-completed master facilities plan, “Designing Our Future,” which was assembled with input from so many across our community.

Read the Master Facilities Plan Report (PDF)

The plan serves as a general blueprint that will guide physical planning across QU’s three campuses over the next 10 years. It connects to, and brings to life, the vision and aspirations of our strategic plan, The University of the Future, and offers a flexible roadmap for a thoughtful, long-term physical plan that energizes our growing distinctions.

The vision expressed in the plan is a path toward enriching the learning, living and communal experiences of our students, faculty and staff. “Designing Our Future” notes important milestones in QU’s continued ascent over the next decade, and while it does not yet dictate the exact timing of key initiatives or prescribe every element of the plan that might be executed, it establishes a set of guiding principles and broad recommendations for capital investments on each of Quinnipiac’s three campuses.

We’ll be holding a town hall in the next few weeks to review the plan, answer any questions and hear your feedback. The plan reflects a dynamic vision that will continue to evolve in collaboration with our QU community, local neighbors and community partners.

Looking forward to seeing my fellow Bobcats as we start the spring semester.

Warmly,
Judy

Thank You, Faculty and Staff

Dear colleagues,

2020 presented daunting challenges, yet our Quinnipiac family responded with extraordinary character, resilience, and care for one another. I am humbled and so deeply appreciative of our community — how you taught, cleaned, protected, continued your outstanding work, volunteered, sacrificed, devised solutions, and showed kindness each day to our entire community. Please see our video in celebration of YOU.

I join with the entire leadership of QU in wishing you a healthy, relaxing and joyous holiday season as we look forward to coming back together in 2021.

Judy

Looking Forward to Spring 2021

Dear students and parents,

Now that the Fall semester is over, I’ve been reflecting on our time together these past few months. No doubt, it was different, yet inspiring in the many innovative and caring ways our students, faculty and staff created the special Bobcat learning and living experience. Some of those moments are captured in this video.

We’re all really looking forward to your return for the new opportunities of the spring semester. Be well, have a happy and healthy holiday, and enjoy the special times with family.

Judy

Dear students and colleagues,

Guided by the principles of inclusive excellence, we continue on a path to create a safe, supportive and welcoming campus for all community members, embracing all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. We seek to create a community where everyone expresses their full selves and is supported through an intersectional approach guided by an understanding of how identities combine, resulting often in various forms of discrimination and privilege.

We heard from students, staff and faculty committed to realizing this goal. We worked closely with the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) student leaders to ensure that this work is collaborative and informed by their experiences. As a result of previous initiatives and more recent discussions, we share the following plan of action with our QU community:

1. We will introduce gender-inclusive housing for all students. We will work with students on how this option will be offered and the process for housing selection to ensure it is available in advance of 2021-22 housing assignments. Offering gender-inclusive housing accommodates and respects the complexities of gender identity and recognizes that traditional, same-sex room assignments are not always comfortable and/or appropriate for all students.
2. Gender-neutral bathrooms will be established in all newly constructed QU facilities and will be added to existing buildings wherever possible. A listing of our current gender-neutral restrooms can be found here: Gender-Inclusive Bathrooms
3. We will conduct a baseline analysis of our campus LGBTQ+ climate and environment using the Campus Pride Index (CPI), a national LGBTQ+ campus benchmarking tool. The results will inform strategies to address areas of underperformance.
4. A Residential Experience Committee, chaired by Dr. Tom Ellett, chief experience officer, is developing a curriculum and residential experience for all first-year students, augmented by themed housing and student living-learning community options. The committee is also discussing expanded interest-based/living-learning communities for upperclass students, starting in Fall 2021.
5. The inaugural LGBTQ+ Student Leadership Retreat will be offered in Spring 2021, hosted by the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement. The event will help students hone essential life skills through interpersonal discussion, leadership development and community engagement. The retreat will connect LGBTQ+ students to campus resources and networks that support academic and personal success.
6. Training on gender equity, LGBTQ+ education, allyship training and Safe Spaces will continue to be offered and expanded across the entire QU community by the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement, augmenting existing equity and inclusion training.
7. We have established the LGBTQ+ Fellows program. Fellows will focus on implementation of the above action plan to advance the success and safety of LGBTQ+ members, in addition to educating our broader campus community. The inaugural Fellows are Dr. Bianca Gonzalez-Sobrino, assistant professor of sociology, as the faculty fellow; Vincent Contrucci, director of community service, as the staff fellow; and Kayla Duncan, sophomore media studies major, as the student fellow.

Institutions built on a bedrock of equity and inclusion position all groups for success. In this set of actions, we seek to advance priorities in support of our fellow LGBTQ+ members as an embodiment of our commitment to inclusive excellence, to enable each member of our community to thrive. In so doing, we will become a more thoughtful, stimulating and inspiring community, a University of The Future. The university leadership holds itself accountable for progress on this set of initiatives in support of our LGBTQ+ community.

We look forward to partnering with you as we realize these commitments.

Judy Olian
President

Don C. Sawyer III
Vice President of Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development

Dear QU community,

Thanksgiving is a truly special time of year, and this year’s holiday takes on even greater meaning. I know most of us will be celebrating with fewer of our family and friends than we desire, yet there is still so much for which we are grateful. My Thanksgiving wish to each of you is to spend time enjoying the people and activities that make you happy and to share that happiness with others. And yes, to take a break from what has been a hectic and stressful period since March.

Let’s face it, the last several months have been difficult, forcing us all to live, study and work differently, to draw on uncharted models of running both our personal and work lives, to reevaluate what matters most, to find joy in unexplored places, and to serve others in new ways. I encourage you to turn to our QU family for support because this is a community that cares for—and offers a helping hand to—each other. I also hope you find a measure of comfort in the advancing medical understanding of the virus, the emergence of vaccines, and a discernable path to life post-COVID.

For me, I have found joy in simply connecting with others—whether through Zoom calls or walking around campus; in discovering leadership and resourcefulness distributed so widely across our QU family; in observing the flexibility and maturity of our students as they adapt to radical changes in their university life; in being humbled by the dedication and selflessness of hundreds of Bobcats who have sacrificed to keep QU up and running so well and in the creative solutions engineered by so many of you to teach and care for our students.

I also have found joy in some changes to how I’m spending my down time, such as streaming great concerts at home, watching a few good detective series, and taking some drives with Pete to explore new parts of Connecticut.

I hope each of you will use the next several days to rest and recharge, soak up all the love and good food your family is offering, and set aside some “you time.”

Wishing you personal joy, warmth and happiness over the break. Be well and Happy Thanksgiving!

Judy

Dear members of the QU family,

On this Veterans Day, let us pause to recognize and express our profound gratitude to all U.S. military veterans and especially to the 270 veterans and active military among our students, faculty and staff.

We enjoy many liberties because of the selfless actions of the men and women of the military. Throughout history, they have sacrificed to protect our nation’s independence and the freedoms of many societies around the world.

We are proud and privileged to welcome and embrace our veterans into the Bobcat family. Both the Military Times and Victory Media have named Quinnipiac among the leading “Best for Vets” schools and military-friendly schools in the country.

Our veterans are role models to us all. This year, for example, one of our six Center for Excellence winners is Jason Burke, a decorated 25-year Navy veteran and director of Veteran and Military Affairs for the university. This is the highest honor awarded at Quinnipiac, and it recognizes excellence in teaching and service to students.

Our community is humbled and enriched by the presence of our veterans and by their continued sacrifices for the cause of freedom in our country and around the world.

Please join me in celebrating our veterans, in appreciation and admiration.

Judy

Dear Quinnipiac students and classmates,

This evening marks a vitally important event. We are writing to you as millions of people around the country prepare to watch and listen to the major party presidential nominees engage in vigorous debate.

We’re lucky to live in a country where we are free to exercise choice. Regardless of whom you support, we each have a responsibility to learn the issues, know where the candidates stand, and then express our opinions — by voting. That’s what it means to be “an enlightened citizen.”

This has been a difficult and sometimes divisive time in our country. Holding different views should not be divisive – it just means that we see things differently. We owe it to ourselves, and to the greater good, to spend time to hear the reasons for, and to understand the roots of, those differences.

As we approach the final stretch of the presidential election process and hear tonight’s debate, let’s also remember what we stand for at QU.

We’re a community committed to inclusion and diversity, and that includes the range of political opinions and world views reflected on our campuses and all around us. Let’s accept and respect the fact that a wide spectrum of political views has a place on our campus, but intolerance does not.

We’re an institution that embraces vigorous discussion around viewpoints with which we may disagree. We can disagree, without being disagreeable, and without undermining the worth, dignity, legitimacy and equality of others in our community.

We’re a campus of 135 student-led organizations and clubs, each with its own mission, including those active in political discourse. Student clubs can be an important forum for meaningful and informative discussions this election season. They can be role models for respectful and vigorous debate of the vital issues of today and tomorrow and can demonstrate collaboration in addressing vital societal challenges despite differences in world view. Let’s show how it can be done, with civility.

So, in the weeks ahead, as our electoral process and political conversations heat up, let’s remember who we are and what we stand for in the QU community. Let’s be Bobcat proud, lead the way as tomorrow’s leaders, and as the University of the Future.

Signed,

Judy Olian, President, Quinnipiac University
Gina DiVito, President, College Democrats
Mariam Shawish, President, College Republicans​​​
Joshua Gorero, Co-President, Political Science Association
Samantha Murdock, Co-President, Political Science Association

To our Quinnipiac community:

Over the last several weeks, faculty, staff and students have come together through various forums to listen, learn and share very personal and often painful experiences of racism at Quinnipiac. They have also come together to express hope – and articulate the expectation – that we will take steps to eradicate the injurious effects of racism within our own community.

These forums have been powerful reminders that it is time for our community to take the burden of our colleagues who are Black, Indigenous and people of color onto our own collective shoulders, so that it is not they who must again explain, or lead change, or exhort us that Black Lives Matter. Rather, each of us must commit to actions that will reverse an entrenched history of racism. Collectively, with forceful and concerted actions, we can work together to bring about change in our own communities, and within our own institution, by advancing equity, inclusiveness and anti-racism as cornerstones of who we are at Quinnipiac.

To that end, we are announcing Quinnipiac’s Actions to Advance Racial Justice. The actions outlined below are informed by statements, pledges and ideas we heard from both faculty and student groups.

A 10-Point Plan of Action:

1. We will begin an immediate curriculum review to increase learning about the roots and contemporary manifestations of social injustice, privilege, oppression and the drivers of social change. We will expand across the university the types of reviews initiated by Dwayne Boucaud and Amber Kelly in the School of Health Sciences, and Hillary Haldane and Robert Yawson in the University Curriculum. We will aim for proposed changes this academic year.
2. We will establish a clear and readily accessible system to report bias incidents. Eradicating racism and racist behavior begins with holding each other accountable. People who witness, or are themselves the targets of, racist words or actions need a place to report these experiences. We will create and educate the community about this reporting process and ensure that our system includes efficient investigation and fair decision-making to build a safe and welcoming community for all.
3. We will add student training on diversity, equity and inclusion beginning this fall. All students will be required to complete annual training exploring the roots of racism, and actions to counter discrimination in society and in their own behaviors. In addition to online training, in-person sessions will be offered throughout the year and facilitated by members of the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement.
4. We will monitor compliance and expand mandatory training for faculty and staff across the entire university beyond the existing “Harassment and Discrimination” and “Managing Bias” online training. This will include in-person training within schools and units focusing on contemporary manifestations of racism and bias. This training will also work to build skills in facilitating and participating in difficult conversations.
5. We will enhance access to data describing Quinnipiac’s diversity. We will expand the demographic data about our faculty, staff and student representation published on the university’s website. This will include data tracking progress on key diversity metrics, including faculty and staff advancement by rank and level.
6. We will expand affinity groups for faculty and staff on campus and offer alumni the opportunity to build affinity groups for people of color. This will further amplify the voices of diverse groups on campus and in our alumni community.
7. We will improve policies and practices to enhance the pipeline and retention of under-represented faculty, staff and students. This will include mandatory training and approval requirements for search committees to ensure more diverse candidate pools; openness to non-traditional candidate profiles; expansion of mentoring and development opportunities for faculty, staff and students of color; recruitment from more diverse high schools and community colleges; and greater diversification of our health services and student support professionals.
8. We will complete a review, and appropriately acknowledge, the Indigenous people of the land of this region who are Quinnipiac’s namesake. We will continue work that has been guided by the Akomawt Educational Initiative to honor the legacy of the Indigenous people who lived here, to include refining the “Legend of the Bobcat” read at various events with a more appropriate representation of Quinnipiac’s roots and the development of a land acknowledgement statement.
9. We will increase university funding and attract philanthropy to augment resources for the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement. This will fund many of the initiatives noted above as well as future projects developed in partnership with members of our community.
10. We will work with students and faculty to drive voter registration and participation. Exercising one’s voting rights is the embodiment of enlightened citizenry and a cornerstone of our strategic plan, and holds elected leaders accountable for changes that are needed.

We are grateful that Professor Khalilah Brown-Dean has agreed to serve as the Senior Director for Inclusive Excellence, partnering with Vice President Don Sawyer, to champion implementation of Quinnipiac’s Actions to Advance Racial Justice. Greater detail will be released on each of these 10 initiatives, including how we will measure progress. We will continue to include our students, faculty staff and alumni in these critical discussions to ensure that your voices are heard, and that we persist in achieving ambitious change.

The university leadership holds itself accountable for progress on each of the initiatives noted above. But we cannot do it alone, and we should not. These actions require community-wide commitment, efforts and collaboration. We will not achieve the results to which we aspire unless we are passionate and authentic in our desire for systemic change. Quinnipiac has made notable progress in the last few years to become more inclusive. However, the purpose of this letter is not to look back on those accomplishments. Rather, we want to look forward and focus on where we need to do much more to amplify progress.

It is our hope that by building understanding of the roots of racism and nurturing inclusive values during the formative years that students spend with us, Quinnipiac graduates leave our university with greater humility, empathy, compassion, respect for others, and the capacity for dialogue with individuals who have different lived experiences. Our essential purpose is to serve and advance each member of our community through education. It is a purpose that can be an antidote to these times when we are reminded frequently of all that separates us.

Let us come together, let us act to create a more just society, let us lead the way.

Judy Olian
President

Don C. Sawyer III
Vice President of Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development

To the Quinnipiac community,

Over the past two weeks, people have joined together, raising their collective voices to decry and oppose racial injustice. Communities across the country have taken this difficult moment in our nation’s history to demand change with a sense of frustration and urgency not seen since the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Unfortunately, we are also reminded that not everyone has embraced the systemic change that must happen in our community and in our country.

Recently, Quinnipiac was made aware of two social media posts linked to two incoming students. Each case was investigated separately, and we worked hard to determine the facts and context. The university’s senior management team, with input from a variety of voices across campus, deliberated and ultimately decided on a course of action appropriate for each instance, though for privacy reasons, we cannot divulge specifics. However, we are communicating more openly in this instance to explain the core values guiding our thinking, should we face similar situations in the future.   

One post showed an individual in blackface. We must recognize that, as our nation works hard to take positive steps toward racial equality for black communities, we cannot tolerate behavior that questions people’s worth, dignity, legitimacy and equality. With history as our guide, we are mindful that regardless of intent, the blackface image is a symbol of a heinous past that evokes pain and the hurt of centuries of prejudice against black people.  

Our mission as educators sometimes includes discourse around provocative and even socially difficult constructs and events as we strive to develop capacity in our students to understand nuanced issues and become more enlightened citizens. For some of our students, it is a journey of transformation. However, there are some boundaries, such as a blackface image, that cannot be crossed because these actions are so antithetical to our fundamental values.

The second post made reference to “the Chinese virus” when discussing the negative impact of COVID-19 on seniors’ high school graduations. Let us be clear: such language is offensive, highly inappropriate, and sweeping in its mischaracterization of the cause of the pandemic. It is also a direct echo of the unfortunate confluence of social media with news reports and the current political discourse.

These two instances are forceful reminders that words and images have consequences, that regardless of intent, some forms of expression carry destructive meaning and cause harmful impact because of their historic or symbolic significance. Part of our educational purpose is to create awareness among our community to these sensitivities, and to hold ourselves fully accountable for true equity and inclusivity. The classroom and campus community can be powerful learning labs to practice and reinforce respectful discourse in a space where all groups feel welcomed, supported, and able to safely express their full selves, regardless of their differences and backgrounds.

To the students and alumni who have written to us over the past few days about these social media posts, we invite you to join with us to help turn words into action. We, the leadership team, hold ourselves accountable to achieving results that demonstrate commitment to equity and fairness. That commitment began with inclusive excellence as a pillar of our strategic plan almost two years ago, and in recent months our community came together on a statement of inclusive values.

And we continue to take action. We have begun implementing many necessary changes, such as increased diversity among faculty and the university’s leadership team; we are building bridges to QU for historically underrepresented minority students in high schools and community colleges; we are developing a diversity training curriculum for students, staff, and faculty; and we are exploring how to best address, head-on, the legacy of racism in our country starting with a re-examination of the curriculum for greater presence of racial and social justice content across courses.

We are not naive to think that change happens overnight. Much more must be done on our part, and as a community. We embrace this pivotal moment in our nation’s history to avow that Black Lives Matter, and to stand with our students, alumni, faculty, staff and neighbors in black communities—and in all underrepresented communities—in decrying acts of racism, prejudice and bias. Let us join together in achieving truly meaningful change, where equity and inclusiveness shine as cornerstones of who we are at Quinnipiac.

Signed,
Judy Olian, President
Jennifer Gerarda Brown, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
Monique Drucker, VP and Dean of Students
Daryl Richard, VP of Marketing & Communications
Don Sawyer, Vice President of Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development
Todd Sloan, VP of Development & Alumni Affairs
Elicia Spearman, General Counsel and VP of Human Resources
Eric Sykes, VP of Enrollment Management
Mark Varholak, VP of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Bethany Zemba, VP and Chief of Staff

Dear Quinnipiac Family:

I write to you not about COVID-19, but about something more pervasive, more permanent, and even more pernicious. I write today about racism in America.

This week’s murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and so many other terrible acts of violence against people of color demonstrate an inescapable reality: Far too many members of our society are still not treated with the same empathy, kindness, fairness, or justness that they deserve – simply because of the color of their skin.

Bigotry can be subtle and corrosive. It is present when we use words that are insensitive; when we make snap judgments based on appearance; when we presume an understanding of another’s reality that has been borne of a lifetime of experiencing prejudice. I ask myself how this still happens in a country graced with so much good fortune and rich ideals. But to the many people suffering the pain of discrimination, this is no surprise. This is daily life where they encounter exclusion, fear, self-doubt, despair for a lack of opportunity, unequal treatment, and sometimes, sadly, extreme violence.

Each of us bears responsibility to do everything in our powers to change the abhorrent reality confronting so many people. Ordinary actions some of us take for granted – like driving, jogging, playing in the park, visiting a store, or walking at night – can be risky for some members of our community because of systemic and deeply ingrained racism. We must rise up and speak out if we are bystanders to prejudice; we must commit as parents and mentors to educate the next generation for inclusivity and equality; and we must organize to actively protect those who are most vulnerable.

As a university built on inclusive excellence, we hold each person accountable for inclusive behavior, and we encourage courageous action. Our community is one built upon trust, openness and civility, that allows for honest conversations about difficult subjects; one that cares for—and helps—marginalized members of our society.

My call today is for you to personally commit to these behaviors to reverse the legacy of racism in our communities: through your own compassion and commitment, by truly listening and striving to achieve an understanding of another’s reality and circumstances, and to rally for what is right. We cannot stand idle, and we cannot allow evil of any kind against any one of us.

Sadly, our classmates, faculty, staff, family and friends of color are again feeling the unspeakable pain of these events. We stand in solidarity with you. The Quinnipiac family has always been a force of good. Let us lead the way as a beacon of inclusivity and as a voice of change.

Be well,

Judy Olian, President
Quinnipiac University

Dear students,

You made it! Everyone’s exams are nearly complete, and tomorrow marks the end of the spring semester. You’ve navigated so many unexpected changes and uncertainties these last two months with understanding, compassion and a resilient spirit.

Congratulations to our graduating Bobcats – your QU family joins together to applaud your accomplishments. I’m sending all of you warm thoughts and wishes. Take care of one another, and I can’t wait to see our returning Bobcats on campus this fall.

End of the Spring 2020 Semester Message from President Judy Olian - May 8, 2020

Judy Olian, President
Quinnipiac University

Dear colleagues and students,

I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are healthy, safe and able to enjoy family time — which is the silver lining in these difficult circumstances. During these stressful times, our Quinnipiac community continues to demonstrate that from adversity rises resilience, from challenge emerges opportunity, and from need comes compassion. I have seen that come to life through the initiatives and care our students, faculty and staff are extending to their local communities, neighbors, and one another. I’m sharing with you some stirring examples of acts of kindness I’ve seen pop up across our QU community nationwide.

Be well, and I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

A Message From Quinnipiac President Judy Olian - April 3, 2020

Judy Olian, President
Quinnipiac University

Dear Students,

I hope you were able to have a restful and perhaps enjoyable weekend after so many days of change, anxiety and uncertainty. For all of us, isolating in our homes or at other locations can be lonely and frustrating. I certainly feel for all of you, unable to hang out with your friends or loved ones as you desire.

Over the last few weeks, you have received a variety of communications from me and from the university, providing you with updates on decisions we have made, sharing critical information about your classes and university operations, or reminding you of self-care best practices. This is not one of those emails. Instead, I want to simply say, thank you.

Thank you for understanding the difficult decisions that needed to be made by university leaders and by local, state and federal officials, to protect our collective health and safety. I know that the restrictions, cancellations and postponements have an impact on all of you, and I truly feel your disappointment.

Thank you for your resiliency and spirit in these difficult times as we transitioned to remote learning. Your willingness to continue your learning and to engage with your professors from afar has been truly remarkable.

Thank you for showing your compassion and heart in reaching out to your classmates, teachers or even strangers in your community. The stories of Quinnipiac students giving back in the bleakest of times are heartwarming and a testament to your values and kindness.

Thank you for showcasing the power of our student community and the love you have for Quinnipiac through the videos and virtual tours you shared during the weekend’s Virtual Admitted Student Experience, joined by over 3,000 attendees!

And thank you for being a part of the Quinnipiac family. Our resolve and resilience together will see us through this challenge and will enable our university to thrive in the years ahead.

Please stay safe, take care of each other and your loved ones, and have a great week ahead. Know that we are here for you.

Warmly,

Judy Olian, President
Quinnipiac University

Today, we kick off a month-long celebration of the history and many contributions by the Black American community to our country and culture. February gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on many notable people and historic milestones, but it also reminds us how important it is to embrace and celebrate diversity and inclusiveness all year.

At Quinnipiac, we are committed to inclusive excellence, built upon equity. Everyone deserves to be respected and welcomed in our community and to fully thrive at Quinnipiac — intellectually, socially, culturally and athletically.

During Black History Month, we celebrate the accomplishments of members of Quinnipiac’s Black American community. We also honor the stories of Black Americans near and far who have led change with courage and a far-reaching vision to lift the lives of members of their community, achieved success in their chosen field – despite barriers – and brought social justice to all corners of society.

Here are a few stories that are particularly relevant to our QU family:

• In education, Booker T. Washington was one of the most influential leaders whose impact on higher education and lifelong learning lives on today through what has become a vibrant system of historically black colleges and universities. In 1881, at age 25, he helped build the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) as a learning institution where both black men and women were welcome and whose graduates became teachers at colleges across the South and helped educate generations of Black Americans.
• In business, look no further than our own backyard and the impressive accomplishments of Connecticut entrepreneur Carlton Highsmith, vice chairman of Quinnipiac’s Board of Trustees. His personal support has enabled programs in business and other disciplines. Carlton built a company from the ground up that became one of the largest manufacturers of paperboard packaging in North America and the largest minority-owned company in Connecticut.
• And here on campus, we are proud of our own faculty trailblazers, including Professor Marilyn Ford in the School of Law. Marilyn is the Neil H. Cogan Public Service Chair and adviser to the Black Law Student Association and Latin American Law Student Association. She serves as national secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent organization in the civil rights movement, and has long been an advocate and a voice for underrepresented populations. For example, Marilyn represented a Native American tribe in the largest land claim litigation in the U.S., helping recover land and obtain just compensation for land taken during the 17th and 18th centuries.

We hope you will participate in the many activities planned throughout the month. We look at this as just the beginning of what will be celebrations of diversity in people’s backgrounds and perspectives throughout the year. The most vibrant communities are those that acknowledge the contributions of, and create a sense of belonging for, all individuals.

Sincerely,

Judy Olian, President
Quinnipiac University

Don C. Sawyer, III
Vice President of Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development