Hello to our students, colleagues, and friends
At the height of the pandemic last fall, I wrote a letter to our community about how much we all missed spontaneous personal connections. I mentioned also
that the pandemic had forced us to invent a larger vocabulary of ways to teach, work, and research. “This learning will enhance and enrich our community in the future,” I predicted.
As you read this annual report, you will discover that my prediction proved true. In spite of the terrible losses of life and health the pandemic inflicted, in spite of social isolation and Zoom fatigue, our community not only endured, but some of our fresh and creative responses will stay with us as we look forward, with great relief, as we return to closer to customary operations this fall.
One of the most tangible signs that even in the midst of shutdown and loss we continued to expand our minds and hearts was the construction of our newest building. Over the past year, we relished the chance to watch the building's progress online via a live construction feed. Standing on the corner of Jordan Avenue and Seventh Street, the Mies van der Rohe Building is a glorious, light-filled hub of our community. It is destined to become a center of artistic and intellectual life on the Bloomington campus and an affirmation of our perseverance in the midst of challenges.
I invite you to read on to learn more about the innovative ways our faculty, staff, students, and alumni have flourished this past year. I am confident you will be every bit as impressed as I am!
Wishing you peace and health.
Peg Faimon
Founding Dean and Professor