A Message From the Provost: Grateful for What Connects Us

On Nov. 20 I received this pleasant message from UC Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan:

Dear Faculty,

As I contemplated writing this message to you, the air heavy with discontent, pain, sorrow, anger, and fear, I was keenly aware there is no perfect way to put everyone at ease.

Instead, I have a request of you. In this season when we often reflect with gratitude, I ask that you cherish time with your loved ones and the members of our shared community. I ask you to remember our shared hope that innocent people are safe from harm. We all want to feel secure, respected, heard, and valued. 

We have chosen to be members of the UC Davis community and, in doing so, committed ourselves to uphold the campus’s Principles of Community. Those principles call on all of us to exhibit mutual respect, compassion, kindness, and an open and curious mind. They remind us that we can gain deeper understanding and appreciation for the human experience by listening to someone else’s story.

We are here to enrich learning opportunities for our students, to advance research that improves lives, and to engage in public service that benefits our community, our nation, and our world. What we accomplish by working together is of profound importance to humanity.

I am not promising our work will always be easy. I am not promising we will always agree when faced with challenging problems. I know there will be events that threaten to pull us apart. I know that our opinions, and our experiences, will differ. I know that we may sometimes find ourselves at odds. But we will always share a sense of the importance and power of the University of California, Davis to make the world a better place.

For that, in this season of thanks, I am deeply grateful.