Welcome to the 2023-24 Academic Year!

Dear Grinnellians,

It is wonderful to see campus come to life and to welcome you back into community!

Thank you to everyone who attended the first annual Grinnell College Colloquium yesterday: for your questions and presence; and many thanks to our presenters! This will become an annual tradition to engage with topics of importance to the College. If you were not able to attend in person, you can view the videos of yesterday’s sessions on the Grinnell Colloquium 2023 site, where you will also find the PowerPoint presentations. Elsewhere on the Senior Leadership GrinnellShare SharePoint site you can find agendas, meeting summaries, and other information about the work of the senior leadership team with the campus community.

I want to extend an enthusiastic welcome and welcome back, starting with the class of 2027. It was an honor to shake your hands at the welcome ceremony last week. We are so glad that you are here. I am also grateful to our amazing student leaders, faculty and staff who provided a wonderful orientation experience – they have done amazing work. To our new faculty and staff members, thank you for being here – your expertise and dedication to the mission of liberal arts education is a wonderful addition to the vital work of the College.

As we settle in to the work of the fall semester, I want to welcome JC Lopez, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, who joined us on August 14. He joined Bernadine Douglas, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, who began her appointment on August 7. I am also grateful that Marc Reed, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, assumed the position on a permanent basis on July 1, after serving in an interim capacity for the previous ten months. Last year, to join faculty representation, I added two elected positions representing students and staff to the senior leadership team. I am grateful to Clark Lindgren, who is in his second year as chair of the faculty, and pleased to welcome Alexis Steele, representing staff council, and Gabby Hernández, in her role as SGA President.

This year, together, we will embark on the implementation of, “Knowledge into Action: A Strategic Plan for Grinnell College, 2023-30”. At Scholars’ Convocation on August 31, I will present the themes and objectives of the strategic plan, as these have been framed by the priority of constituents’ experiences of the institution and the principle of collective impact. Due to repairs to the floors in JRC101, convocation will be held from 11 a.m. to noon in HSSC A1231 (the multi-purpose room). We will also share a link to the video of the event for those who are unable to attend.

So, as we celebrate our return and our renewed practice of research, deliberation, and collaboration: Bemvindo! Velkommen! Nĭhǎo! Karibu! Bienvenidas! Здравствуйте! Yokoso! Hoan nghenh! Svaagat! Bienvenue! Baruch aba! Xush Kelibsiz! Vanakkam! In dozens of languages from close to home and around the world: welcome to Grinnell College!

Sincerely,

Anne F. Harris 
President