New Year's Message
January 1, 2004
To the Trinity Community,
As this brilliant new year's day dawned, I took one of my
favorite local drives along the Potomac River and out to Great Falls
where throngs of families, tourists, bikers and hikers had already
arrived to enjoy the vista and soak up the sun. On each side of
the Potomac, the Great Falls parks offer expansive views of the
river at its most powerful, an awesome cascade of swift moving water
racing down the steep bedrock drops on its way to the Chesapeake
Bay and then to the Atlantic. Some brave souls tempted fate by bouncing
across the waves in kayaks or climbing on the river rocks, but most
of us simply ambled or rode bikes along the towpath enjoying the
warm day and timelessly beautiful scene.
The scene at Great Falls today connoted the remarkably good lives
so many of us are fortunate to enjoy on most days. At the same time,
I could not help but think of the bitterly sharp contrast between
this happy picture and other scenes in our world this week. It was
a similarly bright and beautiful day, albeit much warmer, along
the south Asian and African coastlines when the tsunami struck without
warning last Sunday. We pray for all of the victims who are suffering
so much. In that epic natural tragedy, we can't help but read, once
again, a parable on the fragility of life, the imperative of living
each day purposefully, as if we had no additional time to make a
difference beyond today.
Our sense of purpose on New Year's Day is often defined in a list
of resolutions, proclamations we make to ourselves and the world
about how we'll be different in the days to come. With so much chaos
in our world, we try to identify what it is that we can control,
what changes we can make for the better through some small change
in our own behaviors. Much of it becomes focused on ourselves. So
we resolve to be kinder, thinner, more punctual, neater --- all
lost to more pressing issues by the end of the month.
Given the banality of the conventional idea of New Year's resolutions,
and the serious crises facing our world, today I've been thinking
of the word "resolution" in its other meanings: the
clarity of a picture; the solution to a problem; a formal action
or decree. I've thought about what these ideas of resolution mean
for our lives and work here at Trinity, and the sense of purpose
we bring to the world beyond Trinity through the force of our education.
So, I've come up with these 'resolutions' for 2005:
Clarity of Vision: One meaning of "resolution" is the
clarity of a picture. In the year ahead, let's focus more clearly
and precisely on some of the critical issues affecting our city
and global village today. We need to have more robust, open communal
discussion at Trinity of the War in Iraq and its implications for
the U.S. and the world for generations to come. We need to have
more dialogue with the advocates and policymakers who are working
just blocks away about the situation in the Sudan, the issues of
terrorism and national security beyond the politics that obfuscates
so much of that discussion, the reasons why global warming and environmental
issues are not receiving more serious consideration, the apparent
prevalence of torture and human rights violations in U.S. treatment
of persons in custody in Guantanamo and Iraq. Domestically, we need
to talk more openly about what is happening to basic freedoms in
the United States ---- the retrenchment that is occurring with regard
to freedom of speech and press, the regression from what we thought
were immutable social commitments to equal opportunity and civil
rights. Closer to home, the District of Columbia continues to suffer
a bimodal distribution of wealth and education, and we need to focus
more aggressively on what Trinity as a leading citizen of the city
can do to promote improved educational opportunities.
These are not just issues for our classes in Political Science
or Sociology --- every person in the Trinity Community is a citizen
of the world committed to improving the human condition through
education. All of us are obliged to learn as much as we can about
the issues that will surely affect our families, our jobs, our communities
and livelihoods for years to come.
I invite all faculty, staff and students to contribute ideas about
ways in which we can elevate the level of public discussion at Trinity
about these and other pressing contemporary issues, in order to
improve their 'resolution' in our minds, the clarity with
which we understand the problems.
For my part, which is only one means of action, I intend to create
a periodic President's Forum to which I will invite you along with
outside experts to dialogue with us --- not 'lectures' in
the most formal sense, but true conversation to help us explore
the issues. Let me know if you have suggestions for the program,
or other ideas about how we can approach this.
Solutions: Another meaning of "resolution" is solution,
or settlement of an issue. Surely, we deeply desire a speedy resolution
to the War in Iraq, the continuing threat of terrorism, the mindless
violence that continues in our city. Achieving such solutions may
seem beyond our grasp at Trinity, but that does not mean we should
walk away from our civic responsibility to advocate for just, peaceful
and swift resolutions of these issues.
As an institution in the Catholic faith tradition, we have a particular
responsibility to advocate on behalf of peace and justice in all
public policies and in the actions of our public officials. Peace
and justice are the original "moral values," pre-dating the 2004
election exit polls by several thousand years of Gospel teaching
and even older religious scripture in virtually all faith traditions.
Pope John Paul II has spoken with great clarity against the War
in Iraq. He has also repeatedly admonished the wealthier nations
of the world to address the problems of poverty in the vast majority
of the world, as well as the conditions of violence and oppression
affecting women and children in particular. The Catholic defense
of life includes advocacy for civil rights and human rights everywhere.
The Sisters of Notre Dame, as we discussed in our symposium last
fall, have a congregational commitment to action for justice around
the world. We must be advocates for the kind of resolutions that
will truly end war, violence and discrimination abroad and at home.
We can never stop thinking that we can make a difference, that
we can contribute to peaceful and just resolutions of the grave
issues we face locally, nationally and internationally. We must
keep our "resolve" to make a difference each day.
Actions: Finally, "resolution" also means an action or
decree. In the months ahead, I hope we can take some formal actions
to move beyond just talking about the world issues. What will we
do to offer our help to the tsunami victims? Let's think of some
way that can be a Trinity response to this crisis.
Following-up on last fall's SND Symposium on Global Women's Education,
we are also thinking of ways that Trinity can reach out more effectively
to communities of need internationally, working with the SND global
network and the UN community.
Locally, Trinity is also moving to enlarge access to educational
opportunities in the District of Columbia. We are exploring opportunities
to offer programming in other locations in the city, and I hope
to be able to tell you more about this in the next few weeks.
Here at Trinity, there are certain formal actions we must take
in the year ahead to improve the quality and effectiveness of our
educational environment, so that we can be sure that all Trinity
graduates continue to have the strength of purpose and powerful
tools necessary to make change in our world.
We must continue to take all actions necessary to protect academic
integrity and root out plagiarism.
More positively, we will continue to promote opportunities for
Trinity students to speak and write publicly about their academic
work, and we will also promote more opportunities for faculty members
to share their research and publication more broadly with the campus
community.
We will also take the actions necessary to launch planning for
new academic facilities, including the library and science facilities,
fine arts and classrooms, to ensure the ongoing excellence of teaching
and learning at Trinity in the future. These are all on the agenda
for Trinity going forward, and 2005 will be the year that we start
the process in earnest --- though it will take many more years to
complete these projects, known collectively as the University Academic
Center.
We will create important new academic programs in 2005, including
programs in nursing and the allied health professions. We are launching
online courses in the next few weeks, and these will lead to fully
online programs in semesters to come.
In April 2005, we will greet a team of visitors from the National
Council on the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) who will
complete the process we began three years ago to secure special
accreditation for our School of Education. This action will culminate
years of hard work by our Education faculty, and will ensure that
Trinity's leadership in teacher preparation can grow even more pronounced
in the years to come.
By the end of 2005, we will have completed the majority of the
work for the Middle States Self-Study, the periodic examination
of our curricula, programs and services for the Middle States accrediting
association. I am confident that the process now underway will lead
to a strong reaffirmation of Trinity's excellence in teaching and
learning, along with a strong set of recommendations for action
going forward.
Many more items are on the action agenda for Trinity. Most important,
however, is the resolution that each member of the community brings
to the learning process. In that sense, "resolution" means a level
of determination to succeed, a sense of ambition that will lead
to true success in acquiring and using knowledge for personal, professional
and societal improvement.
May 2005 be a year of strong resolve and great fulfillment for
you. Many thanks to all members of the Trinity community who do
so much to ensure the vitality of our mission.
Happy New Year!
President Patricia A. McGuire '74
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