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Dear Colleagues,

The start of the academic year has featured some long-awaited, wonderful moments: a joyous Welcome Weekend, an inspiring Mass of the Holy Spirit attended by more than 400; and a smooth start to classes that are 90% in person— including some being held outdoors around campus. Thank you to each and every one of you for contributing to the vibrancy, positive energy, and supportive environment for our students after 18 difficult months of almost entirely remote learning.

We are grateful and proud that more than 98% of our faculty and staff, and over 98% of students, have uploaded their proof of COVID-19 vaccination under our vaccine mandate. This is a tremendous act of care and concern for the wellbeing of our community. The small number of people who have approved exemptions are getting tested weekly.

This hard work is paying off: Testing on campus has resulted in extremely low positivity rates (only 10 positive cases since the start of fall term, out of more than 11,000 tests).

We are excited to welcome several thousand alumni and family members to our Grand Reunion festivities this week, Oct. 7-10. For COVID safety, all guests are required to be vaccinated or show a recent negative test and, at the small number of indoor events, to wear masks and practice social distancing. Thank you to the many faculty and staff who are volunteering for events, including the long-delayed, in-person commencement festivities for 750 members of the Class of 2020. Our campus is invited to take part in a vigil on Thursday evening entitled “The Community We Are” acknowledging the pain that some of our �����ƽ�� community members have experienced— and offering healing and celebration moving forward.

This week is also special because our 2021-22 Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts, acclaimed actor BD Wong, will participate in a number of events, including  on October 6 and at a sold-out performance at Mayer Theatre Oct. 7. We are so pleased for our students to learn from his incredible work as an actor and be inspired by his dedication as an activist.

In 2014, we began training and employing inclusive search practices to ensure we cast the broadest possible net for talented candidates to increase the diversity of our faculty and staff. This fall, our excellent cohort of 27 new incoming assistant professors is 63 percent female and about three-fourths professors of color. This is our most diverse group of tenure-track faculty ever and a testament to the intentionality and buy-in across the university that our educators should possess discipline expertise as well as diverse life experiences and perspectives to enrich our campus and meet the needs of our increasingly diverse student body. 

We are delighted to be able to celebrate the dedication of the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation (SCDI) on Friday, October 15. The Campus will celebrate in the afternoon, with a dedication, reception and ribbon cutting event in the evening. SCDI is one of the largest multidisciplinary STEM campuses in the country. Our students will benefit greatly from the latest equipment including 3-D printers, a robotics systems lab, and virtual reality equipment, as well as vast, flexible, collaborative spaces for students and professors to conduct the cross-functional, innovative work needed to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.

Last week I addressed in an update some alarming reports of possible predatory drug use or sexual assaults near or on our campus. We are investigating and urge anyone with specific knowledge to report. Any instances of our students being violated—or perpetrating violence—are deeply damaging to both students involved and to our collective sense of safety, trust, and care.

Faculty or staff who would like to help in prevention, education, or survivor support are encouraged to contact Bree Van Ness or Tiger Simpson in the Wellness Center. They have a wealth of training and information including on interpersonal violence prevention, bystander intervention, and survivor advocacy and support, among other topics. 

We have begun the process to hire an ombuds officer who will help resolve questions and concerns such as those regarding University policies and procedures; communication issues between faculty and/or staff; and informal conflict management among individuals or groups. The position will be posted soon, and will report to Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Shá Duncan Smith.

In the Sept. 17 Community and Communications email, I committed to hosting regular Open Forums. I invited faculty and staff to the first such forum on Oct. 20 in the executive conference room of St. Joseph Hall. This month’s prepared topics will include enrollment, return to campus and classrooms, and governance, followed by Q&A. Pease send questions you’d like addressed during the Q&A . At the November Open Forum, we will share updates on the final fall 2021 enrollment, endowment, fundraising and other indicators of our financial health.

For those who were unable to attend the fun Faculty/Staff Welcome on Sept. 14, we offered a hearty, in-person welcome to our newest leaders. Please join me in warmly welcoming these highly accomplished leaders to Santa Clara! 

I hope that your term is off to a great start and that you are encountering each other often in ways that enrich your lives.

Take care,

Lisa