From the Dean: Welcome to fall semester

Dear staff and faculty,

Welcome, or welcome back, to the Mary Frances Early College of Education! I especially want to welcome the 11 new faculty who are joining us this fall and all the staff who have joined us in the last year. Please make a point of reaching out to these individuals to introduce yourself and welcome them to the College. As well, please be intentional about connecting with those who joined us in 2020 and 2021 as many of them have had limited opportunities to meet colleagues.

My theme since I became dean in 2018 has been community because if people “feel rooted in a community, if they feel a sense of belonging, they are more willing to explore and take risks that help them learn, precisely because they know they have some place and someone who serves as an anchor” (DeRuy, 2016). As we embark on fall semester, I hope we will all make a concerted effort to build community by reconnecting with those we’ve known previously, being intentional about meeting new people—especially those who are different from us—and engaging in campus and community events.

I also hope each of us will commit to being a part of UGA’s well-being initiative by attending to our own physical, social, financial, community, and career well-being and that of other members of our community, particularly students. Please make yourself aware of the University’s many resources for students so you can connect them when they need help, and please familiarize yourself with the University’s well-being resources for employees as well. Caring for others is one way we strengthen our community.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Mary Frances Early’s historic graduation from UGA in 1962, I am reminded of her charge that “We must activate ourselves and take on the responsibility to help make this world the kind of place it can be.” The last couple of years have been challenging in so many ways, and we face new challenges this year, but we control how we respond to those challenge and how our response shapes our community. I look forward to working together to make our College the kind of place it can be.

Denise A. Spangler
Dean