University Park, IL,
28
August
2017
|
11:41 AM
America/Chicago

President Maimon Welcomes New Academic Year

Dear Members of the GSU Community,

As the new academic year begins, Governors State University is alive with activity.

On August 21, students, faculty, staff, and neighborhood residents came together as a community to watch the solar eclipse. That stunning event reminds us that the human drama takes place within a shared universe and that we all travel together on Planet Earth. Universities play a significant role in that journey. We are the agents of civilization. “More and more,” says twentieth-century author H. G. Wells, “civilization is a race between education and catastrophe.”

Catastrophic events, most recently in Charlottesville, remind us that education is the key to a positive future. GSU’s mission of inclusivity, diversity, and excellence has never been more important.

Fulfilling that mission means that learning is at the center of all we do. All of us are life-long learners. And HERE, at GSU, YOU, whether you are a student, professor, administrator, staff member, alumnus, or community member, ARE an individual with unique strengths and ideas. We mentor one student at a time and that individual attention leads to civic engagement, successful careers, and fulfilling lives.

We believe in identifying a mission before selecting a major, committing to a graduate degree, or planning a research agenda. At every level, we focus on what you want to accomplish in the world as it revolves on its axis.

2017-18 is a landmark year for GSU. On May 19, 2018, we will graduate our first freshman class, demonstrating the transformations possible through our award-winning undergraduate program. Our Dual Degree Program (DDP) graduates will march with cords braiding the colors of their community college with GSU’s black and white. Many graduates will be the first (but not the last!) in their families to receive a university diploma. Students achieving advanced degrees—master’s and doctorate—will walk across the stage with the symbols of their high accomplishments. All will be better prepared to fulfill their life-time missions.

HERE in the Chicago suburbs, we are committed to opening up the world for YOU and helping you to discover who you ARE.

With hope and confidence, I joyfully welcome you to the new academic year at Governors State University.

Sincerely,

Elaine P. Maimon, Ph.D.

President