Originally sent July 18:

I am very pleased to acknowledge Dr. Sue Mattison as the new Provost for Drake University on her first official day in the position. Given Sue’s extended transition since her announcement in January, I am sure that she has become well known to many of you over the last six months. Nevertheless, please take time over the next few weeks to again welcome Sue to Drake. She is very excited to finally be in the position full-time and looks forward to working with all of us to move Drake forward.

I also want to thank Joe Lenz once again for serving this past year as Interim Provost. I will be forever thankful to Joe for having said “yes” when in the spring of 2015 I asked him to step into this role. He has done a wonderful job. Please find an opportunity to thank Joe for rendering such outstanding service to our community.

As we welcome a new chief academic officer to Drake, we should take a moment to reflect on the importance of our mission. What we do makes a real difference in individual lives and in society at large. In the last month we have seen unbelievable acts of violence take place around the world – Orlando, Istanbul, Dhaka, Nice and elsewhere. Whatever other motivations might be in play behind these events, certainly they share the common denominators of hate and intolerance. Education is one of the most powerful antidotes to these forces. Education opens minds and hearts – it creates understanding and union where none existed before. This is what we are about and we have our role to play in making the world a better place by becoming ever more engaged, locally and globally.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer and finding some time to recharge. I am heading to Yellowstone tomorrow with family for some hiking and camping. I will be back at Drake two weeks from today for the start of Iowa Private College Week. Of course, a few weeks after that it is Welcome Weekend and we are then off and running.

—Marty Martin