I have been sharing thoughts regularly since my return to the School of Business after 15 months in the Provost’s office. In June, I reflected on George Floyd’s death and in August, I urged us all to be active—to vote and to respond to the census. As I look at the election, the big news is fuller engagement. At this writing, we know that over 66% of eligible voters voted, well above the 60% engagement in 2016. We responded to the imperative to choose. Engagement is good for our democracy and our communities.

As former interim Provost and current UConn School of Business Dean, I am very aware of the important role our international students play in the vibrant intellectual life of our community. Whether international students who learn here decide to stay in the United States, return to their country of origin, or become global citizens, we all learn and benefit from engaging with them. We are a country of immigrants and a deeply diverse student community enriches us all.

As I wrote about George Floyd’s death last month, I asked that we focus on action, not just reiterating our decades of sadness. Indeed, the long-term shifts necessary to achieve true equality involve complex and substantive action, enlisting millions of citizens in a sustained effort to re-weave the fabric of our politics and culture. It is no small undertaking, yet absolutely necessary.

Dear Members of the School of Business Community,

As I return this month to the Dean’s chair following a year as interim University Provost, I am deeply impressed and proud of the School of Business students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the UConn School of Business,

George Floyd's death has galvanized the moral center of our nation. Sadly, his is but the latest of not just years, but centuries of violence and inhumanity against people of color.