It is difficult to bid farewell to so many people
who have given so much of themselves in service to the University.
This month, more than 400 faculty and staff will retire, as the
University faces one of the greatest periods of change in recent
history. This group of retirements represents a significant turning
point for the Amherst campus, when you, the builders of this University,
entrust your work and entrust your dreams to another generation.
Each person who is retiring this month leaves the
University with a unique legacy. For some, that legacy is documented
in a curriculum vitae rich with scholarly publications and professional
contributions; for others, it is etched in the minds and hearts
of students and colleagues who remember a gesture of support,
a word of kindness, an extra measure of effort to get the job
done right.
For all you have done, we are grateful. On behalf
of the University, I would like to thank you for your effort over
the years to make the University stronger, more resilient, more
capable, and more caring than you found it.
To the members of the faculty: When called to transform
a regional institution into a leading research university of international
stature, you answered. You answered with intellectual passion,
with an abiding commitment to students' success, with a zeal for
the application and dissemination of knowledge that has enriched
our community and our world.
To the members of the staff: The University works
because you do. When a job needs to be done, you do it. When a
difficult problem arises, you are the one to whom others turn
for just the right solution, for just the right way to make things
work for the best interests of all. Your dedication to service,
especially to students, has greatly increased the quality of the
living, learning, and working environment on this campus.
The poet Kahlil Gibran once wrote that work is "love
made visible." In the end, each of you, in your own way,
has made your love visible through your work: a love of ideas,
a love of exceptional service, a love of students, a love of the
University - especially of what the University might become.
There is a great sadness in saying farewell, yet
there is a great joy in celebrating all you have done for the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. Congratulations on all you
have accomplished! The quality of this institution is a testament
to your vision and your dedication.
Although we may no longer find you in familiar places
in the days ahead, your work will not be forgotten. Our commitment
to you is to carry on, to continue working with passion and integrity
in order to insure that at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,
excellence remains within reach for your grandchildren and for
generations to come.
Our commitment to you is to fulfill your dreams
for the University.
Thank you, farewell, and enjoy!
Yours in gratitude,
