2021 … Here we are starting another semester at Purdue under extraordinary circumstances because of the COVID-19 pandemic. No one signed up for this, yet here we are.
We first met this challenge nearly one year ago, coming back from spring break and going to online instruction. We spent most of our summer preparing for a safe, on-campus student experience in the fall. And, by nearly every measure, we succeeded beyond what most of us imagined we could do. It was not perfect for us or the students, which came as no surprise. We were not looking for perfection, only working hard to do our best. Doing our best is all that can be expected when faced with the unknown.
Thomas Paine’s quote comes to mind: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” The context for this quote is different but relevant for the pandemic we still face. This quote is part of a larger statement in which Paine later states, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”
We all do important work at Purdue and in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute for the state and nation we serve, and for the students who invest their time and money with us in order to better themselves through higher education. I know these are difficult times for all of us. Better times are coming, and we should look forward to the day when we go back to “normal.” When that happens, I am sure that we will value what we do even more because of the challenges we faced.
I wish you all the best on the start of the semester and am confident that we will continue to do our best, just as we have done in the past.
Boiler Up!
