Welcome to the Spring 2022 semester, and welcome to Pace Now.
This new year isn’t kicking off as we’d all hoped. We’re saddened to see Omicron surging, and we’re disappointed to be returning in a time of heightened precautions.
But I know that we’re also charging forward at Pace University, and making positive changes for our students, our campuses, and our community. Our move to remote learning for the first two weeks of the semester will help us de-densify our campuses to keep people safe, even while allowing for some parts of normal college life to resume.
We’re welcoming a big new group of spring semester students—on top of the biggest incoming class in years that joined us in the fall.
We’re moving ahead on Pace Forward, our powerful new Strategic Plan, identifying opportunities for new and interdisciplinary investment that will serve our students, our community, and local employers. Pace Forward is guiding us as we embrace changes in the worlds of education and work so that we can continue delivering on our historic mission of Opportunitas.
Later today we’re holding a Community Conversation for staff and faculty, to keep everyone updated on everything going on at Pace, including our return-to-campus plans. And next month, on February 14, I’ll be delivering the annual State of the University address to the full Pace Community, going into detail about where Pace stands today and where we’re headed. This year I’ll speak from Pleasantville, livestreamed to all three campuses.
It makes me proud, humble, and grateful to be part of this community.
I spent our recent break exploring some of the many things there are to do in and around our campuses. Thanks to our ever-changing weather, I got to see the year’s first snowfall in Central Park one day, while I played tennis in Riverside Park on another. I visited the home of the great American painter Edward Hopper right across the river from our Westchester campuses in Nyack, and (with my vaccine card, booster, and proper distance!) I tried out new restaurants in Lower Manhattan.
As I reflected on the semester we ended, and have watched the new one taking shape, I remain so appreciative of the extraordinary effort so many here at Pace make every day, especially during these unpredictable times. It makes me proud, humble, and grateful to be part of this community.
I hope you were able to relax during the break, too, and I hope you’re as excited as I am to be back. We’re a strong and resilient community. And we’re going to have a great semester.
Calling all proposals for this year’s Institute for Teaching and Learning. Submit your interactive workshop or presentation that celebrates stories of resilience, diversity, and wellness through challenging times. Faculty should submit their proposals no later than February 27.
The Great Resignation. Remote Work. COVID-19 and the future of work. You’ve heard it all, but what does it mean? Talent Management expert Ibraiz Tarique, PhD, breaks down the ever-evolving relationship between employers and the people who truly make workplaces tick.
At Pace, Aissatou Gningue has consistently challenged herself. She’s been a UN Millennium Fellow, Orientation leader, and is launching a new Entrepreneurship Club—in addition to being in a five-year MBA program and double majoring in accounting and political science with a minor in pre-law. Her philosophy: “What’s the point if it’s not challenging?”