As I write this welcome message, all I can think about is how proud I am of our community. I’ve been an academic for nearly 25 years, I’m solidly Generation X, and I’m currently an unexpected (and unwitting) homeschooler of 3 who decided to be in charge of a department right before what was likely the most challenging year of our lifetime. Although this seems like the perfect recipe for a bitter, jaded and defeatist outlook on life, I find myself uncharacteristically optimistic and motivated.
I won’t lie, my first semester as chair was exhausting, but faculty, staff and students came together in remarkable ways. And our excellence continued to shine through. In this issue of InForm we highlight just a few inspiring examples.
Workshops from the graduate student-led Anti-Racist Working Group helped faculty, staff and students process the global rise in demands for social justice. This effort continues and is one of a number of ways people in the department are committed to Ohio State’s mission of “education for citizenship.”
Although we couldn’t travel, our students still engaged in an educational cultural exchange with students at The University of Cape Town. Together they processed what it means to be going through this pandemic from a global perspective. I hope someday very soon these students will be able to meet in person!
We profile Dr. Valarie Williams who was awarded the prestigious Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award and give a shout-out to some of the other impressive grants and awards our faculty received this semester.
Finally, we bid a happy retirement to a beloved faculty member. After 27 years at Ohio State and a stellar career, Dr. Karen Eliot has retired. The department honored her with an emotional Zoom tribute where the love and gratitude for this esteemed teacher came through all of our computer screens.
As we start the new semester still under pandemic restrictions, I’m confident that we will not only get through this together, but we will also continue to inspire and support each other.
Looking back, moving forward…
Dr. Nadine
