Greetings! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. The Center staff has been busy this past semester working with our students and developing plans for the future. We had sixteen students working at the Center this semester and they were all successful in completing their projects as they worked with the collections and on our newest exhibits! We had several students who graduated, and I want to wish them all the best as they go out to become our new world citizens and community leaders.
A huge heartfelt thank you to our generous donors who helped to keep the Center’s staff working throughout the pandemic. Your thoughtfulness and generosity enabled several of our students to complete their internship requirements for graduation this year. You also gave us the ability to plan and work towards re-envisioning and re-imagining our mission and the future of the Center of Southwest Studies. I also want to thank community members Richard Ballantine, Henry Hooper, Bev Rich, Jill Seyfarth; Provost Cheryl Nixon; FLC History Professor Michael Martin, FLC student Elise Boulanger; and, staff members Julie Tapley-Booth, Liz Quinn MacMillan and Nik Kendziorski who served on the Center’s Leadership Team throughout this past year and provided valuable advice and insights as we worked on a Sustainable Operating Plan for the Center of Southwest Studies.
There are going to be some changes over the next couple of years, but these will be focused primarily on strengthening the academic side of what we do. We are also looking at new ways to support our Four Corner communities through outreach and engagement. We anxiously await the days when we can welcome you back to the Center for in-person exhibit openings, lectures in the Lyceum, fun events, and behind-the-scenes tours of the collections.
I am confident that we will be coming out of this pandemic better positioned on the Fort Lewis College campus and stronger than ever! I look forward to seeing you again soon!
With gratitude,
Shelby Tisdale