Dear all,

The rush in the corridors and the general air of busy-ness in the College of Education are signs that another academic year is ending. For so many of our students, a new chapter of their lives is about to begin. The graduation gowns have arrived in the Dean’s office. The spring in the steps of our staff, faculty and students is audible. Students are greeting me with a mixture of sadness and glee. Outside, warmth and sunshine has finally returned. The shimmering new leaves on the trees testify to the endless renewal that is life. Rows of corn shoots are bursting from the most fertile soils on the planet. Fields of fluttering dandelion seed heads speak potentiality to the breeze.

So, here we are again. Convocation is upon us. Every year it is thus, and in no year is it less thrilling.

Congratulations to all our graduating students. Our hearts are bursting with joy for your accomplishments, which we also share in some significant measure. You are ours and we are yours, as the threads of scholarship, hard work and achievement bind us together. We expect you to be the beacons that the world needs today as much as ever. You are committed, compassionate, and well-prepared. You are expert educators, no less. You are equipped to understand and engage appropriately the changing demographics that are bringing much more diversity to our social fabric, increasing gaps in economic fortunes that continue to exclude too many from a good life, divisive politics that mock the promises of democracy, and environmental trends that insist on our attention.

Educators cannot stand on the sidelines or be concerned only with their personal advancement. Our Illinois graduating class knows that we have purposefully prepared each of you to be courageous leaders, thoughtful collaborators, passionate scholars and educators committed to transforming others.

You – we – are a special breed of professionals. Education and knowledge have always been the forces that unite as well as divide societies. As teachers, educational administrators, or researchers you will have some part of the future in your hands. This is no gratuitous cliché.

Thank you for choosing our College to underpin your life’s journey. Thank you for respecting and embracing what we offered you. And thank you for making us so proud. Stay with us into the future. May you become all that you have dreamt you can be. Be assured, in return, that we will travel beside you and will welcome you back on many and varied returns.

Sincere and hearty thanks also, as always, to all in our College community for your contributions to our graduating class’s successes. Together we enter another notable page in the history of our Illinois College of Education.

Wishing you all a very happy summer.

Dean Mary Kalantzis