Dear Colleagues,

We officially start the academic year 2025-2026. I look forward to seeing and meeting all of you this week as we reassemble and welcome new and returning students, and start this new journey with them. 

Through our work with the students, we will do what we do best, plant and grow the SEEDS for self-discovery, expanded imagination, broader empathy, and confident agency. 

As a college, we will also be taking on our own journey of self discovery and self narration. Whether we call it branding, visioning, or strategic planning, it all comes down to shaping our story, and then actualizing it.  

Historians research the past and document it. They are bound by accuracy of facts, precision of dates, completeness of perspectives, and faithfulness to the truth. They record the brave and noble as well as the cruel and inhumane.  Historians are outside observers, and neutral conscientious interpreters.

Saint Paul's Cathedral, Photo Credit: By Diliff

Stories serve to guide and regulate our current decisions and actions so that they contribute to the quality and aesthetic of the narrative. James Loehr, author of The Power of Story writes, 

“But since our destiny follows our stories, it’s imperative that we do everything in our power to get our stories right.” 

My favorite story about the power of narrative is told about the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London in 1666. 

Architect Christopher Wren, commissioned with the rebuilding project, walked by the worksite and stopped to talk to the workers. He asked three workers what they were each doing. 



• The first one barely raised his head and answered, “I am digging dirt.” 
• The second, adjusted his posture, paused for a minute, and said, “I am earning a living to feed my family.” 
• The third stood tall, looked up proudly, extended his arms to embrace all of his colleagues, and responded, “We are building a cathedral!” 

Here's to 2025-26. Let us welcome our new faculty, staff, and students, and let us build a grand cathedral!

See you all on the 28th,

Fatma

We are excited to welcome the talented faculty and staff who have joined CHSS this year. Each brings unique expertise, perspectives, and passion that will strengthen our classrooms, programs, and scholarship. We look forward to the contributions they will make as we continue to grow and thrive together. See the full list and read their bios.