Dear AeroAstro Community,

I wanted to take the time to thank each and every one of you who took the time to participate in our recent Visiting Committee, whether it was presenting your research or speaking candidly with our VC members about your sense of the Department and what we are doing well, and where we can improve.

In the coming weeks, you will receive an opportunity to review and provide feedback to the proposed revisions of our strategic plan. This document articulates the mission, vision, values and priorities of the Department. One of the key takeaways from the initial feedback provided by the Visiting Committee was improving upon the sense of culture and inclusion at every level in the Department, and this represents an important first step in forming the foundation of our community that will help us move forward together.

As your Department Head, I want to reiterate my commitment to addressing this feedback around culture. We need to improve our culture because one of our values that we aspire to is nurturing an open, diverse and supportive community that consistently learns by inviting all members to give feedback and reflect collectively. Not only is it the right thing to do, but also our ability to continue to be world-class leaders in education and research in aerospace will be greatly improved by this open, inclusive community. I will continue to work closely with all of you to explore and facilitate ideas around this.

Lastly, you may have noticed the Monthly Roundup is sporting a new look and feel! We envision the Roundup to be one of the main mechanisms not only to share important information but also to celebrate your accomplishments with the AeroAstro community, so please continue to let us know when something exciting happens.