CommUNITY Week mission accomplished; feedback needed
By Dr. Lawrence T. Potter Jr.
Executive director of Institutional Diversity
Now that the dust has settled, I would like to thank all the supporters and participants during the inaugural CommUNITY Week Celebration. In my estimation, the week was a success and our mission was accomplished – that is, to promote civility, community and collective responsibility.
As a Catholic and urban institution of higher learning, we witnessed our campus model behavior in the “practice of community.” The week received mixed responses, but we firmly believe that slow motion is better than no motion. To that end, I would like to encourage everyone who participated in CommUNITY Week to provide the Office of Institutional Diversity with feedback on how to enhance and improve CommUNITY Week in fall 2007. Please visit our Web site to complete an online evaluation under “forms.” Your comments and ratings will be kept confidential and anonymous.
A special congratulations to Shannon Kujawski – winner of the Diversi-Tee/Communi-Tee Shirt Design Contest. Shannon will receive a $150 Bookstore gift certificate for her winning design which can be seen on the Office of Institutional Diversity’s Web site. The contest was sponsored by St. Thomas Activities and Recreation. Unfortunately, there is not a winner in the CommUNITY Week drawing for a Cub Foods gift card valued at $100. The drawing is sponsored by UST alumnus Bernie Hesse ’79 on behalf of UFCW Local 789. To enter, individuals had to attend at least 10 of the 21 CommUNITY Week events. Fortunately, the Office of Institutional Diversity will hold a drawing later in the semester for students, faculty and staff who attend at least three diversity initiatives sponsored by my office between Oct. 23 and Dec. 5. A listing regarding these initiatives will be announced in the coming week. The grand prize will be the Cub Foods gift card.
For me, “community” is a state of being and practice where human dignity and individuality are respected, affirmed and valued; where inclusion is visible, not invisible; where responsibility is owned by every stakeholder. The Office of Institutional Diversity and CommUNITY Week Steering Committee envision this kind of community at St. Thomas.
Again, a special thank you to all volunteers who graciously gave of their time, creativity, resources and energy to plan, kick off, and assist our campus “community” work toward “respecting, affirming and valuing the greater mosaic.”
