I was invited to present an overview of CoLA to the Board of Trustees last week, and was very happy to wax rhapsodic on the great success of the college, our strong and innovative programming, our excellent internship and community engagement opportunities, and our great students. In preparing for the presentation, the Dean's Office pulled together some CoLA Highlights that I want to share with everyone. I hope you enjoy some of our exciting and interesting numbers.

Wright State had a HUGE turn-out for our Diversity in the Multicultural Millennium conference last week which brought over 500 people from across the nation onto campus to grapple with issues of Affirmative Action. Kudos to Kimberly Barrett, VP for Multicultural Affairs and Community Engage-ment, Assistant Patricia Jones, and everyone else who helped pull all this together. I saw many of our CoLA colleagues at the conference including William Irvine, Philosophy, who spoke on Diversity and Its Critics, and Ksenia Bonch Reeves, Modern Languages, who presented a poster on Service Learning - Beginning Spanish: Diversity in Action. Our students were a highlight, especially the Paul Laurence Dunbar Chorale, who sang beautifully under the direction of Robert Stockton, Music, as well as our dance students who performed as a part of DCDC2. I also want to thank In-Hong Cha, Music, and Spencer Brannon, a CoLA student and Student Government Chief of Staff, who joined me on the Planning Committee. Great Job to all!

Most of our advisors from the CoLA Advising Office are in Salt Lake City this past week at the National Academic Advising Association's annual conference learning about best practices and new ideas so they can continue to be prepared to help our students achieve success. Assistant Dean LaKeysha Catron and advisors Forest Wortham, Ann Barr, and Mel Brown were at the conference. With the addition of Kathleen Kollman and Penny Wipert, they make up our fantastic advising team. I look forward to hearing all about what is going on in the advising world and how we can best serve our students.

I want to wrap back around again to the Robert and Elaine Stein Art Galleries and the current Unwoven Light exhibit by thanking Gallery Coordinator Tess Cortes and all-around handyman Landon Crowell and their crew for helping install the exhibit (and I am sure, take it down). I have heard that Matt Benjamin's Design Technology students had a field night in the exhibit setting up their own light show. The photos are stunning - it would have been wonderful to be there! In addition, Jason Deibel brought his Physics students to the exhibit to learn about light waves and how they travel. These are perfect examples of collaboration and exactly how we want the liberal arts to impact inward and outward.

I am looking forward to all the CELIA Pride and Prejudice events taking place right now, especially the Regency Ball on Saturday night! My daughter wants to wear her gypsy costume. We shall see. Check out the events at http://www.wright.edu/celia/events/pride-prejudice-the-bicentennial .