Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Bright futures.
For McCormack Graduate School. For our recent graduates.
Last month, amidst finals and capstones, more than 75 students, alumni, faculty, and staff members left the classrooms and computers for a day of discovery, dreaming, and designing our shared destiny at McCormack. We shared stories of teamwork, explored our common values, and began to write down the recipe for McCormack's "special sauce" - what makes us distinctive among other policy and global studies schools. Whether witnessed in students' achievement, one unit's success story of making a difference in shaping public policy, or the college as a whole, there is no doubt that there is something very special about MGS.
Some said it was our shared commitment to social justice and social opportunity. Others emphasized our collaborative nature and our respect for the community and for diverse voices in shaping research and policy proposals.
Others suggested that it is our interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to problem solving, our entrepreneurial nature, or our desire to help shape Government 2.0 - or even to create new forms of governance. The day was both invigorating and exhausting, but it was evident that all who participated feel deeply about our school and our bright future.
In subsequent McCormack Impact letters, I will share our progress as we continue along the path of what is called Appreciative Inquiry. In the interim, I welcome your thoughts about what ingredients makes up our "special sauce" .
On the final day of May, when the temperatures soared into the 90s, our faculty donned their academic regalia to celebrate with dozens of McCormack's newest alumni who earned graduate degrees and certificates in conflict resolution, gerontology, international relations, public affairs, public policy, and women in politics and public policy. As they enter or reenter this brave new world, I have every confidence they are the latest group of change masters. On behalf of a proud faculty and staff at the McCormack School, I wish them great success as they create a better future, beginning today.
Please enjoy our commencement photos here and on Facebook. Read the many stories of their awards and accomplishments in this newsletter. After doing so, I'm sure you, too, will agree with me that their futures are very bright, indeed.
