By the time you read this, I will be in Syracuse, New York, with our UMass Dartmouth team at the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) Conference to present our transformative work in community engagement. Ranging from the Historical Landmarks project conducted by our undergraduate students in the class of Professor Cristina Mehrtens for the 350^th anniversary of the Town of Dartmouth, to the Clemente Course in the Humanities led by Professor Mark Santow, and the Miss Representation to Mass Representation project developed by Assistant Dean of Students Juli Parker -- among others -- UMass Dartmouth leads by example, consistent with the CUMU tenet that "the university is an integral part of society" and best serves it by assuming an active leadership role in confronting educational, economic, and social challenges. Hats off to other presenters: Dean Adrian Tio, Leduc Center for Civic Engagement Director Matt Roy, Student Trustee Jacob Miller, alumna Emily Reinauer; and Professors Pamela Karimi, Lisa Maya Knauer, Morgan Peters, Margaret Zarrillo, Marilyn Asselin, Maryellen Brisbois, and Kathryn Kavanagh.

Did you know that in 2013, greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. increased by 2.9% and NOAA meteorologists reported the hottest summer on record? Growing global disaffection from perceived inaction on climate change was manifested recently in the United Nations Climate Summit attended by 100 presidents of nations around the world and the People's Climate March in New York City where 311,000 people assembled. UMass Dartmouth and higher education institutions demonstrate leadership through a panoply of sustainability initiatives that are reducing fossil fuel consumption, and in an op-ed article in the Standard Times on October 1^st, (click here), I summarized some of them.

At the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment Compact (ACUPCC) Climate Leadership Summit in Boston last week, I joined our sustainability team composed of Assistant Director Jamie Jacquart, Associate Provost Tesfay Meressi, Dean Steve Lohrenz, and Assistant Vice Chancellors Michael Hayes and Mike LaGrassa, who displayed a UMass Dartmouth exhibit at the conference's Sustainability Showcase. At the conference, I facilitated a session on "Community and Regional Partnerships: The President as Civic Leader," where President John Dunn of Western Michigan University and President Paul Fonteyn of Green Mountain College spoke about their institutions' sustainability partnerships. Three presenters in particular caught our attention: Brian Swett, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Spaces for the city of Boston; Kathy Jacobs, former Assistant Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Director of the team of 300 experts who recently released the seminal National Climate Assessment report; and Kate Gordon, Executive Director for Risky Business, who conveyed the findings of the landmark report, American Climate Prospectus: Economic Risks in the United States. Will you share your ideas to further reduce UMass Dartmouth's carbon footprint, create a culture of sustainability, and achieve climate resilience and adaptation?

Congratulations to Professor Robert Waxler, who received the John R. Manson-Carl Robinson Award at the New England Council on Crime and Delinquency's 75^th Annual Training Institute! Professor Waxler received the award on behalf of the Changing Lives through Literature program pioneered by him with Judge Robert Kane and former New Bedford District Court probation officer Wayne St. Pierre, intended to use literature as a way of reaching hardened criminals.

Recently, a student wrote me to acknowledge the dedication of our athletic training staff, "The staff sees so many athletes at one time, it is amazing to me how they can manage to give people such individualized attention. They want to see their athletes healthy and performing at their best. I've seen so many people come into the training room, recovering, and going back to playing better than they could have thought possible. The staff sees potential in every athlete and do their best to help the athlete realize his or her own potential . . ." Plaudits to them, especially Wendy Kirby, Kevin Pickering, Jess Werner, and Dan Guertin!

Thank you to Professor Alan Hirshfeld, Observatory staff, and the Astronomical Society of New England for their Autumn Open House for educational outreach and public viewing, although the first event on October 4^th was cancelled due to inclement weather. Carl Sagan once wrote, "Before we invented civilization our ancestors lived mostly in the open out under the sky . . . Even today the most jaded city dweller can be unexpectedly moved upon encountering a clear night sky studded with thousands of twinkling stars."