Thanksgiving is behind us, and our students are preparing for finals. Best of luck to all as we enter this final push to the semester's end and a much-deserved holiday break.

I have a fantastic piece of news that we just learned from the UW-Madison campus. Our students' average debt load upon graduation, which has been hovering between $125,000 and $135,000 for the last three years, has dropped to $106,000. Although all of the reasons for this decrease are not known, I know that the support of our donors, who provide our students with scholarships, and the Office of Academic Affairs, which gives our students financial advising, have likely contributed substantially to this welcome decline in student debt.

We also continue to move forward with the final plans for our new student learning center. We will select a contractor in early 2016 and begin the remodeling process in early spring. We hope to complete construction of this space by late 2016, which will significantly enhance the education we provide our students. As I have previously highlighted, this project will quadruple our clinical skills laboratory space and create an active integrated learning area that will accommodate all of our students for small group learning as well as other innovative teaching methods.

I'd like to welcome Nancy Parkinson, our new assistant dean of human resources. She will replace Becky Badimassoud, who is retiring this month. I want to thank Becky for all that she has done for the school throughout the course of her career. She has been an invaluable member of the SVM team.

One final reminder as we enter what is traditionally a season of giving. Although the Partners in Giving campaign deadline was November 30, you can still make a gift online any time throughout the year. You can choose from more than 500 charitable organizations, and I encourage you to demonstrate the generosity of the SVM by donating through this campaign. If you've already donated, you have my sincere thanks.

I wish each of you all of the best during the coming holidays and the New Year.