Dear Colleagues,
It is hard to believe that we have reached the end of 2024, and that the new year is just a few weeks away!
As we approach the winter break, I want to encourage you all to enjoy some much-deserved time off. The work we do here is important and we have accomplished so much this year as a community, including improved student success metrics, growth and innovation in enrollment, budget progress and so much more across campus.
But our work requires a lot of energy. So, please truly disconnect from work as much as you are able and take time to rest, relax and re-energize. Sleep in when you can. Spend some time doing the things you love. Connect with friends and family. The coming weeks will have their own challenges and responsibilities, so make sure to take time for yourself, taking care of yourself because you are important, and you are appreciated.
Speaking of accomplishments, tomorrow is Commencement Day, and we will celebrate the biggest successes of all as we honor more than 2,000 new NKU graduates. These new alumni invested in themselves and their unique talents over the past few years and now we are sending them back out into the world to do great things. They will join the more than 85,000 NKU alumni out there building vibrant communities and changing the world for the better.
Our remarkable graduates are the reason we work so hard. We should all reflect on their accomplishments and on how our community of devoted faculty, staff, alumni and friends helped them achieve their dreams. At the close of each semester, Commencement reminds us that we make a difference in our region and serves as a fitting new beginning for graduates as they step away from NKU and for our community as we continue in our mission and vision.
Our faculty, staff and students work hard to make this day a very special day for our graduates. Thank you all for your contributions to making these ceremonies a success. It would not be possible to celebrate our graduates without the countless individuals who contribute behind the scenes and on the stage to make this day happen.
I am grateful for each of you and for all you have done and continue to do for NKU, our learners and the community around us, and I am honored to join you in the transformational work we do.
Campus will reopen on Monday, January 6, and the spring semester officially begins on Monday, January 13. I look forward to seeing you all on campus in January. I am so excited for 2025, and I cannot wait to join you in our important work again in the new year.
From my family to yours, happy holidays!
Gratefully,
Cady Short-Thompson, Ph.D.
President, Northern Kentucky University
