Messages from the President

President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD, was joined by the Stetson University office of Grants, Sponsored Research and Strategic Initiatives, Dean Elizabeth Skomp, PhD, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of World Languages and Cultures (Russian), Melinda Hall, Associate Professor of Philosophy & Dept. Chair, Department of Philosophy and Brown Center Faculty Fellow for Scholarship and Publication, and the Faculty team making up the Principal Investigators for a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to discuss the many ways recent grants are helping to fuel faculty research opportunities.

Thursday, Jan. 21

If you have problems playing the video, you can directly visit the video's webpage for access.

Transcript of webinar.

President Christopher F. Roellke held a political roundtable following the events of Jan. 6 on Capitol Hill, impeachment proceedings, and Wednesday's inauguration and its impact on perceptions of political leaders, parties and politics in general.

National Politics

While the first few days of 2021 did not begin any less tumultuous than the past 10 months, I remain optimistic for our future. As members of this learning community, we can forge paths toward unity and recognition of our shared humanity that seems to elude us at a national level. In alignment with our mission and values, we are called to face these issues with open hearts and minds and address divergent views with civility as fully engaged citizens of our campus, communities and world.

The university leadership has closely followed the social media and news reports surrounding the events in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, and afterward. Given an FBI warning regarding potential attacks on state capital buildings on Sunday, Jan. 17, and the uncertainty surrounding Inauguration Day on Wednesday, Jan. 20, I want to let you know how Stetson University is responding.

Chief Cisco Ortiz, director of Public Safety, met with local law enforcement and strategized ways to increase patrols and collaborate to keep our campus safe over the next week. Emergency Management Teams at both campuses will monitor the situation and be present on campus.

The next few days' events may be filled with political speeches and commentary, but also with opportunities to witness history as it unfolds. As an educational institution, we take seriously our mission to “encourage the development of informed convictions, independent judgment, and lifelong commitments to learning that are characteristic features of the enlightened citizen” and therefore offer the following opportunities to engage in learning and constructive dialogue.

Leading up to this weekend and next Wednesday's inauguration, Stetson Votes is holding its Weekly Wrap-Up discussion and a watch party for the Inauguration Day speech. Details below.

The evening of Wednesday, Jan. 20, 6:30 p.m., Stetson's Cross-Cultural Center is hosting the virtual Martin Luther King Junior Life and Legacy event. The theme for this year is Recovering the Dream, and members of the Stetson community and DeLand will offer their resolutions to recognize and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I encourage the community to take part, and participants should register for the event at the link above.

Two Final Notes

First, remember to use Report It for concerns. Our on-call, Public Safety and BEST teams are prepared and on alert as always.

Second, as some may be aware, we have community members in the National Guard and have been deployed to Washington, D.C. Our thoughts are with them during the coming days as they protect our government and this country's citizens. We thank them for their service and are eager for their safe return to the Stetson campus.

In community,

Christopher F. Roellke, PhD

President

Professor of American Studies and Education

Updated Message to the Stetson Community

At the opening of his Welcome Back Webinar on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m., President Roellke updated his message to the Stetson community on the riots that broke out in our nation's capital. The video above is limited to his message, and the text of the message is posted below. 

Text Version

Earlier today, I sent a brief message to the Stetson University community reflecting on our current national context and I would like to expand just a bit on those remarks prior to getting into the primary topic for today—updating you on public health information and our plans for the Spring 2021 semester.

Today, I join other leaders in American higher education and all members of the Stetson community in condemning the violent actions in our nation's capital. I do applaud Senate and House members, from both political parties, for returning to "the people's business" just a few short hours after a very harrowing experience for all. Early this morning the House and Senate completed that work, and in less than two weeks there will be a transfer of power and we all deserve and should expect a peaceful transition. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum or how you may feel about the outcome of our 2020 elections, I am certain that you share my view that there is no place for violence when we seek to settle disputes, whether they be large or small.

I join you as well in looking forward to a better, brighter, kinder and more humane 2021. All of us at Stetson and our fellow Americans will take up the work of restoring confidence in our government and reaffirming our commitment to democracy and our commitment to each other.

As I have said throughout the fall semester and will continue to assert as we enter the Spring 2021 semester, there is no better place to tackle these critical issues than here at Stetson University. In my six months or so as your president, I have found Hatter Nation to be both collaborative and resilient and we remain committed to applying the very best forms of education to improve the human condition. Our emphasis on the whole student, values and citizenship at the undergraduate and graduate level and at the College of Law, positions Stetson to prepare our students and future leaders for the hard work we will face to heal the wounds of our country. Of course, we do not always agree on the socio-political context within which we live. In fact, as an educator, I hope we will not always agree as the sharing of divergent perspectives --and conducting this sharing in a collegial and productive manner – makes all of us better.

In my view, what happened yesterday is both tragic and unacceptable and we collectively mourn the loss of life and hope for the speediest and fullest of recoveries for those injured. We also hope that, as we move forward as a nation and as a community, we can do so peacefully to find common ground.

As an academic and residential learning community, we will be part of the work to build a more equitable and just world. We will also strive at Stetson to be a model of productively engaging in dialogue that encompasses divergent perspectives and world views. I am also certain that all of us are all feeling a mixture of emotions during this time. I ask that we take time to care for ourselves and our loved ones.

If you are struggling after the events in Washington, D.C., yesterday, the Stetson Hatter family is here for you. Whether you are scared, angry, hurt or confused, your feelings are valid and you deserve support. We hope you take comfort with family and friends and connect with other campus resources as needed.

Last semester, as we embraced themes of kindness, empathy and agency to navigate racial unrest and a global pandemic — a pandemic that is regretfully still with us- we demonstrated as a community that we are much stronger together than we are divided. We also demonstrated that we are both a resilient and collaborative community that has the ability to plow through challenges judiciously, with care and with good judgment. As we enter the Spring 2021 semester, these challenges are still with us — but again, I believe that there is no better place to be to address these challenges than in higher education more broadly and at Stetson University specifically.

I remain at the ready, as your president, as a member of our faculty and as a member of our community. I remain ready to listen, to engage, to collectively problem solve, to collaborate and to act judiciously as we move the essential enterprise of education forward. 

Let me conclude by quoting my mother, who just turned 90 years old a few short weeks ago and asserted at my wedding: omnia vincit amor, omnia vincit amor.

Love conquers all things.

In community,

Christopher F. Roellke, PhD

President and Professor of American Studies and Education

Convocation has a rich and long history at Stetson University. It's a time when the university comes together to celebrate the beginning of the new academic year, and this will clearly be a time of firsts. This is the first Convocation at Stetson for President Roellke, and for the class of 2024, perhaps it is an appropriate start of their university life. Raised in the shadow of 9/11 and the great recession of 2008, many of them have known and overcome hardships and obstacles to be here.

Just as Convocation started, one of Florida's well-known evening thunderstorms hit the DeLand area, causing a few technical difficulties for students, faculty and staff participating in the event. For those who have not had a chance to see the entire event, here is the full video with all of the welcomes and commentary from Stetson's leadership. For those who want to read a copy of President Roellke's remarks, The Importance of Kindness, a full copy is available here.

Convocation Presenters

• President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD: Welcome
• Pastor Demetris Pressley, Executive Pastor at Tabernacle of Praise and University Chaplain: Invocation
• Chair of the Board of Trustees Maureen Breakiron-Evans '76: Board of Trustees welcome
• Student Government Association President George Alderman '21: Address to Class of 2024, Litany for the Community, Hatter Community Pledge
• Executive Vice President and Provost Noel Painter, PhD: New Academic Year, New Realities
• College of Law Dean Michèle Alexandre, JD: Welcome
• School of Business Administration Dean Neal Mero, PhD: Welcome
• du-Pont Ball Library and Learning Technologies Dean Sue Ryan, MLS: Welcome
• School of Music Dean Tim Peter, DMA: Welcome
• College of Arts and Sciences Dean Elizabeth Skomp, PhD: Welcome
• Associate Professor of Music Craig Maddox, DM, 2018-2019 McEniry Award: Announcement of 2019-2020 McEniry Award winner
• Stetson Honors Council President Isabelle Ghofrani '21: Honor Pledge
• President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD: Importance of Kindness
• Pastor Demetris Pressley, Executive Pastor at Tabernacle of Praise and University Chaplain: Benediction
• Alma Mater

Dear Members of the Stetson University Community,

First and foremost, I write today with the hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and well during this exceptionally challenging time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on all of us in a myriad of ways and the virus has been especially difficult for the most vulnerable members of our community. We are also living in a time of tremendous socio-political unrest, and we have much work ahead of us to promote a diverse and inclusive community. We must be vigilant in our commitment to eradicate racism and injustice at every turn, and to ensure that the lived experience at Stetson is one that is fully aligned with our stated mission and values. Recent decisions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have further complicated our pursuit of equality of educational opportunity for so many highly valued members of our community.

Though I have been your president for less than one week, I do want you to know how much I appreciate the virtual welcoming I have received. Universally, you have reaffirmed for me that Stetson University is filled with caring, thoughtful, and insightful people—all of whom want to make a positive difference in our community and in the world.

Robust presidential transition plans, led by Board of Trustees Chair Maureen Breakiron-Evans, have been necessarily altered due to the pandemic. However, I am grateful that I was afforded the opportunity by President Emerita Wendy Libby to be actively engaged with so many of you over the last four months in much of the hard work associated with planning for Fall 2020 and beyond. I do feel as though I know Stetson better and more fully because of my participation in this unexpected series of intense dialogue and problem-solving sessions.

Our Safer Stetson Task Force has worked tirelessly to put in place smart, common-sense guidelines to promote the safety and well-being of our community. Our budget prioritization working group in DeLand, and committee at the College of Law, both composed of broad campus constituencies, quickly and diligently made recommendations for necessary reductions in our 2020-2021 budget. At both campuses, our deans and faculty have worked, and continue to work, to reimagine our academic calendar and modes of instructional delivery. This is just a small sampling of the meaningful and important collaborations that have taken place over the last several months. These efforts have been extraordinary and have been conducted under very trying circumstances in a highly evolving context. I thank you for this work. 

Regretfully, the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, particularly right here in Florida. Infection rates and hospitalizations are increasing at an alarming rate, including here in Central Florida where ICU beds are quickly reaching capacity.

I know you join me in expressing concern for all of those that have fallen ill and in extending our deepest condolences to those members of our community who have lost loved ones. Many in our community are essential workers and have put their own health at risk while striving to serve others. It is both our individual and collective responsibility to do all that we possibly can to mitigate the spread of this virus. We must act quickly, judiciously, and compassionately.

In typical Stetson fashion, we have not remained idle. Many of you advocated so effectively to urge the passing of a mask ordinance in the City of DeLand. You have adjusted to remote work with creativity, patience and ingenuity. You have joined me in making considerable sacrifices in compensation, benefits, professional travel and other expenditures to enable our students to make progress in completing a Stetson education. For all of this, I again extend my most sincere appreciation and admiration.

As we move forward in this rapidly changing and increasingly challenging context, I also want to acknowledge that we will be required to make additional adjustments in the coming weeks as we prepare for Fall 2020 and beyond. Most certainly, there are divergent perspectives on how best to proceed to promote the very best form of education Stetson can provide within the context of a pandemic that is not being contained. Our decision-making must be inclusive, collaborative, nimble, and timely.

Toward this end, I have established a much accelerated “listening and learning tour” to garner perspectives from a wide range of constituents, including virtual meetings with faculty senate leadership, students (including the leadership of the SGA and MSC), the staff council, the academic deans, the dean's advisory committee at Stetson Law, members of the board of trustees (most of them alumni), vital community partners and others. In addition, I am committing to conducting weekly live and interactive webinars every Thursday beginning on July 16^th with the goal of engaging our entire community as transparently and consistently as possible. In short, I thank you for your patience and understanding while we work on these critical issues in a very compressed time frame.

Over the next several weeks, there will be emergency meetings of presidents of both the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and the Pioneer Football League (PFL). In addition, I am fortunate to be selected as part of the Educational Advisory Board's (EAB) first cohort of over 50 new college and university presidents who will meet virtually for two hours every week for the next six weeks. I am certain that these and other forms of engagement will be very instructive and reaffirming to both me and to our University as we navigate this unprecedented context.

I know that this introductory communication with you is inherently incomplete and lacks the clarity we all desire at this moment. You are also eager to learn of the longer-term priorities your new president would like to establish. Articulating these longer-term priorities and aspirations must be postponed as our energy and intellectual capacities must be directed to our most urgent challenges. In the spirit of transparency and with a call for collaboration, these are the key short-term goals I shared with the Board of Trustees at their meeting on June 25^th:

1. To promote the health, safety, and well-being of our community in a period of considerable uncertainty, anxiety, and risks to public health.
2. To listen carefully to members of our community to garner multiple perspectives on our current context, with special emphasis on public health, racial justice, and the University's finances.
3. To operationalize a presidential communication plan so that the community is informed regularly on our COVID-19 response.
4. To sustain and enhance the positive relationship Stetson enjoys with the broader DeLand and Gulfport communities by fostering additional collaborations during this pandemic.
5. To consider appropriate mechanisms for productive, collegial, and sustained interactions among students, faculty, staff and senior leadership and the board of trustees.

As I indicated in my first address to the Stetson community back in November of last year, “I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers to the challenges and opportunities facing higher education more broadly or for Stetson more specifically. What I can pledge, however, is that I will always be committed to working with you collaboratively, with openness, with honesty, and with steadfast integrity as we seek to educate our students to lead society judiciously to good ends.”

It is with all humility and with full acknowledgment of my own limitations as an educator/leader, that I accept the challenge to move our beloved Stetson University forward. I accept this challenge with optimism, with confidence, and with tremendous excitement about Stetson's future.

I'd like to close my first official correspondence to the Stetson community with one additional remark I made during my introductory speech upon being selected as Stetson's 10^th President. I think these words, which were inspired by childhood educator Fred Roger's claim that “the way to ultimate success is to be kind,” are particularly relevant today:

Kindness not only matters, it enables us to listen, to engage with others unlike ourselves, and to consider paths we can forge together to make our community, in fact, the world-- a better place.

Difficult, and in some cases painful, decisions lie ahead for Stetson. I am convinced that kindness will go a long, long way to ensuring as positive an outcome as possible for all of us.

Stay safe, stay well, and stay strong.

Sincerely yours,

Chris Roellke, PhD
President