Dear Luther Community,

Today marks the first day of my second year as Luther College’s eleventh president. On this day in 2019, I was getting to know people, learning the names of buildings, discovering restaurants and shops in Decorah, and thinking ahead to the promise of new work together to advance the mission of this institution and to affirm its impact both locally and globally.

My inauguration theme of “Always Becoming” was not imagined for a global pandemic or for a national and urgent period of coming to terms with the enduring reality of racism in our country, but I repeat the phrase often. What does this mean? What does it truly mean to be open—as individuals, as a college, as a nation—to becoming something better than we are? 

I have mostly hated the pandemic and the way it has disrupted our lives and caused illness and death. But I have also loved the way it has forced us to focus on creative solutions for keeping Luther going and how it has allowed me (through working from my home between prairie and woods) to pay attention to which birds pass through or nest in my yard this spring, and to value the local farmers who have sustained (literally sustained) the community through it all. I hope that we retain some of what we have learned about focus, once distraction returns with the advent of effective treatments or a vaccine for COVID-19.

I have, with you, grieved and mourned the lack of progress on achieving racial justice in our country, but I embrace this opportunity to go to the deepest places of discomfort and vulnerability with colleagues and students, as we consider how Luther College, in particular, can live more fully into its stated commitments regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Summer is typically fairly quiet on Luther’s campus, since faculty are on nine-month contracts. And this summer there is certainly less in-person activity than usual, since we are not hosting the usual camps and activities. But it is far from quiet, in a virtual sense. Many academic departments are having earnest Zoom discussions about anti-racism efforts, both in terms of curriculum and pedagogy. The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching is seeing great online attendance in a series of pedagogical workshops. The members of the Cabinet are working with their divisions on plans for intentional measures to address inequity in their areas. And the subcommittees of the Emergency Response Team continue to meet in preparation for welcoming students back to campus in a pandemic.

Students, faculty, and staff should expect a communication regarding more specific logistics around COVID-19 and a return to campus in the week of July 20 (alumni can access this information subsequently on the website). We will also share information about new initiatives and movement on diversity, equity, and inclusion work on a regular basis—we are in the process of gathering together a variety of items to communicate in this regard, and look forward to sharing them with you.

For now, though, I want to express my gratitude for the things I have learned about Luther College in my first year. It is certainly not the “first year” I thought it would be, and I look forward to making up for lost time regarding visiting with alumni and friends across the country. I am more optimistic than ever about Luther College’s future. I have seen the love and the passion for this place, in an accelerated way, expressed both in traditional terms and in critiques that spur us on to become better. I feel the weight of the responsibility of this office but I am grateful nonetheless. It is a gift to serve you, and I thank you for the opportunity.

Soli Deo Gloria,

President Jenifer K. Ward