Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Dear Friends,

Over the past year, Sandy and I have visited HWS alums, families and other members of our extended community all over the country and beyond. Last April, through the Office of Advancement's travel program, we led a group of graduates and friends across Ireland; just weeks ago, we flew to Wisconsin to cheer on the Statesmen hockey team as they competed in the semifinals of the NCAA DIII championship. And everywhere we went in between, someone invariably stopped us to extol the character and intellect of Hobart and William Smith students and graduates.

Our students today have the same energy, openminded perspectives, commitment to service and curiosity about the world that students did when I started here more than 50 years ago. As this issue of the Survey was going to press, we learned that a number of our graduating seniors received Fulbright awards and were accepted to Peace Corps positions. Meanwhile, students were fielding job offers and earning acceptances to top graduate programs. I have seen my colleagues and friends on our faculty and staff challenge and inspire our students to reach these heights, and it is that amazing process that we call a Hobart and William Smith education that has again and again moved me to serve these Colleges. Despite my good fortune of having taught, mentored and befriended scores of students over the years, I am continually awed by what they accomplish here on campus and as graduates in communities around the world.

This issue of the Survey celebrates the growth of our trailblazing programs in study abroad and the innovation and rigor that have made the Colleges' Center for Global Education number one in the nation two years running. Since the 1970s, our faculty, staff and students have created and refined a study abroad structure that exponentially expands the scope of teaching and learning we undertake on campus. As you will see -- and as our students and graduates who have studied abroad can attest - the experiences afforded by studying and learning abroad ripple outward in magnificent, unexpected, life-changing ways.

On campus, the joys of spring have returned to Geneva, heralding an exciting year to come. This summer, Dr. Joyce P. Jacobsen will begin her tenure as the 29th President of Hobart College and the 18th of William Smith College, bringing a remarkable career as a renowned scholar of economics, an award-winning teacher and an experienced administrator. As my tenure comes to a close, I look forward to the impact her leadership, perspective and enthusiasm will have on the Hobart and William Smith community.

In this, my final dispatch as interim president, I want to express my deep and sustained gratitude for the support and advice from the breadth of HWS constituencies. Alums, parents, students, faculty, staff, Geneva neighbors, friends and families - you have been a constant source of wisdom and encouragement over the past year. Thanks to your insights, creativity and passion for Hobart and William Smith, I can say without reservation that my service to this institution has been among the great honors of my life, and I have loved every minute of it.

Respectfully,

Patrick A. McGuire L.H.D. '12
Interim President