Winter 2018 Message from the iDean

To say the least, it has been an unusual few months here at UCSB, with postponed finals and a compressed winter quarter due to the Thomas Fire and the tragic slides. While campus remained safe, the broader Santa Barbara community was left reeling and the recovery will be slow.  I’ve been heartened in observing that many students, faculty, and staff have volunteered their time to assist in the cleanup. I want to thank the staff and faculty for their efforts in helping the students through this unusually disruptive period.

As the campus is at long last getting back to a routine, we are already at finals. I’ve noticed a deepened sense of caring across campus, including students watching out for each other. For example, the CCS Student Council hosted a stress release event going into final exams and the students in Professor Steve Smith’s interdisciplinary class on “Sleep” created info-posters encouraging all of us to rest. And is it just me, or were there a bunch of scientists in the painting and drawing classes this quarter? Many of our students are waiting to hear on decisions regarding internships, graduate school, summer fellowships, and the general “what’s next?” excitement (and anxiety) is obvious. My personal wish is for every student to define their own success and at their own pace. I have been talking with students to find ways that we (the College and the Campus) can help support students who feel pressure to do too much too fast. I can’t help but reiterate former Dean Tiffney’s CCS ethos that “We are not in competition with each other, but rather in a collective battle against ignorance.” This seems especially relevant these days.

Even on the compressed schedule, we managed to host several amazing visitors to CCS recently. This included Jonathan Gold, LA Times restaurant critic (and now, I realize, cultural educator extraordinaire), who spent the day with students. He then hosted a free evening screening of City of Gold, which packed the OLT and left all of us very hungry (especially for tacos). Next quarter will see even more events, including the CCS Musical Shake On It! (April 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th), the 50^th Anniversary Social (April 28^th), several visiting novelists (including Anthony Doerr), and of course, Commencement. The entire campus has been celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the College along with us, and it is exciting to think about new initiatives.

I hope you can join us at our upcoming events, especially the 50^th Anniversary Social on April 28^th (take a moment now to register here). More information is available on the 50^th Anniversary webpage.