Dear Friends,
 

So much of the past year has been buffeted by Covid-19, and certainly that is true here on the Hilltop. We have worked hard to reimagine nearly all aspects of campus life and we came together as a community to ensure a safe and rewarding on-campus experience. A tremendous amount of ingenuity, compassion, fortitude and student-centered decision-making went into creating a successful fall semester, and as I write this letter, we are well into our plans for a spring semester that promises to be even better.

As the countdown to Thanksgiving approached, a time when students would be returning home for the winter break, I was struck by how our months-long efforts to confront an unprecedented health crisis were informed by our core principles and our uniquely Anselmian qualities. While Covid-19 has forced us to rethink many things, it also has occasioned reflection about how we carry our mission into the future. Indeed, it has awakened us to how much our mission of community and hospitality, inspired by our Benedictine values, makes us distinctive among institutions of higher education. Yes, we provide a rigorous educational experience, but we do so with care and compassion. Never have care and compassion been needed more than in this moment!

This issue of Portraits is a reflection of our values, as seen through a lifetime of service by Dan Forbes ’81; and through the substantive work on racial equity by the Anselmian Network for Racial Justice; and through the inspiring support by alumni, the college community and friends for our Faith in the Future campaign. Throughout the magazine, you will see that, while life has been disrupted by the pandemic, we have persevered as a family and have even grown stronger in the face of many unique challenges.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to our students, faculty, staff and members of the monastic community for continuing to deliver a transformative curricular and co-curricular experience that is the hallmark of Saint Anselm College. And I sincerely thank all of you for the continued and steadfast support of our mission—today and always.

In this moment of uncertainty, it is reassuring to know that our foundation has remained unshaken. I hope you enjoy this issue of Portraits, which provides a unique window on the Hilltop during this most interesting time.

 

Sincerely,

Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D.
President