President’s Letter

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald

It is autumn on campus, and I am remembering the early years of my career when I taught history in a Wisconsin university classroom. Frequently, I relied upon literature to help students understand the zeitgeist of various eras in American life. Although I used many different novels for this purpose, my favorite was “The Great Gatsby.” So it is with a nod to F. Scott Fitzgerald that I prepare this letter for the next edition of the Aurora University Magazine.

Historians across the country are revisiting the Great Influenza (or Spanish Flu) epidemic of 1918 as speculation begins about the potential impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on contemporary generations. The first flu epidemic struck in the aftermath of World War I and claimed millions of lives as it raged across the globe. A century later, we are fortunate to have so many more strategies to invoke in the battle to stem a second deadly virus.

As the pandemic continues into a new academic year, we attempt a first reckoning in our feature story. We are thankful for the many members of the extended AU community who accepted our invitation to reflect upon their own pandemic experiences. Next we turned to our new Joe Dunham Distinguished Professor of Ethics, Dr. Gopal Gupta, with questions about the ethical dilemmas posed by the pandemic. The result is an exploration of rediscovery.

Such a realization came to me one morning in late April of 2020. I paid an early morning visit to a small neighborhood grocery store near the Aurora campus. I lingered in my car for a few minutes and watched other shoppers adjust their masks before dashing inside for eggs or milk or coffee. In that quiet moment, I suddenly realized that I was profoundly grateful to have meaningful work, even in the midst of a complicated and challenging time.

It was this powerful sense of mission that propelled Aurora University through the months that followed. Our new School of Health Science opened with a long list of articulation agreements that will allow qualified graduates to move easily into distinguished professional programs in Chicago and beyond. The autism initiative gathered momentum this past July with the first Pathways summer camp for high school students on the autism spectrum who are interested in earning a college degree. The experience gave these students a preview of college life and provided AU with growing evidence of our readiness to serve this new population.

Thanks to national search efforts, we recruited a new chief academic officer, Dr. J. Andrew Prall, and a new chief operating officer, Dr. Jeffrey King. Andrew joins us after successful service in two similar comprehensive university settings, and Jeff from a comparable role in the Elgin School District. Both colleagues bring impressive records of achievement and deep commitments to our mission. So, too, do the 30+ new faculty and staff members who began their AU careers this fall.

Now, to borrow from Fitzgerald, another fall semester has dawned and life starts all over again at Aurora University, albeit with masks in place. We will take special care this year, thankful to be together again and united in our shared belief in the “transformative power of learning.” Our work continues in even more exciting ways — as you will learn in the pages that follow. It’s a new year on campus, and I wish you sunny, clear, and crisp fall mornings.

Rebecca L. Sherrick, PhD
President