Dinner with the Stars

The other deans in the college and I recently had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with the College’s Academic Stars who have been announced over the last year. These are faculty, staff and students who have excelled as academics and are using their talents in exceptional ways. We recently announced our newest stars, Tom Brockhoft and Emily Schlichting, who are both students. Joining us were Dodie Eveleth from chemistry, Mike Wagner from political science, our Director of Recruitment Jodi Holt, and psychology’s Cal Garbin. We just had a very nice, relaxed dinner full of good conversation.

It was good to talk with Emily about her plans as she continues to work within the realm of public policy and health reform. Her guest was a first-year student from her sorority who is interested in our Humanities in Medicine program. The student got the opportunity to talk with my wife, who directs the program. I got to talk with Cal about soccer and how much his kids love the sport. We also talked about his work and what makes him a good teacher and about some of his philosophies of teaching. Jodi and I talked about how she’s liking her new job (she previously worked with the Computer Science and Engineering Department.) Dodie offered updates on the exciting things going on in the Chemistry Department.

I left with an immense feeling of pride in the people of our College. The night reminded me of why it’s so great to be at the university - you get to interact with all of these great faculty members, these ambitious students, and very dedicated staff members.