President’s speeches, letters, and articles
December 16, 2019
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
As we come to the end of this, my first semester at Reed, I want to express gratitude to you all for welcoming Cheryl and me so warmly. It has been a joy to get acquainted with this community and to spend time meeting with many of you over the past months. I continue to be deeply impressed by how much everyone cares at Reed—about learning, about research and creativity, and about one another and the world around us. Each day has brought fresh surprises.
Thank you for helping me get to know Reed better by meeting with me during office hours, at events we have attended together, and in other settings, sharing your views on where the college is and where you would like us to go. I know that there is a great deal of change in the air, and I am committed to working together to shape a shared vision for the future.
In a community with long-standing traditions where students, staff, faculty, and the board of trustees share responsibility for governance, conversations will be important to this end. With this in mind, I am pleased that this morning, Roger Perlmutter, chair of the Reed board of trustees, sent this letter to the student senate announcing a process to investigate our banking relationship and to report about the board’s ongoing discussions regarding sustainability and questions that have been raised about the college’s investments. I look forward to continuing these conversations and have been glad to be able to work within our governance processes to help facilitate good discussions.
Knowing of great interest in staffing changes in student life, I am also pleased to announce that Mike Brody and I shared with the Student Life staff that we made the decision to hire an interim dean of students. Cynthia (“Cindy”) Anderson will be filling this role and joining Reed on January 6, 2020.
Cindy comes to Reed with more than 30 years of experience in higher education. She has a doctorate in educational leadership and most recently served as dean of students and director of student life at Northern Arizona University. Cindy has extensive experience in student affairs, program development, advising, residential life, Title IX, and crisis management. She will undoubtedly be a great support to students and she will also help us to identify what type of leader Reed needs in the dean of students role and help provide stability while we search for the next vice president of student life.
Cindy will report directly to Mike, and the following associate deans will report directly to Cindy:
- Amy Schuckman, associate dean for student and campus life
- Julie G. Maxfield, associate dean, academic life
- Carrie Baldwin-Sayre, associate dean of students for health and well-being
It will be a pleasure to welcome Cindy to Reed.
Please take good care as you wrap up the semester. Rest up over the break. Congratulations, graduating seniors!
I look forward to beginning a new decade with you all and to seeing what the 2020s bring.
Happy holidays to you and yours!
All my best, Audrey