There are a few things that each of us will be asked about for the rest of our lives. Your date and place of birth, your height, and your eye colour are examples of questions that surface again and again as you apply for a passport, fill in a medical form, or do any of a number of other transactions that require identification.
Where you got your education is also something that will forever be identified with you. I have listed where I received my high school and university education on many documents, including job applications. For my entire life I will be a graduate of the universities I attended, and I will dutifully list them when asked. But I also want to feel more than a sense of obligation in listing them. I want to feel a sense of pride. I don’t want to be stuck with an identifier that ranks alongside my date of birth and eye colour and not feel good about it. I also know that if I feel good about it, others will be curious about where I got my education.
A University of Windsor education is an identifying feature of 80,000 people all over the world. It is not only the hope of everyone at the University that our alumni feel good about their alma mater; it is also our responsibility. The stories in this issue of VIEW are examples of what our students, faculty, staff and alumni are doing to help meet that responsibility. There is a lot to be proud of.
An entirely new cohort of University of Windsor alumni is in the making, with the inaugural class of 24 medical students in the Windsor Program of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. The Lancer legacy continues with new inductees into the Alumni Sports Hall of Fame, the new surface on the playing field, and star performances by our athletes. Discovery and innovation resulting from research such as Dr. Aaron Fisk’s is having a major impact on our understanding of the world around us. And alumni continue to do remarkable things to help the lives of others.
We are entering the final months of 2008, and fall convocation brought an addition to the ranks of those for whom a University of Windsor degree will be a life-long identifier. It was my first opportunity since joining the University of Windsor to be a part of this significant moment in the lives of each of our graduates. We trust that for them it will be the beginning of a lifetime of pride.
Alan Wildeman
President and Vice-Chancellor
VIEW Magazine is produced by the University of Windsor Office of Public Affairs in tandem with the Office of Alumni and Donor Communications. Our goal is to connect and inspire the UWindsor community through news and stories that build pride in our alumni, current students, faculty, staff, donors and friends.
