The last month or two of each academic year can feel like a race to the finish, with the pace and excitement accelerating from early April through Commencement weekend. This year is no different, and the week ahead will be a busy one for all of us on campus.
Today, of course, begins the annual tradition of Bulldog Days, when more than 1,000 newly admitted members of the Yale College Class of 2020 descend on campus to sit in on courses, experience residential college living, and sample the Yale undergraduate experience from lectures to athletics to performing arts and more. From now through Wednesday, keep an eye out for our visitors (you’ll recognize them by the campus maps they carry!) and perhaps point them in the direction of a favorite location or Yale tradition of your own.
Wednesday is also a special day for our university organization as we mark Administrative Professionals Day, honoring the staff members across the university who contribute to making Yale the institution of excellence that it is. These colleagues keep our offices and academic departments running like clockwork, guide our students and work alongside our faculty, support every facet of our operations, and are vibrant contributors to the university community. I hope all of us will pause this week to recognize the administrative professionals who ensure Yale’s success and enrich our lives.
On Thursday, all members of the community are invited to join me at Payne Whitney Gymnasium for the second Yale ROTC President’s Review since the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps returned to our campus in 2012. Last year’s ceremony was an inspiring occasion, the first “pass-in-review” exercises held at Yale in more than four decades. The seniors among our current midshipmen and cadets are the first four-year ROTC cohort to graduate from Yale in nearly fifty years, and we will look on with pride as they leave campus to serve our country.
Looking ahead to next week, I also want to call attention to a different kind of service that exemplifies our university: the Yale Day of Service, which will take place in communities around the world on Saturday, May 7. Visit the program’s dedicated website to find a volunteer site near you—and know that you have my gratitude for all you do to represent Yale.