I told you guys.
I told you.
I kept saying it wasn't about me.
I kept saying that it was all about us. About our incredible faculty. Our amazing students. Our talented and committed staff. Our supportive and generous alumnae. And the history, culture, energy and future that emerges when all of those special people come together under a single banner: Stephens College.
And Friday proved me right.
We had the best, most exuberant, most exciting and fun and inspiring inauguration event in the history of inauguration events.
Alberto Ibarguen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has seen more than his share of such events. After ours came to a fabulous W-O-M-A-N close, we walked upstairs to hang up our robes (mine were pretty red, eh? That's because I got my PhD from McGill University in Montreal -- those Canadians are a lively bunch!). And he turned around to me and said -- with absolute delight and awe -- "WHO starts an inauguration with a tap dance? And who ends it with W-O-M-A-N????"
And I said the only thing I could have said: "WE DO!"
And that's because we are Stephens College. And nobody does it like we do.
Nobody ever could.
My thanks -- my sincere, deep and heartfelt thanks -- to everybody who made our special celebration as extraordinary as it was -- from Kathy Adams, who chaired the committee, to all of our faculty, staff, students, alumnae, community members, families and my OWN family and friends.
It was all about us. Each and every one of us. Together.
My one regret -- and it is a serious and real regret -- is that we scheduled the Board of Trustees meeting on the same days as the inauguration events. And while I loved having them here for the festivities, that meant that I had meetings to attend on Friday and Saturday -- and that meant I couldn't make it to all of the special events and presentations and discussions and games that were scheduled for the inauguration.
And that means there are students and faculty and coaches and directors on campus who worked so hard to be a part of the celebration, and yes, others may have seen their amazing work....but I didn't.
Not yet.
We'll just have to do something about that, I think -- won't we?
We will.
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