Academic Year 2016-17

Below is the President's Message from Bucknell Magazine in the Summer 2017 edition.
Among the loveliest sights on a summer night in Lewisburg is a family gathering vegetables and working the soil together in a large, leafy plot on the corner of North Water and St. Anthony streets. Not only are our neighbors sharing with one another the kale and carrots they’ve grown, but they are donating the overflow to programs that help the neediest among us.

It is a huge honor to be here. To the students, I have to tell you that you are already way ahead of me. I did not actually make my graduation. It was in the morning and — I guess you have something called Super Saturdays, right? Let’s just say I had a very super Saturday. I wasn’t quite at a sushi place, but it was tough to get up the next morning.

Hello, Class of 2017! Hello friends, families, faculty, staff and all those who have gotten us to where we are today. This afternoon, I would like to talk about the difficult questions we ask of ourselves, the impact they have on us and why not having the immediate answer to these questions is okay.

Dear Colleagues,
I write with my customary summary of the spring Board of Trustees meeting, which took place on campus from Thursday, April 27, to Saturday, April 29. Please allow me to begin with a series of reflections and announcements pertinent to the work we do each day.

Though the humanities have long enjoyed a central place in American higher education, their core role in the life of the mind predates our first American university, Harvard, founded in 1636. As our 2017 Commencement speaker, Fareed Zakaria, notes in his book In Defense of a Liberal Education, the ancient Greeks and Romans devised a system of education that was much later codified within seven liberal arts. These were divided between those based within literature, including grammar, logic and rhetoric, and those based on mathematics, such as arithmetic and geometry. This division loosely corresponds to the humanities and the sciences of today.

Dear Bucknellians,
In light of recently issued guidelines affecting the rights of transgender students, I am writing to reaffirm the University's support of our transgender community.

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,
I write to share with you a brief summary of the recent Bucknell Board of Trustees meeting, which took place in Washington, D.C., from Thursday, Feb. 2, through Saturday, Feb. 4.

Dear Bucknellians,
I am both saddened and angered that I must write to inform you that early this morning a swastika was found drawn on the wall of a bathroom in the ELC. We do not know how long this symbol of hate was there — it was about the size of a quarter — but it has since been removed.

Dear Bucknellians,
Since I wrote to you on Saturday about the White House's Executive Order (EO) entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," Bucknell has joined colleges and universities across the country in trying to predict the EO's immediate and long-term impact. Unfortunately, in light of the lack of clarity from the White House and implementing agencies, this is a difficult task.

Dear Bucknellians,
On Friday, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) entitled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which directly impacts colleges and universities nationwide, including Bucknell.

I hope this note finds you well and that the winter break afforded you time with family and friends. As we did last year, we begin the spring semester with a profound and meaningful series of events around the legacy and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Though Bucknell business has taken me away from campus for part of the week, I am grateful for and inspired by the members of our community who dedicated themselves to the weeklong celebration of Dr. King through the MLK Week series Charleston, Rwanda and the Possibilities for Peace. I hope many of you have had the opportunity to take part in at least some of the week's activities.

President's Message from Bucknell Magazine, Winter 2017.
There is an image of Steve Jobs, the late creative visionary behind Apple, that is forever etched in my mind. Gaunt of face and frame, he’s standing on stage in his trademark black turtleneck and jeans, gesturing toward the projection of a street sign that marks an intersection.

Dear Bucknellians,
During the 2016 presidential campaign we experienced levels of contention and divisiveness unlike anything in recent history. The election season caused uncertainty and deep concern for many, regardless of political affiliation.

I am writing with an update on an important University initiative that I first shared with you in my annual summer email to campus: our transition to the software system Workday. As I mentioned in August, Workday is a modern, cloud-based software solution that will replace many of the functions currently performed in Banner, specifically addressing our HR, payroll and financial needs.

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,
Please find below my summary of our most recent Board of Trustees meeting, which occurred on campus beginning Thursday, Oct. 13, through Saturday, Oct. 15.

Welcome to the start of Bucknell University’s 171st academic year. The return of our students brings a renewed energy to campus, and I look forward to what I know will be a rich and rewarding semester. I’m delighted that it has become routine for me to write to you about the success of a near seamless move-in process, our New Student Orientation program and Convocation.

Good evening. I'm John Bravman, the 17th president of Bucknell University. My wife, Prof. Wendelin Wright, and I are thrilled to join you in celebrating the official start of the 2016-17 academic year, the 171st in Bucknell's history.