Celebrating Major Accomplishments
Each year in December, we gather to celebrate our faculty’s major achievements of the previous twelve months, from books and editions to solo exhibitions and albums. It is one of our most beloved traditions in the School of Liberal Arts, an event that many of us look forward to all year long. This year, of course, is one when social gatherings have been forced to take on new forms in order to protect the very community we are honoring. In spite of how much we regret not being able to come together to hold these precious books close, flip through their pages, peer into the iPads that capture the exhibitions and musical performances, however, we are no less joyous to see the culmination of years of work by so many of our colleagues. Indeed, to celebrate these remarkable accomplishments at the end of a year that has been so trying is all the sweeter because it reminds us that, amidst all else, these good things have come to be. Well after the pandemic that presently keeps us apart is over, these works will live on, edifying, educating, and entertaining us. They are for the longue durée. And though we cannot raise a glass to their authors all together in one room, I hope you will explore the novel ways in which we have attempted to bring the voices of our colleagues to you as they discuss the works we are here to pay tribute to. In a virtual space as much as in a physical one, we may toast our colleagues and friends for a job exceptionally well done. Congratulations!
– Brian Edwards, Dean School of Liberal Arts
Recognized Works of 2020
