If you've been here,
you know the feeling.
If you haven't, you will.
It's a certain energy.
It's a certain optimism.
Here on this campus, in
the heart of the city,
people and ideas
meet, mix, and spark.
Eyes open.
Doors open.
It's real.
You can feel it.
You can be a part of it.
And you don't even
have to be here in body
to feel it in spirit.
This fall semester, take
USF wherever you are.
Create USF wherever you go.
Spread our community
around the world.
Then, when the quarantine
lifts, come back.
We'll be here,
stronger than ever.
COVID-19--
--pandemic impacts--
--are reaching--
--every corner of the world.
We, as a USF community--
--will do our part--
--to prevent the spread--
--of COVID-19.
In the spirit of--
--cura personalis--
--care for the whole person--
--I pledge--
--I pledge.--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--I pledge--
--to take care of myself--
--take care of others--
--and- take care of USF.
This is John Iosefo,
class of 2021,
President of the Associated
Students of the University
of San Francisco senate.
Welcome to our community
convocation for fall 2020.
And now, University President
Father Paul Fitzgerald
of The Society of G.
Thank you very much, John,
and welcome, everyone,
to this community convocation.
Welcome to students, staff,
faculty, alumni, friends,
trustees.
Here we are, gathered
remotely as one community--
a community in dispersion--
to celebrate the opening
of a new academic year.
As we begin, I
want to acknowledge
that the University
of San Francisco
main campus sits on the
land of the Ohlone people.
In the words of one of our
Native American graduates,
Calina Lawrence of the Suquamish
Nation in Washington state,
quote, "Many of us who have
come to benefit from this land
still participate in
the ongoing displacement
of its original
stewards, but we can
choose to be better
advocates and accomplices
in the restoration
of this land."
So yes, we acknowledge the
Ohlone people's connection
to San Francisco, and are
grateful to live, work, learn,
and pray on their
traditional homeland.
For our Indigenous USF
community members--
students, faculty,
staff, alumni--
we recognize you, and we are
thankful that you have chosen
to be part of our community.
These are the times
that try our souls.
We are living through
a global pandemic.
You see me masked,
because I am gathered here
in Zief with several
USF colleagues,
so we're practicing
the good practices
that we all need to embrace.
We're living in a time of
systemic racism being exposed.
This week in Kenosha, another
black man, Jacob Blake,
was shot by police.
We're living with
the bad air quality,
and perhaps even evacuations
caused by the wildfires.
And of course,
we're living through
a global economic recession.
USF, like other colleges and
universities across the nation,
faces serious
financial challenges
that, as well, have affected
you and your families.
I've heard your stories of
pain and separation and loss.
Yesterday I learned
of the passing
of Marv Silverberg, an
amazing wonderful USF
alumnus whose Jesuit
education steered him
through a long and
successful life.
And this morning I
learned of the passing
of Margaret Levine,
a beloved faculty
member in our School of
Nursing and Health Professions,
who, after a six-month battle
with cancer, has gone to God.
Many of us have loved
ones who have become ill.
Some of us have
lost folks to death.
And then I know that
many of us are worried.
I want you to know
that I hear you.
I pray for you.
And along with so many members
of our academic enterprise,
we are doing everything
we can to keep you safe,
to advance our
students' education,
and to meet our
obligations to every member
of this beloved community given
the disruptions in operations
caused by the pandemic.
Thus, we begin the
fall semester 2020.
But we don't just begin.
We don't just get
on with our duties.
We celebrate, because yes,
even in this time of very
real challenges, we at USF
have many reasons to hope,
reasons to have
confidence in each other,
and reasons to
lift each other up.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Our motto is, "Change
the world from here."
And the truth is that here
is now wherever you are.
You have an opportunity to
take this challenging situation
and learn in these classes
in a new format that
may help you develop new skills
that are definitely going
to translate to what you're
going to be able to do
in the working world.
And right now,
more than ever, we
need positive
social connections.
Thinking about the opportunities
to come, see familiar faces
each week, to
build relationships
with your classmates
and faculty,
to engage in team
projects, to work
with outside companies
on experiential learning
projects--
we'll be doing all of that
and more of this fall.
Right now it's more
important than ever
for our virtual classrooms
to be a place for community.
Faculty have been
working nonstop
throughout the summer to
retool their curriculum
to offer synchronous
and asynchronous options
with new technologies, how
it relates to current events,
whether that be COVID-19
or the racial injustice
in our country.
USF is uniquely situated
to offer something
to our students, to our
faculty, to our staff,
and to the community
in this moment.
And in being grounded in this
mission of social justice
and working with
communities where they are--
I mean, that's what
we need right now.
The idea of global
citizenship and being
in a moment of pandemic, being
in these times of crisis--
the fact that we all
are at the university
and have a space to think,
to do social analysis
of the situation, but also
this duty-- the big carriers
of hope.
Our commitment to the
vision for fall 2020
is more important than ever.
First of all, we're committed
to taking care of our students
and supporting them.
In order to do that,
we need to support
our faculty and our staff.
And in order to do that, we need
to support everybody at USF.
There's lots of opportunities
for students to collaborate
with one another.
Just this past
semester my students
were working on group projects,
and three of the four students
were actually on
different continents.
There's a lot of
surprising things,
and a lot of really
positive results
that you can get from
online instruction.
The externship program is
offered to the University
of San Francisco Law students.
In the remote context,
students can do more,
because as opportunities
happen online,
they can be
accessible to students
no matter where that
opportunity's meeting place,
or where the student is.
Now is an ideal time
to be in law school.
All students are
required to take
a community-engaged
learning class
and have the students
work with communities
around the world doing projects,
but in this remote environment.
And also to show that even
though we can't travel,
you can still connect.
For the USF Sport
Management program,
we have a weekly virtual lunch.
We have alumni come on
and talk to us about what
they're doing in their careers.
We've got a nice
practice area called
the Malloy Group, where we do
design thinking consulting.
We work with the Bay
Area's top companies,
whether they're big tech
startups, venture capital
firms, traditional
banking organizations,
we've got a great group
of companies to work with.
At USF, we see you,
hear you, help you,
and help you to help others.
Meet with your personal coach
at the Center for Academic
and Student Achievement.
Get help or just
talk with counseling
and psychological services.
Work for justice, both in
class and outside of class,
with the Center for Humanizing
Education and research.
The first cohort of students
for the Engineering School,
solving the problems
of tomorrow.
We all care about you, and your
success will be our success.
University Ministry is
available to everyone on campus,
to students, to
faculty and staff.
We have a lot of
adult programming.
A lot of our retreats are
going to take place online,
at least for the fall semester.
We have the digital
tools to do great things,
even if we're physically apart.
Let's do this.
That was beautiful.
Thank you to members of
our community who shared.
My name is Susie Collins, and
my pronouns are she and her,
and I am a proud USF
alum, with a master's
in nonprofit administration.
17 years ago, I moved from
Peru to the United States.
I had to learn
English as an adult
and navigate the differences
between the Peruvian education
system and the US.
My graduate school experience
at USF was amazing,
and I love the diversity and
intersectionality of my cohort.
The range of experiences
and backgrounds
they brought to our work
together enhanced my learning
and sparked new ideas.
After graduation, I worked
for the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, and I
discovered a new passion
for diversity,
equity, and inclusion.
I now continue to work in
this field for the technology
sector.
My volunteer and philanthropic
interests beyond work
includes sitting on
the board of Families
of Color Seattle and Northwest
Immigrant Rights Project.
I'm also active in the USF
Alumni Mentoring Program,
interacting and mentoring
students and alum.
To all of the new USF
students out there,
I want you to know
that you're joining
a community that extends
far beyond our Hilltop
and other campuses.
You're connected to a worldwide
network of more than 115,000
USF graduates.
That's 115,000 potential
mentors, employers, colleagues,
and friends, all bound
by a love for USF.
Welcome to the family.
Now here is the short story
about USF's new students.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Thank you, Susie, for being
an exemplary USF alumna.
So proud of you.
Thanks to all of
our USF alumni who
contribute their time,
talent, and treasure
to support our current
students, our recent graduates,
and the university as a whole.
We welcome our
new, our returning,
our transfer students,
undergrad and grad,
who come to USF, as you
saw, from across the country
and from around the world.
The collaboration among the
undergraduate and graduate
admissions teams with Strategic
Enrollment Management,
the Office of Marketing
Communications,
Student Life, and our
new global response team
has been exceptional in
this time of upheaval.
Thank you, every
single one of you.
Our faculty and staff
have worked very hard
over the summer to prepare for
our students' new beginning.
And they stand ready
to support students
in and beyond the
classroom as we
begin this unprecedented
academic experiment.
Now, one of our typically
wonderful USF graduates,
who is leading our city
through the crisis,
has a message for us all.
Hi.
I'm Mayor London Breed.
I want to begin by
congratulating you
on the start of a new academic
year at the University of San
Francisco.
During normal times, we'd
be gathering in person
to share our experience
and resources.
But we know these
are not normal times,
and we have to get
creative to still find
a way to come together.
As we are addressing
this global pandemic,
I want to recognize your
commitment to coming together
as a community
under circumstances
that no one could
have ever imagined.
It's not easy.
But in this moment, it's
so important for the health
of our community and all of you.
As a graduate of USF, I know we
will overcome the challenges we
face, and I know the value
of a Jesuit education
and its basic principles.
Independent thinking,
care for the whole person,
and a commitment to
justice and service.
Today, these values are more
important than ever before.
USF's history and
the great strength
of your diverse and
global community
will serve you well
as together, we
confront the change
and challenges ahead.
Let's stay optimistic.
Let's have hope.
Let's engage.
And be sure to register
and vote in November.
Good luck on this academic year.
Take care of yourselves
and each other.
Stay healthy and safe.
And together, we will
get through this.
Go, Dons.
Thank you, Mayor Breed, and
thank you for everything
you're doing in this
extraordinary time,
along with fellow alumna Naomi
Kelly, City Administrator,
to keep us safe
and moving forward.
I want to mention now
five important projects,
five things that are happening
in the weeks and months ahead.
And all of these
things will shape
the future of our
university in positive ways.
First, USF has begun a
strategic planning process.
This process is being chaired
by Vice President Peter
Wilch and Vice Provost
Pamela Balls Organista,
and is doing the following.
It will position the university
to persevere and thrive
through current and future
challenges and crises,
anticipated and unanticipated.
It is informed by the
needs, the opportunities,
and recommendations obtained
through community input
in previous initiatives, such
as the Magis Project, the Campus
Climate Survey, and the WASC
reaccreditation process.
It considers new and
emerging needs and desires
on the part of our present
and future students.
It reimagines our Jesuit
Catholic university
in the 21st century.
What makes us distinctive
in both our curricular
and noncurricular offerings as
a local and global institution
with a proud history
of strong tradition
and a nimbleness to
continue to grow.
It provides
transparency of process
and a prescription
of solutions drawn
from the wisdom of the
community as a whole.
It propels the university
towards continued
educational excellence,
financial soundness,
and the creation
of graduates who
will be change agents for
an equitable and just world
for all people.
The framework for this work
started this summer, with input
from a core group
of representatives
throughout the university.
The Strategic Planning Committee
will be enlarged this fall
and will seek input from
faculty, staff, students,
alumni, and other stakeholders.
We can expect an update next
semester as the work continues.
Second, the search for
our next provost and vice
president of academic
affairs is underway.
This important
leadership position
will be key to our work ahead.
I want to thank, from the bottom
of my heart, Dr. Tyrone Cannon,
not only for stepping
into the interim role,
but also for agreeing to
serve as chair of the search
committee.
And to Professor Evelyn Ho for
chairing the Search Advisory
Committee.
Thank you to the other members
of the search committees who
have stepped up to
serve the university.
I met with you all
virtually yesterday,
and our next step will be
community listening sessions.
So I invite the members
of our community
to watch for these
opportunities.
We expect to bring finalists
to campus physically or by Zoom
next semester, when many more
members from the community
will meet them with the expected
announcement of a new proposed
well before the start of
the next academic year.
Third, let me share
a few happy headlines
from our schools
and the college.
The School of Nursing
and Health Professions
has received a five year,
$3.25 million federal grant.
This grant will support
scholarships for students
to increase the ethnic and
racial diversity of the nursing
workforce and to increase
the registered nurse job
placements in
medically underserved
and rural northern
California communities
and in primary care.
The application was
led and authored
by Professor Angela Banks.
Thank you, Angela.
And thank you for serving
as project director.
In the School of
Education, the faculty
have created a new
concentration in racial justice
and a new partnership
with Kaiser Permanente
thanks to an existing
partnership with Kaiser
held by the School of Nursing
and Health Professions.
School of Education has
also recently launched
the Center for Humanizing
Education and Research.
In the School of
Management, we are
excited about the
creation and launch
of a master of science
in marketing intelligence
and a bachelor of science
in business analytics.
The school's master's in
public administration program
was recently reaccredited by
NASPA through the year 2026.
Also, congratulations
to Professor Liang Wang,
whose work in collective action
and sustainable development
has been supported by
an insight development
grant in the amount of
$52,000, along with publication
of her work in top
tier publications.
The School of Law has
launched a new program,
an endowed chair in animal law.
Thanks to a generous
benefactor and USF alumna,
our animal law program will
expose our law students
to a whole world of
advocacy and action
on behalf of nonhuman animals.
Also, a recent COVID and
the Law webinar series
was attended by faculty,
students, staff, and alumni.
And in the College
of Arts and Sciences,
we have launched two new
professional certificates,
one in data ethics and
the other in crisis
communication, two
very timely topics.
And for the first time
since the year 1918,
the University of San Francisco
has an engineering program,
a liberal arts-founded
engineering
program housed in the
College of Arts and Sciences.
Fourth, we welcomed 22 new full
time faculty and 86 new part
time faculty.
Our newest teaching scholars
are researching topics
with high community impact.
As you can see from
the slide, these topics
are wide ranging and include the
spread of infectious diseases
among children, Latinx mental
health and immigration,
climate change impact on
farmers, and so much more.
So a warm welcome to our
newest scholars and teachers.
We also welcome
new staff members,
including two senior
administrators
who will have a significant
impact on our students'
development and success.
Angelica Williams,
Assistant Vice Provost
for Student Financial
Services, and Derek Brown,
Senior Director, Leo T. McCarthy
Center for Public Service
and the Common Good.
A warm welcome to both
Angelica and Derek.
And even as we welcome
new challenges,
we are wishing other
colleagues all the best as they
transition into retirement.
Two days ago, we
marked the retirement
of more than 40 members
of our community,
and we are grateful
for their service.
More than 200 years of
service collectively
and their many contributions
to the University
of San Francisco.
And, of course, in
retirement, they
will remain valued
members of our community.
Finally, as we head into
the election season,
I want to remind you of the
important work of the McCarthy
Center in voter registration
and voter education.
USF Votes works with the
Andrew Goodman Foundation
and the Craig Newmark Fund
to encourage voter engagement
on and off campus.
USF Votes is also part of
the All In Campus Challenge,
and we are proud that
USF has been designated
a voter-friendly campus.
So thank you to the
McCarthy Center's staff
and all the students
involved in this effort,
and to all of you for
voting in November.
Now, our next guest
is not a USF graduate,
but he is Jesuit educated,
attending the same university
that I did.
And yes, it took me 35 years
to finally become a don.
Hi, it's Governor Gavin Newsom.
And one thing I remember
from my Jesuit education
is the Bible teaches us we're
many parts, but one body.
So let me welcome back student
body, faculty, staff, parents,
and alumni.
Welcome back to the
kickoff, the convocation
of the new academic
year in 2020, 2021.
I imagine, if
you're like me, this
is not what we expected to
kick off our new school year.
But one thing is
certain, that we
live in a dynamic and
changing environment,
and there is no
greater education
that you will receive
in order to become
more resilient and more
capable as a human being
than the education
you'll receive at USF.
I know a thing or two about
USF, not only having grown up
in San Francisco, but also
growing up as a son of a mother
and a father that went to USF.
The quality of
education, the insights,
your capacity of understanding.
More important, perhaps,
than anything else,
the empathy, the care,
the collaborative spirit
that is demonstrable
in the teachings of USF
are needed now more than ever.
So let me just lend my
voice to the many voices
in welcoming you to
the new academic year
and thanking you
for choosing such
an extraordinary university.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hello, everyone.
My name is Rudra Sisodia.
I'm the President of
Graduate Student Senate.
I hope to meet all graduate
students this fall over Zoom,
and so together, we can make
our communities even stronger
still.
And now, Father Fitzgerald.
Thank you, Rudra.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your leadership.
As you have all seen, despite
the challenges we face,
we have a lot to be
excited about in the fall
of this semester of 2020.
I would like to thank each
of you for your flexibility,
for your collaboration,
for all the work you've
done to meet our challenges.
Now, as we begin this
semester of remote learning,
I thank you for your
continued hard work.
If you're a student,
keep showing up in class.
Bring to class your whole self.
Speak up.
Ask questions.
Don't be afraid
to make mistakes.
Connect with your classmates.
Connect with your professors,
advisors, and mentors.
Join a club or three.
Do everything online that
you would do in person,
but do even more of it.
If you're a professor,
keep reaching out.
Keep asking questions,
answering questions.
Again, don't be afraid
to make mistakes.
Keep finding new ways to
see, to hear, to engage,
and to inspire your students.
If you're a staff member,
keep supporting our students
and connecting them to
every good opportunity
here at the University.
From success coaching,
to financial literacy,
to help with internships, and
ultimately, job placements.
Though we are scattered
by a pandemic,
we remain a strong and
united USF community.
A communitas ad dispersionem,
a community in dispersal.
Now more than ever, take heart.
Have courage.
Don't merely survive
this coming semester.
Thrive through this coming
semester, so that next year we
can all look back on
fall 2020 and say,
this was our finest hour.
Against the odds, this
was our best semester yet.
And now a message from a great
supporter of Jesuit education,
whose father, brothers, all
went to Loyola Baltimore, whose
husband went to Georgetown.
They sent their children
and now grandchildren
to Jesuit universities.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Good afternoon.
It is an honor and
personal privilege
to send virtual greetings to
all of the brilliant educators,
administrators,
alumni, and students
at the University
of San Francisco
as you begin this
unprecedented academic year.
Thank you, President
Father Paul Fitzgerald
for your visionary
leadership and moral guidance
of the entire USF
community, and thank you
for the privilege of addressing
the 2020 USF convocation
at this pivotal moment.
In 1855, a brave group
of Jesuit fathers
founded USF as San
Francisco's first institution
of higher education.
165 years later, it
remains vital and dynamic,
preparing young people like
you to discover your purpose,
follow your passion,
and know your power.
Today, the coronavirus
pandemic has
inflicted a devastating toll
on the health and well-being
of our nation.
For America's
students, this crisis
has impacted the
security of your families
and upended your
educational plans.
In Congress, it is
our responsibility
to ensure that you have every
tool necessary to stay safe
and to succeed.
We will not rest until we have
secured the resources you need.
Fortunately, the outstanding
faculty and staff at USF
are there with you to
ensure that you continue
to receive the world class
Jesuit education for which USF
is renowned.
This education is
essential to helping
you harness your imagination,
your intellect, and your faith,
to take your place as the
next generation of leaders,
innovators, entrepreneurs,
and global citizens.
As you join a proud
legacy of USF students
who put their faith
into action, there
is no doubt that
you will be prepared
to lead our nation
forward to confront
the extraordinary
challenges we face.
In this mission, we gain
strength and inspiration
from the wisdom of our
city's patron Saint,
Saint Francis, who called
on us to preach the gospel,
sometimes use words.
This message is consistent
with the motto of St. Ignatius
Loyola.
For the greater glory of God
and the salvation of humanity.
Our community and our
nation are looking to you
to build a brighter
future for every American,
a future that honors USF's faith
and the dignity of all people,
and its commitment to
promoting justice, equality,
and opportunity for all.
On behalf of the
United States Congress,
best wishes for a
successful semester.
We cannot wait to see
what you all accomplish.
Thank you.
Greetings, my friends.
What inspiring words from one
of my personal heroes, Speaker
Nancy Pelosi.
My name is Julie Dowd.
I'm the Director of
University Ministry at USF,
and it's my pleasure
to join you all today.
When I was a college student,
my dad would write me letters,
this was before email, which
he would sign ora et labora.
That was his frequent
and constant advice to me
throughout my
college years, as it
had been his father's to him.
Ora et labora, an ancient
Benedictine monastic saying,
means pray and work.
As our world has turned
rather upside down,
I have returned to this
simple and humble mantra.
To pray and work might be a fair
response to the deep questions
we face about our life's
meaning and purpose.
To pray and work might be
a useful guidepost for us
as a university community as
we navigate the rugged terrain
on which we find ourselves,
moving through new thresholds,
inviting us to learn, grow,
and evolve as a community.
To pray and work
suggests to me that it
is our most ordinary
and simple acts,
the most basic of human
experiences and activities,
in which we might find
depth, sacramentality,
connection, and joy.
And so in the spirit of finding
purpose in all of the ways
we as a community pray and work,
by way of a benediction today,
I'd like to share the words
of the Irish poet and peace
activist Padraig O Tauma
from a poem called Oremus.
Let us pray.
Let us pick up the stones
over which we stumble,
friends, and build altars.
Let us listen to the sound
of breath in our bodies.
Let us listen to the
sounds of our own voices,
of our own names,
of our own fears.
Let's claw ourselves out
from the graves we've dug.
Let's lick the earth
from our fingers.
Let us look up, and
out, and around.
The world is big, and wide,
and wild, and wonderful,
and wicked, and our
lives are murky,
magnificent, malleable,
and full of meaning.
Oremus, let us pray.
May god who is love, above
all names and of all names,
saturate our USF community with
wisdom, understanding, courage,
and perseverance as we
begin our new year together.
Ora et labora.
Julie, thank you for that
lovely, lovely benediction.
Thank you all for being
here this afternoon.
Thank you to faculty, staff,
alumni, trustees, friends,
and family for all
that you're doing now
in support of our students.
Thank you to our students for
joining our educational project
and for being part of
our beloved community.
To you all, stay
safe, stay strong.
I wish you a semester filled
with wonder, discovery, grace,
and blessings, connections,
and accomplishments.
(SINGING) San Francisco, Ooh--
Aah-- Ooh--
Aah-- It only takes a tiny
corner of this great big world
to make a place you love.
My home up on the hill,
I find I love you still.
I've been away, but now
I'm back to tell you--
San Francisco, open
your golden gate.
You let no stranger
wait outside your door.
San Francisco, here
is your wanderin' one
saying I'll wander no more.
Other places only
make me love you best.
Tell me you're the heart
of all the golden west.
San Francisco,
welcome me home again.
I'm coming home to
go roaming no more.
I'm coming.
San Francisco, open
your golden gate.
You let no stranger
wait outside your door.
San Francisco, here
is your wanderin' one
saying I'll wonder no more.
Other places only
make me love you best.
Tell me you're the heart
of all the golden west.
San Francisco,
welcome me home again.
I'm coming home to
go roaming no more.
I'm coming home.
