Dean Anne Curzan: Hi everyone, I'm Anne Curzan, dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts.
I'm so pleased to be able to be with you today.
Before we get started, I want to let everyone know that this event is being recorded. Additionally, we've set up live captioning.
For those of you who want to access this service, please click the CC button at the bottom of your zoom screen to enable captions.
We'll post the recording and transcript of this event on the LSA website as well.
Now normally at the start of a new school year, the university hosts a formal convocation to welcome new students to campus.
Convocation isn't happening this year, but it was still very important to me to connect with you as you start here at LSA.
I believe in ceremony and starting college is a big deal. This is a real milestone in your lives, and we want to celebrate it with you.
I'm also really aware that this fall may not be quite how you imagined you were going to start your time in LSA.
I know it's going to be very different. But regardless of where you are and where your learning is happening
there is so much to be excited about for this year and we want to share our excitement with you today.
We have a very fun agenda plan over the next about 40 minutes.
You'll be hearing from former NFL lineman TV host, entrepreneur, and proud LSA alum, Dhani Jones.
We're also joined by two members of LSA student government: president Selena Bazzi and vice president Josiah Walker.
We'll also hear from Rosario Ceballo, our associate dean for social sciences and a professor in the departments of psychology and women's studies.
We're also going to get to learn a little bit more about you through some poll questions about halfway through.
So for those of you who are joining us by phone or audio only:
There will not be any additional video elements, aside from that wonderful music video that you just saw from our friends at the School of Music, Theatre and Dance.
The exception will be the polling and I'll be sure to read out the results. So you can know what they are.
But it is true that the participation in the polling activity does require you to be logged into Zoom on your computer or a mobile app.
So if you're phoning in you won't be able to participate in the voting, but I'll let you know what happens.
Before I begin, I also want to acknowledge that the University of Michigan is located on the territory of the Anishinaabe people. In 1817, the Ojibwe,
Odawa, and Bodewadami Nations made the largest single land transfer to the University of Michigan, ceded in the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids so that their children could be educated.
We acknowledge the history of native displacement that allowed
the University of Michigan to be founded. Today we reaffirm contemporary and ancestral Anishinaabek ties to the land and their profound contributions to this institution.
So let me start with a few thoughts as you start college before I invite our guest speakers to talk with you.
Today I am formally welcoming you to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan, what we call LSA.
LSA is 160 years old. This is a long legacy of excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. In LSA, our mission is to push the boundaries of what is understood about the human experience,
and about the natural world and we are here to foster the next generation of rigorous and empathetic thinkers, creators, and contributors to the state, the nation, and the world.
Those rigorous and empathetic creators and contributors and thinkers: that's you. This mission is our invitation to you.
Literally hundreds of thousands of students have come through this college on their way to lives and careers so varied and unexpected that there is no way to capture all those possibilities. You are now part of that legacy, part of this diverse intellectual community
that is exploring the world, reimagining the world, and striving to make purposeful, positive change.
So you're going to have a lot of opportunities to explore here and we often talk about this within three disciplines. It's what we do, we explore.
And you can do that in the humanities, which includes art and literature and language and philosophy
which reveal to us the depth of the human experience, including all that we share and all that makes us unique in our diversity.
Fundamentally, the humanities help us understand the world from perspectives that are different from our own.
You'll get to explore the social sciences, such as
economics and sociology, psychology,
anthropology, which explore and explain how humans come together in groups and societies–how our society works and what happens when it doesn't
And then there are the natural sciences, such as physics and chemistry, and the biological sciences and astronomy, which investigate how the natural world all around us works, from the tiniest particles to the vastness of the universe.
I really want to encourage you to explore broadly, to try out classes you never imagined. Why? First, you might find something you love.
I started college as a math major. I became a linguist. When I went to college, I didn't even know what linguistics was.
And I've had a deeply fulfilling career researching and teaching the history of the English language. I would never have found that if I didn't do some exploration in my first couple of years in college.
Another reason is that you never know what class is going to stick with you. For example, one of our alums is a doctor at the University of Michigan hospital.
And he says that the class that was most important to him was a class on Icelandic saga, because in that class he learned how stories work. And in his work, he spends his days listening to and interpreting the stories of patients.
You're going to leave here with a superpower to quote Van Jones, who was on campus last fall, you will have the superpower when you leave LSA to work effectively in a radically diverse world.
And we'll help you figure out what you want to do in the next chapter with your liberal arts degree and the superpowers that come with it.
I want to share two other quick messages with you today before I turn the floor over. The first is I want you to know that you belong here.
You're here because we know that you will be an exceptional addition to our community. You are not a mistake that was made in the admissions process. You worked very hard to be here.
You come with your own experiences and perspectives and these will cause you to ask your own set of questions and come up with creative solutions which are going to push all of us to think in new ways.
If you're not hearing a question being asked, it may be that you need to ask it. If you're not hearing a solution on the table, you put that solution on the table.
You are a critical part of this community and we are so glad you're here. I count myself incredibly lucky to spend my time surrounded by all of you. You inspire me every day.
My second message is to take care of yourselves.
I want to talk about your well being. I hardly need to say that this is a very strange and difficult time for the world.
The pandemic threatens our health and the health of our loved ones and communities. And on top of the pandemic, our country is experiencing truly traumatic events
and calls for racial justice and these have an impact on our lives and emotions. It's important that we care for our own well being
and that of others and by well being I mean your health: physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.
The adventure you're about to embark on as new LSA students is kind of be thrilling and enriching and transformational.
But you're also going to be challenged. You will experience setbacks, maybe even failures, you can well feel confused about where you want to go.
I'm here to say that that is completely normal. I experienced all of those things in college, including failure, and I guarantee you that the thousands of LSA students who came before you did too.
It does not mean that you don't belong. It does mean that you, like all of us, need support to thrive.
Part of my job as the dean and the jobs of my fellow faculty members and the staff here and LSA is to support your well being.
We're here and we want you to reach out to us. And there's plenty that you can do that you already do to take care of yourself.
I want to invite you to think about what gives you energy. What restores you? What gives you joy?
For me, I really make an effort to get enough sleep, and to exercise. And of course, there's also chocolate.
I especially love swimming, which is very meditative for me. I also make it a priority to connect with people I care about because just talking to them gives me energy.
And on that note, I am hoping that this event will help you feel a bit more connected, no matter where you are right now.
You're incredibly important to me and to our community and I promise that you'll be hearing from me often, through videos on social media virtual student hours, and much more.
I also hope you'll reach out to me, let me know how you're doing and what you're learning through your education in LSA especially as we navigate these unpredictable times
So with that, I now want to introduce you to someone really special.
Dhani Jones is an entrepreneur, former NFL linebacker, author and host, who began his career in the NFL playing with the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals.
For Dhani Jones, the NFL was a jumping off point. And in 2010 he launched his philanthropic endeavor, Bow Tie Cause, designing signature bow ties for organizations around the country.
His career includes being host of the Travel Channel series Dhani Tackles the Globe and the VH1 show Ton of Cash.
He is a proud LSA alum graduating in 2000 and was part of the Residential College.
I am just thrilled that he can speak with you today as part of your starting your college career here in LSA so let me turn it over to Dhani Jones.
Dhani Jones: Thank you Anne.
Dhani Jones: And to all of you who have had the great opportunity
to now walk our amazing campus, I say hello.
And to quote the great Bo Schembechler, those who stay will be champions.
 
Dhani Jones: As Anne pointed out, my name is Dhani Jones. I graduated from the greatest university in the world.
In the world, all right, I had the pleasure of going to University of Michigan and now joining the over 500,000 graduates that have traveled the globe, constructed the tallest buildings,
led the greatest companies. We've put graduates on the moon. We put countless amounts of impact and collective social good in this world. Everywhere we go we change the world.
Now I like to say there are many who speak of themselves as individuals, but at Michigan we speak of ourselves as a community.
As a university and as a team, my coach Lloyd Carr said to me, my first year at Michigan, he said this is Michigan.
It's been here long before you, and it'll be here long after you. No one is greater than the team and the team is what makes Michigan greater than the rest.
Now, I went '96 to 2000. I played in the national championship, won the national championship in 1997 as we won at the Rose Bowl.
But the most meaningful moment in my life was sitting in my parents' basement and committing to the University of Michigan.
And it was after I read a pamphlet that had the block M on top of the globe.
I knew that I had no other choice. I knew that if I worked hard every day, sat in front of the classroom, raised my hand, asked questions, and made meaningful relationships. There was nowhere I couldn't go that I couldn't say Go Blue and be welcomed.
Now while at school.
as Anne pointed out, you will be challenged
Over the tenure of your time at Michigan, the world will have its challenges.
Life, of course, and all of its wonderful aspects has challenges and at Michigan we accept those challenges.
And while you're studying at the UgLi, meeting up the union with your friends, okay, read a book on the Diag and taking some time out for yourself,
I invite you to spend some time thinking about how you wish to impact the world.
You see school is not only about getting your degree, going to some great football games, and having Zingerman's
The University of Michigan is about becoming the leader you are meant to be. It's about having a perspective and adding to the legacy that I'm sure many of your parents who might be sitting with you right now,
who are graduates, have set for you.
Your life has changed forever. The future has changed forever. You're no longer one person. You are a force, a way of life. You're Michigan.
I'll leave you with the three things that got me through school.
Most important: mind the here and now.
James Earl Jones, famous actor, voice of Michigan, Darth Vader-remember him?
You don't build a bond without being present, he said. Don't let distractions take you away from the moments that you have.
Two: step outside your comfort zone.
Larry Page, you know, founder: Google? Michigan grad. Push the envelope for what is possible, keep searching, he said. It's okay to change.
And I'd say, one of the most important
things to keep in mind as you take time to learn, study, and grow through the University of Michigan is make an impact.
President Gerald Ford, another great Michigan graduate, said history and experience tells us that more progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times but out of trial and confusion.
This is your time to explore and push the bounds of who you are.
After your time in Ann Arbor the world will be different and so will you. I invite you to carry the flag of the team.
The rallying cry of Go Blue. We are everywhere.
Everywhere.
And now, so are you. Welcome to Ann Arbor. Welcome to the time of your life. Welcome to Michigan.
Dean Anne Curzan: Dhani, thank you so much for those inspiring words about taking control of your education and becoming part of this community and creating positive, purposeful change in the world. We're so delighted, you were able to be here.
Dhani Jones: Thank you, Anne.
Dean Anne Curzan: So now we want to hear from all of you, the incoming students. So we're going to do a poll. They're going to be four questions. The questions are going to pop up on your screen.
And for each one, you're going to have about 30 seconds to choose your answer and then we'll get to see the results. So here comes the first question.
If you have, you have to wear one color for the entire term. What is it? Maize, or blue?
I can hardly wait to see the answer to this question. I think that I have already perhaps hinted at what my answer would be, for those of you who can see me. I happen to be wearing blue at the moment.
 
But you never know what I have in my closet. It might be lots of maize and of course when we need to Maize Out at games, we need to have all that maize ready to go.
So right now I think we're going to get the results. Okay, so we have blue coming in at 85% and maize coming in at 16%. And what I love is that that adds up to 101%
So I did say I started college as a math major, but clearly blue. People are opting for blue and that is just a way to accentuate the maize when we pull out the maize.
Alright, so here is our second question.
All right, I'm still seeing the first question.
All right. Question two: Where are you viewing this webinar? Your dorm room, a bedroom, a coffee shop, outside, the broom closet under the stairs.
All right, did we know that right now because of the global pandemic. We have students who are on campus. We have students who are at home.
And we have students who are in other locations all around the globe. So we're excited to see where you are right now as you're tuning into this welcome event.
I am at home, as you may be able to tell my office looks a little bit different than this, more books in the background in my office.
Okay, so we have gotten most people are in a dorm room or a bedroom. Dorm room at 55%
Bedrooms at 39%. No one is in a coffee shop, perhaps because it's hard to sit there. We have 2% of people who are outside and 7% of the people are in the broom closet under the stairs. I hope you have a flashlight in there with you.
Alright, our third question.
This is picking up on something that I talked about. What is your top choice for taking care of yourself during your first semester?
Here are the choices: hobbies, sports and fitness, mindfulness or meditation, music or arts, religion or spiritual practice, comfort food, face time with family and friends.
And these are all - and you may be looking at this and thinking, I want to do a lot of these!
And we hope that you will do a lot of these. So the question is just, what's your top choice today.
For what you want to do to be taking care of yourself. And we wanted to ask this question because it's so important to us to stress your well being, as part of college.
You will be able to learn effectively if you are well and healthy and we want each of you to thrive.
Alright so here are our results. And thank you all for participating in this. So hobbies at 27%. The highest is sports and fitness at 36% and behind that at 32% his face time with family and friends.
We've got a lot of music and arts at 22%, comfort food at 12%, and religion and spiritual practice at 8%, mindfulness at 12% so really nice range there of all the things that you're going to do. And here is our last question.
And here you're going to get to see a building on campus. So here is this building.
And here's the question. What can you find in this building? Dean Curzan's backup collection of dictionaries, thesaureses. Maybe you call that thesaurai? And linguistic guides. And I have to say I do own a lot of dictionaries.
Maybe you can find 53 bells that play chimes and occasionally the theme from Westworld. A memorial to World War Two soldiers. A classroom.
Definitely D and probably at least one of A, B, or C. So those are the five choices.
This is a wonderful building on campus and on a day is taken on a day as beautiful as today and you can see the clock there on the top.
So we wanted to show you a little bit of campus, even though some of you may not be on campus right now and I can hardly wait to see what you think is going on in this building.
Alright, so here we get the results. Okay. I love it that some of you have decided that my dictionaries are in this building.
So we have 52% going with the last one which is D, there must be a classroom and at least one of A, B, or C, you are correct.
So it is definitely D. There is a classroom there. It is also true that there are 53 bells there. This is called the bell tower and a memorial to World War two soldiers.
What is not there is all of my backup dictionaries, but I think it's a great idea. So I might...I might go store some of them there. So thank you all for participating. It's fun for us to get to know a little bit about you.
And now it is my pleasure to get to introduce two very important students in LSA, our LSA student government reps Selena Bazzi and Josiah Walker.
Selena is the student body president for LSA Student Government and the Doctors Without Borders executive officer.
She's studying biomolecular science with a minor in art and design and community action and social change. Selena is the first Lebanese American student body president for the college
Josiah Walker is the vice president for LSA Student Government and is studying political science with a minor in entrepreneurship.
He is also the president of Turn Up Turn Out, the nonpartisan student group that works with the Ginsburg Center here on campus as well as all 19 schools and colleges, student organizations, and athletics
to increase student voter turnout at the University of Michigan. Josiah is the first African American vice president for the college. So let me turn it over to Selena and Josiah.
Selena Bazzi: Thank you Dean Curzan. Good afternoon my fellow Wolverines. It is with great excitement that we welcome you all to the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Selena Bazzi: As students of the largest college at the number one public institution in the nation, you are in a unique position to become leaders in your fields of study and industries of interest.
Josiah Walker: Needless to say, this truly cannot be a more peculiar time to be a
Josiah Walker: student, let alone a first-year student.
Josiah Walker: You've likely noticed that we're in the midst of making an unprecedented switch to hybrid learning, yet we still haven't managed to beat Ohio State in a football game since the two of us have been students here.
Selena Bazzi: We can imagine your especially hightened worries about starting college in a hybrid environment.
Selena Bazzi: It may assure you to know that LSA academic technology has put in a tremendous amount of effort to ensure that your learning experience is as similar to in person environment as possible.
Selena Bazzi: Professors have been coordinating with the dean's office, Environment, Health and Safety or EHS,
Selena Bazzi: the Services for Students with Disabilities, and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to accommodate students who come from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of needs.
Selena Bazzi: In fact, the University of Michigan as a whole has been working very diligently as to ensure you will still be able to make the best, the most of your undergraduate career.
Josiah Walker: Perhaps
Josiah Walker: some of you are worried about how you will make friends or get involved on campus.
Josiah Walker: We thought we'd share that we both entered college as early generation students far away from our families and undecided about what to study.
Josiah Walker: It wasn't long, however, before this campus started to feel like home. You'll meet your lifelong friends and for some of you who are lucky enough, your soulmates.
Josiah Walker: You'll be surrounded by highly motivated students who strive to be the best they can be, who will inspire you to be the best you can be. And you will enjoy the newfound freedom that comes with being a college student.
Selena Bazzi: There are many different things that make the University of  Michigan feel like home. Sometimes it's my knowledge of the campus layout. Other times is hanging out with close friends after a long day, or even seen my cultural foods in the dining hall.
Josiah Walker: For me,
Josiah Walker: it was getting involved with student organizations.
Josiah Walker: My favorite after Student Government, of course, being Turn Up Turn Out, the nonpartisan student group that works to increase voter registration, education, and turnout at the University of Michigan.
Selena Bazzi: If someone would have told us years ago that we would become the student body president and vice president of one of the most intellectually competent and elite groups of individuals, we would have never believed it.
Selena Bazzi: Let alone the first Arab American student body president and first black student body vice president.
Selena Bazzi: Our point is college provides you with special opportunity as long as you're willing to accept that your journey will always take in the direction you expect.
Selena Bazzi: We urge each of you to find comfort in the process of patience, and with time, bigger and better doors will open. Only then you could see where your journey of discovery will take you.
Josiah Walker: The past three years at Michigan have truly been a world of personal
Josiah Walker: academic and professional growth for the two of us. We are confident that it will be the same for you.
Josiah Walker: Tomorrow officially marks the beginning of your undergraduate journey. Give yourself the space metaphorically and literally to meet individuals who are different from yourself.
Josiah Walker: This is a time where you can learn more about the world around you, all while being in one central location or as we like to say at your home away from home.
Selena Bazzi: The University of Michigan has so much to offer.
Selena Bazzi: It's a place for growth and learning with thousands of student organizations and a plethora of academic resources. There are endless possibilities to become leaders on campus.
Selena Bazzi: And when you do notice something that's missing, you could be the one to create that change, leaving your mark on our community. For instance, joining student government.
Selena Bazzi: Take this imperfect moment and make it as perfect as it can be. Now that you have more time on your hands, consider picking up a new skill. Michigan Online is a great place to start to learn about coding, leadership, financial literacy, and many more subjects, all for free.
Josiah Walker: The University of Michigan.
Josiah Walker: is just as much your home as ours. We would like to thank each of you for joining the convocation and we are beyond excited to serve as your student body president and vice president this year.
Selena Bazzi: We wish you all the best of luck as you embark on your journeys. Thank you, everyone. And forever and always
Go Blue!
Dean Anne Curzan: Thank you so much, Selena and Josiah. There were so many important messages in
there about
the ways to think about your education here in Michigan and how to think about your time
here and as you said we have spent a lot of time getting ready for this hybrid semester, a lot of creativity.
Anne Leslie Curzan: And there's so much learning that's going to stretch everybody's brains, just the way it would if we were entirely in person. I'm going to be in the classroom this fall, teaching in a hybrid way, and I'm really excited to meet students starting tomorrow.
And so let me turn to our last speaker.
Our final speaker is Rosario Ceballo. An associate dean, Professor Ceballo oversees all the social science departments in the college.
She has an impressive record here in Michigan. She's an award-winning teacher. She was chair of the Women's Studies Department for four years and launched the new gender and health major in 2016 which is one of our fastest growing majors.
She's also an accomplished researcher, whose work focuses primarily on academic and psychological functioning of children and adolescents living in poverty.
As a first-generation college student herself, she has been working over the past year to learn more about how we can better support first-generation students in LSA so that we can be sure that everyone can thrive. So let me turn the
floor over to Professor Ceballo.
Rosie Ceballo: Hi everyone.
Rosie Ceballo: Good afternoon. It is an honor to be a part of the first ever LSA Zoom welcome event. And already, I can tell that you're going to be an incredible class of LSA students.
So today I speak for so many U of M professors, graduate students, staff, when I say we are so happy to have you with us at the University of Michigan. Congratulations to all of you, and welcome to U of M.
Not long ago I had the privilege of giving a welcome talk to students participating in Alma, a welcome orientation for students interested in the Latinx experience sponsored by La Casa and MESA.
And that led me to think about the things that I would not let this global pandemic take away from me.
And one of those things is my absolute love for the fall and my love for the start of a new school year and all of the excitement that that brings.
So, even under the strangest of world circumstances with a global pandemic, I hope that all of you find many moments to embrace the journey that lies ahead.
The moments of laughter the sense of accomplishment you will get in a class. The joy of trying something new with new friends, the fun of being in college and starting a new stage in your life.
In officially welcoming you to the University of Michigan and to the College of LSA, I thought I would give you four pieces of advice that I wish I had known when I was starting in college.
And the first of the most important thing that I have to say to you, I'm just going to repeat a little bit what Dean Curzan has already highlighted.
Because my most important piece of advice was to say to all of you: you belong at the University of Michigan. U of M Admissions does not make mistakes.
And even those of you, like me, who are the first in your families to go to college and who had to look up what a wolverine was when you first got here.
And I recently had help from the ALMA participants in doing that, by the way, all of you, all of you belong at the University of Michigan.
And I'll share a secret with you that even students whose great great great grandparents came to U of M and who can sing the football fight song in their dreams,
even those students sometimes feel uncertain in college. So the message is when you feel uncertain,
don't for a second think that you don't belong, even during those difficult times. You are now all and forevermore will be Wolverines.
The second piece of advice that I want to give to you is that the University of Michigan is absolutely rich in resources. Find out about those resources and use them. Do not try to do college alone.
The university's resources are here to support you. We have computer support. We have advisors for majors. We have emergency funds.
We have internship awards through the Opportunity Hub. We have hundreds of clubs and UROP research opportunities and so on and so on.
Use them. Find your people, make good friends, and reach out to your professors. Go to office hours and just say hi. You don't need to have a question to go to office hours.
Most of us, and I can-I know that there are many who feel like me, teach because we love students. We want to help students be successful. And we see learning as an ever changing and tremendously rewarding experience.
So, I promise you: no one gets through college alone. Reach out, use our resources.
Third, don't forget your strengths, your experiences and the things that got you here, no matter what they are.
It may be that you took care of three younger siblings after school every day and got stellar grades. It may be that you're the best merengue dancer in your city.
It may be that you speak five languages and have traveled the world. The things that make you who you are–those are the things that are your assets and your strengths.
So have fun in college. Have fun learning. Don't forget your strengths. But try new things.
Remember, please that learning happens outside as much as inside the classroom or the Zoom window and the Zoom screen brings me to my last
and final piece of advice. So lastly, I'm going to say something that you may not expect and the fourth piece of advice that I have for all of you.
is please teach us. Tell us how you're doing. Tell us what you need and how we can improve your learning experience in this new hybrid teaching environment.
None of us, none of us have ever started a semester during a pandemic before.
We are all learning together. Your professors and instructors are learning new skills and being challenged in formats that they never knew before.
So we're going to need your feedback. Please talk to your instructors, your GSIs, your advisors, mentors, librarians.
Tell us how to do better. Don't let the pandemic keep you from reaching out. Share with us what works, what could make things easier, and how we can help.
As I mentioned to you earlier, you're all valued members of U of M now, and the College of LSA.
And we will need your contributions and your feedback to learn and work together in order to thrive as a college under these new conditions.
I know and I trust that you will make us stronger and better. So thank you for the opportunity to talk to you all today and to welcome you to the University of Michigan.
Dean Anne Curzan: Thank you so much, Professor Ceballo and what a wonderful–I mean those four pieces of advice, are things that we should all be keeping in mind.
Dean Anne Curzan: And they're filled with this sense of how much we all have to learn from each other. And that's the joy of this place, and I very intentionally, as Professor Ceballo did, say learn from each other.
Because that's what we do. That's what we do at a research institution, a research institution that cares deeply about teaching, is that we are all learning and we're learning from each other.
So I want to thank all of you for joining us. I also want to thank the remarkable team of people who made this event happen, who made those poll questions happen, who got all of us here on a Sunday afternoon.
I hope that your first week of classes goes very well, and despite all of the uncertainty and all that is new in this environment, I want you to be able to find joy and meaning in your explorations here.
I'm so grateful and happy that you are here, whether you're on campus or you're right now on a video line.
And I'm proud to know that you are now part of the great history of LSA and that your work, your visions, your ideas will shape this community and college for years to come. Congratulations on coming this far and good luck with this next chapter. Forever, Go Blue!
