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November 18, 2019
 

Dear Members of the Golden Flashes Family,

Thanksgiving approaches, and I am reaching out to offer my best wishes for a healthy and relaxing holiday, as well as to remind you of an important public lecture on the Kent Campus this week.

As we break for the holiday, please know that I am thankful for all that each of you does for our students, for our colleagues and for our community. You certainly have earned a time of rest and relaxation. Thank you one more time for the empathy, dedication and passion you bring to the university, and for helping make sure that Flashes take care of Flashes.

But before we break for the holiday, please join us for a very special event that is part of our May 4 Speaker Series: a conversation with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu tomorrow night, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. The event is free, but a ticket is required for admission. You can get free tickets here.

Landrieu, who was mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018, showed great fortitude during this time in office when he oversaw the removal of four large Confederate monuments from the New Orleans landscape.

Landrieu’s effort took great courage, yet he moved forward in the hope of creating a brighter future for his city, one free from the stigma of an ugly and painful history. He sought to put an end to years of polarizing discourse and to boldly envision healing within the community, where all people could work in harmony to create a better tomorrow.

His message – of healing the wounds of the past and moving toward a better future – is a powerful illustration of the lessons of May 4 as we prepare for the coming commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the May 4, 1970, shootings. Let’s give thanks, today and every day, for the bright future of our Golden Flashes family.

May your Thanksgiving be one of abundant blessings for you and yours.

With my best wishes,
Todd Diacon
President