We will honor six of our leading graduates and one future graduate during the 2013 Alumni Celebration Friday this Friday.  Traditionally, the SVSU Alumni Association has selected only one Distinguished Alumni Award recipient each year, but in honor of our 50th anniversary one Distinguished Alum from each of our five colleges will be honored. They are:

• Ellen Talbott, vice president of Patient Care Services at McLaren-Bay Region
• Paul Bridgewater, president and CEO of the Detroit Area Agency on Aging
• Greg Grocholski, corporate auditor for The Dow Chemical Company
• Janet Greif, principal at Midland High School
• Donald Whittington, vice president and chief information officer of Florida Crystals Corporation, a sugar company based in West Palm Beach, Fla.

This year’s Young Alumni Award Winner is Darryn Crocker, who graduated from SVSU with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2008 and spent three years in Swaziland in Africa with the health division of the U.S. Peace Corps. The 2013 Future Alumni Award Winner is Elyse Ledy, a communication major from Perry, who is highly involved on campus.

Please join me in congratulating these recipients and all of our alumni who contribute to the quality of life in this region and wherever their careers may take them.

We have begun the work of replacing two of our colleagues who will be retiring this summer: Susie Emond, interim dean of the College of Education, and Jill Wetmore, dean of the College Business. Search committees have been appointed and an initial review of applicants is underway.  My thanks to those colleagues participating in these searches, and stay tuned for more information on public appreciation for Susie and Jill.

The dark days of February are upon us. This is just one of those work-a-day weeks.  Keep your chins up, keep our students in mind and continue your valuable work on behalf of our university. And remember – spring break is less than four weeks away.