Thanksgiving Celebrated at MWU's Campuses

While our students were taking their final exams last week, both MWU campuses celebrated with our annual Thanksgiving brunches. In addition to good food and fellowship, these events symbolize an important value at our University: the simple act of saying "thank you."

The Downers Grove event was held on Wednesday morning, with a buffet including quiche, scrambled eggs, crepes with fruit toppings, fruit, pastries, and waffles. Dr. G and members of the Administrative Team welcomed guests outside the dining hall with a handshake and "happy thanksgiving" greeting. Hugs were exchanged from people who work way on "the other side of campus," who people don't get to see on a daily basis. Departments and divisions sat together to enjoy breakfast and catch up on their holiday plans. After everyone went through the brunch line, it was time for the much-anticipated raffle. This year's theme was "Thanksgiving Dinner," with gifts appropriately centered around entertaining and eating! As Dr. G asked guests to pull winning tickets and Dr. D announced the gifts being raffled, the vice presidents and deans delivered the raffle items to the lucky winners. In addition to kitchen items, dinnerware, and gift baskets, the raffle included 12 20+-lb turkeys and 20 gift certificates to Baker's Square for the holiday pie.

With a day in between campus events for the administrators to travel to Arizona, the Glendale event was held on Friday morning. The menu was similar with lots of great breakfast items to choose. As faculty and staff gathered to enjoy the brunch, the community held a moment of silence for a member of the MWU family who had recently passed away. Natalie Mummert was a 10-year employee in MWU's Financial Aid Office. Along with Carol Dolan, Natalie helped to initiate many of MWU's financial aid programs and has worked with probably all or most of our MWU alumni and students. She was killed tragically in a traffic accident the week before, and her loss was still felt deeply by her many colleagues and friends. The Financial Aid and Registrar's Office staff members brought along a pansy for their table, which was Natalie's favorite flower. While it was certainly a very sad time, the gathering did help to bring a sense of healing to the campus community. After brunch, the Glendale group held their raffle, with more dinnerware items, gift baskets, turkeys, and pies to give away.

At each of these events, the meal and the raffle prizes were simply a tangible way for Dr. G and the Administrative Team to deliver a simple message to the MWU family: that of thanks. Dr. G expressed to each member of the community her personal appreciation for everyone's hard work and commitment over the past year. The message was clear: MWU is more than beautiful buildings, innovative curricula, and expensive equipment. MWU is focused on people. The caring and support of the entire campus--from the administration to the faculty to the staff--allows each of us to serve the true mission of the University: to teach and mentor our students. We hope the team effort of our campus community is evident in the wonderful outcomes of our students and their successful pursuit of lifelong careers in health care.

During this holiday week, I wish you all safe travels and wonderful time spent with your families and loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving!