Dear CMC Campus Community:
Welcome back! We hope you all had a fun, restorative break with family and friends.
After a historic fall semester with the opening of our new Robert Day Sciences Center and early recognition of its extraordinary architecture, we have so much to be excited about over the next few months.
As I shared in my annual State of the College address before the break, we will continue to find joy in taking on the big challenges, accelerate our trajectory against countervailing winds, and reinforce our indivisible commitment to one another.
Those are the keys to our success, now and well into the future.
We demonstrate this daily through:
Our remarkable students. Exemplars from Samuel Johnson-Saeger ’26, our third Rhodes Scholar in five years, to Annabel Chung ’27, our fourth consecutive student to earn an Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. From our national champion men’s water polo team (second title in three years) to our 16-0 men’s basketball team (toppling a school record for best start in program history) and 13-3 women’s basketball team (also undefeated in the SCIAC). Last week at the NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C., we also celebrated recent graduate, Ella Brissett ’25, the student-athlete of the year in Division III, finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year, and winner of the NCAA Impact Award for Division III.
Our outstanding faculty. Exceptional teacher-scholars, from Lily Geismer, Branwen Williams, and Albert Park (environmental equality and sustainability) to Jon Shields and Stephanie Muravchik (heterodox pedagogy); from Hilary Appel (foreign policy) and Minxin Pei P’12 (modern China) to Joani Etskovitz (creativity and adventure) and Steven Zhou (curiosity and psychology); and from Amy Kind (artificial intelligence and imagination) to Nicholas Buccola (the American ideal).
Our championed programs and the phenomenal staff and faculty who run them. From our Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, celebrating its 40th anniversary in February, to our CARE Center, celebrating its 10th anniversary in March. From Open Academy initiatives to our prized Athenaeum, with an outstanding lineup this semester that includes political scientist Danielle Allen on the Declaration of Independence (February 17), New York Times columnist David Brooks as our annual Res Publica Society Speaker (March 24), current U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze (April 13), and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on global disorder (April 15). Our season kicks off Monday, February 2 with a special Martin Luther King Commemorative Program, “American Gospel: The Music that Propelled a Movement,” featuring Dr. Diane White-Clayton and her 15-person award-winning gospel choir, the BYTHAX Ensemble.
We also eagerly anticipate our big, meaningful moments: Family Weekend on February 14-16 and Commencement for the amazing Class of 2026 on May 16. Also, please mark your calendars for our first-ever CMC Leads conference, a leadership festival with hundreds of alumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff joining to share their leadership stories and amplify our collective impact. The event will be co-hosted by two of our most transformative alumni, Henry Kravis ’67 and George Roberts ’66 P’93. In a rare keynote conversation on April 25, we will have the opportunity to examine CMC’s phenomenal progress and hear firsthand about their inspiring leadership journey.
Finally, in the sprint through the last leg of my race, I could not be more thrilled to hand the CMC leadership baton off to President-Elect Will Dudley. Please join me when we welcome him and his spouse, Dr. Carola Tanna, to campus for a visit in mid-February (details to follow).
So look forward to seeing each of you this week.
Have a wonderful first day of classes to kick off an exciting Spring 2026.
Cheers to you all!
All very best,
Hiram