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Dean's Welcome

We are living in turbulent times. In our school of education, we recently experienced the challenges of turbulence and change. Although we have had great success in bringing excellentfaculty, staff and students of color into our school and supporting them to remain in our school community, recently we experienced the unsettling departure of several talented faculty of color. The impact of their leaving had a strong impact on all of us, causing us to re-examine many of our taken-for-granted practices.
 
In response to these events, I made the very difficult decision to resign as dean and join the faculty as a professor to help the school heal from these losses and continue to move forward in a positive manner. As you might imagine, I did not make this decision lightly. I continue to believe in the incredible strength of our school that is illustrated in the pages of this issue. I also believe in the power of making a commitment to healing. It is fitting, then, that we decided many months ago to dedicate this issue of Voices to healing and wellness.
 
In this issue, you can explore perspectives, ideas and activities around healing and wellness from across the country and in our local communities. Our faculty, staff, students and alumni have engaged with youth and educators in wellness initiatives and the arts. Daily, we are learning more about the power and potential of healing justice, and many of our alumni and students are at the forefront of wellness efforts.
 
As a school, we know we have a tremendous amount of work to do to bring healing and wellness into our own lives, while at the same time truly responding to the needs of our community members in Colorado and well beyond. This issue describes how we have reached out to the community to listen and provide tools that allow us to learn what people need to live healthier lives. We will bring those same tools to our own community. We hope you can take some time to pause and reflect what you might need or how you might work with others to create healthier and more purposeful and sustainable communities for yourself and others.

There are many more projects initiated and supported that could never fit within these pages, and we look forward to learning about the ways you are prioritizing healing and wellness in your lives and to working together on this essential endeavor.
 
Be well,

Kathy Schultz, Dean and Professor