QUniverse Fall 2020

QU | President’s Page

“A global pandemic, unlike any we have known for over a century, has forced us to teach and learn in new ways and to make one difficult decision after another”

If this were a more ordinary time, I would spend the bulk of this letter thanking the wonderful Quincy University community for a successful inauguration ceremony and all the support I have received during my first year as president.Truly, this warm and caring community has exceeded all my expectation and hopes. I love every day on this campus andthe time spent with students and alumni who have been and continue to be nurtured by this place. Across the generations,our Franciscan mission is the bright, guiding light that has sustained this place and this people.But this is no ordinary time.A global pandemic, unlike any we have known for over a century, has forced us to teach and learn in new ways and to make one difficult decision after another. This pandemic came even as state and national politics seems to infuse every choice and at a time when distrust in science and experts is commonplace. Nevertheless, QU endures, and QU rises.Hawks everywhere have responded to the pandemic by adapting, by innovating, by learning new things, and by working together. Whatever else has happened locally and nationally,the members of this community have identified one problem at a time, solved each problem, and moved forward to identify and solve the next problem.

This edition of QUniverse describes the value of hard workin overcoming adversity. Here, we celebrate the intrepid story of Quincy University, now in its 160th year, as a place where each decade has presented new challenges to overcome,from the Civil War to COVID-19. We learn as well the story of one alumnus, whose many successes took him to today’s Quincy University Board of Trustees and gave him a lifetime of experience and judgment on which he can draw in service to his alma mater in these unusual times. And, we read the delightful stories of three very different QU students, whose pandemic experiences have taught them invaluable life lessons.

Our physical, economic, and mental health have been challenged by the pandemic, and the effects of these challenges will be felt for years to come. Now is the time for resolute leadership, Hawks, and support of the people who continue to lift up the university in word, in deed, and in prayer. Our future success at QU will not be the result of luck or accident. Instead,we will succeed by design, where our success is the product of planning, of hard work and of the deep commitment to doing good and being good.

Finally, I want to thank those alumni and other friends who,when seeing that the pandemic would make the lives of many QU students much more difficult, responded by donating generously to our COVID-19 relief fund. As a fellow donor to the relief fund, I am grateful for this support of our students and community in a time of great need, in addition to appreciating all our donors who made the last year our most successful fundraising year in the history of Quincy University.

For a short video tour of how we modified the QU campus and classrooms to adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 virus,see quincy.edu/coronavirus.

May God bless each of you in this difficult time, and may God watch over this great university.

Sincerely,

Brian McGee, PhD President