January 30, 2021
Dear Friend, It is with mixed emotions that I look back on 2020. On one hand it was enormously challenging. The immediate and unrelenting threat to our community from COVID-19, coupled with social and political unrest, tested us in ways we never imagined. Yet, despite the fact that 2020 brought us many of our worst days – it also brought us some of our brightest moments. As the novelist James Lane Allen once said, “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.” While the past year was dominated by adversity, it also reminded us of who we are and what we value. At MDIBL we witnessed countless examples of kindness and generosity – from an employee shopping for an elderly neighbor, to our staff finding creative ways to keep us all connected despite the need to remain physically distant, to the hundreds of emails, notes and donations we received from loyal supporters like you – eager to ensure the continuation of our important work. And thanks to you, that’s exactly what we did. Despite the fact that COVID-19 significantly altered day-to-day operations, it did not prevent us from making substantial progress in our research and education programs. With your help we hired two outstanding international scientists, welcomed twenty new employees and received more than $6 million in federal research grants. With determination and hard work, we translated our education programming to online learning, hosting 23 high school and undergraduate virtual summer fellowships, holding 13 courses and conferences and providing meaningful experiences to 625 students and science professionals. With our sights set firmly on the year ahead, we have laid out our programmatic and fundraising priorities which include raising $1M to fund innovative faculty research projects; $280,000 to recruit four full-time graduate students and $650,000 to restore and preserve historic Bowen Hall. There is much to be said for the strength and hope our extraordinary community have offered this year, and it is abundantly clear to me that we are better together. Thank you for your support. While we continue to run our programs and outreach virtually for now, we eagerly await the day that we can invite you to campus again with open hearts and beaming smiles.
Sincerely,
Hermann Haller, M.D. President, MDI Biological Laboratory MDI Biological Laboratory | P.O. Box 35 | Salisbury Cove, ME 04672 | TEL: 207-288-3605