Dear Citadel Family,
Today Gail and I send greetings from Charleston to all of our cadets, students, alumni, parents and friends around the world.
Many in our community suffered in these recent weeks—we’ve lost at least one alumni, some of us are fighting this illness, or have ill friends and family, and for us all, normal patterns of life are disrupted. We can’t be together as we would like.
As Gail and I walk around a quiet campus, we miss your energy and enthusiasm. In times like these we are reminded of The Citadel spirit we share. As hard as it is to be apart, Gail and I are heartened by the actions from every corner of our community.
We see your resilience and your generosity. We see cadets and students working hard to continue online studies and lending support to one another, most notably our seniors and cadet chain of command. We will celebrate our virtual commencement, but I’m especially excited we will welcome our seniors back in the fall, so we can congratulate as many of you in person as possible.
We see faculty who came together to convert more than 1,400 courses to an online instruction model so our cadets and students can continue their academic progress, and continue tireless work to maintain a high standard of learning. We see our staff working hard to adapt and overcome obstacles to our normal way of doing business. Our Facilities and Engineering team continues to maintain our campus and supports continued progress on important capital projects making The Citadel better for the day everyone returns.
Our alumni and campus community are using their energy and talent to take care of our people. The Citadel Alumni Association is mustering alumni support of seniors searching for post-graduation employment. I’ve spoken to parents who chose to donate the refund of their cadets’ room and board fees to The Citadel Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund. This effort supplements the generous donations of many alumni who have supported students without the resources to easily transition to online learning, and those whose families struggle to continue funding their education.
Our service is not limited to our Citadel community. Several of our professors are working with cadets, students and other higher education institutions preparing protective equipment for MUSC. Our Krause Center mobilized a virtual “Story Time with The Citadel” initiative so members of our community can read stories to children during school closures.
It is inspiring to see how the first instincts of so many in our Citadel family are to serve others. It is a privilege to be a part of it all.
Thank you to all who have reached out to Gail and I or other members of our campus community with encouragement and support. We wish you good health, safety and serenity in these challenging times.
Semper Fi and Go Dogs!
Glenn M. Walters ‘79
General USMC (Retired)
President
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