Dear Gettysburgians,
As I write this message from the kitchen table of our new house in Gettysburg, Susan and I are surrounded by boxes from our recent move from Boston. The boxes will eventually get packed away, but not our excitement about arriving on campus and working with all of you over the months and years ahead.
In a few moments, I’ll take the walk to Pennsylvania Hall for the first time as Gettysburg College’s president, across the beautiful and inspiring campus Susan and I now call home. I find myself thinking about the thousands of Gettysburgians who have also walked this campus and helped make the College such a strong, vibrant, and engaging place. These thoughts underscore the sacred responsibility that has been entrusted to me, and to all of us, to devote our very best efforts to ensuring that the education Gettysburg provides remains exceptional and continues to prepare our students to thrive in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
I have learned a lot about the College since my announcement in February, and I am grateful for the time students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, parents, and friends have spent with me. I know I will continue to rely on your wisdom as I formally assume my responsibilities and seek to deepen my sense of the College’s culture, values, and rhythms. I have already come to understand and respect the College’s appreciation for its distinctive history (in that vein, I cannot help but note that it is the morning of July 1; at this time, 156 years ago, the three-day battle of Gettysburg was just underway—a battle that ultimately defined the course of the Civil War and American democracy). I am especially inspired by Gettysburg College’s determination to use that history as a springboard to its ambitious future, and I am ready to join in that essential work.
A venerable proverb reminds us that “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I look forward to going far, together, for the Orange and Blue.
With warmest greetings,
Bob Iuliano
President
Gettysburg College