I wish you could have been present for the concluding activities of the Class of 2000. Our first graduates of the new millennium exhibit behavior and values quite consistent with our ÒLearn. Achieve. Contribute.Ó theme. The ÒAssumptionÓ spirit evident at our reception for parents and seniors, the Baccalaureate Mass at the Cathedral, the Baccalaureate dinner and program, and our 83rd Commencement ceremony was an outward sign of our internalized motto of ÒUntil Christ Be Formed In You.Ó There is no better assessment of our mission than the commentary and feelings expressed by graduates, their families, and their teachers during the final days of an undergraduate, graduate, or continuing education program. While Assumption College is strategically repositioning itself from a well-regarded little r, little i, regional institution in New England to a highly-regarded big R, big I, regional institution in the Northeast, the characteristics of Assumption College remain in place.

We continue to preserve the characteristics of an extended familyÑcivility, compassion, candid and objective feedback, and high expectations. We continue our commitment to a solid general education core of studies for all undergraduates firmly anchored by requirements in theology and philosophy, and characterized by a structured exposure to the liberal arts and sciences, where expectations for oral and written expression are rigorous. A high-quality, high-impact, value-driven, Catholic, residential liberal arts and sciences college is a good place to be given the needs of our society in the 21st century. As we approach one hundred years of proven performance in 2004, we are a stronger intellectual, social, and spiritual community. As I write this letter to you, two new residence halls, a classroom extension onto Laska Gymnasium, an extensive renovation of the Junction, and new quarters for the Health Center and Alumni and Development Offices are underway.

It will be a busy and dusty summer leading up to an exciting fall. Please follow the progress of our construction by visiting our web page at http://www.assumption.edu, and going to the Student Life page for regularly updated photographs. We will close the fiscal year with our 22nd year of balanced budgets, a new record in student applications, a new benchmark for annual giving and percentage of alumni participation in annual support, and the most successful win-loss record in Greyhound Athletics (185-156-4 or .544). I should note that our women athletes posted a 109-68-1, or a .616 winning percentage, and we won the Worcester Cup for the second time in three years. We have completed the hiring of a number of new faculty who are a wonderful group of talented teacher-scholars, even as we retire four senior faculty who have contributed a collective total of 99 years of service to Assumption College. Professors William Sadd, Charles Estus, Hubert Meunier, and Fr. Terry Dougherty retired, but three of the four will continue to teach on occasion or perform part-time leadership roles for us. The quality of our faculty is stellarÑthere is no other way to characterize their teaching effectiveness, affinity for availability to their students, up-to-date scholarship, and commitment to the mission of Assumption College. As you will read inside this issue of the Assumption College Magazine, Professor Magda deMoor and I were invited to join a delegation of higher education colleagues to Cuba led by Congressmen McGovern and Moakley. We were honored to participate and happy to have Assumption College represented in the largest group of college and university educators to visit Cuba. Anyone interested in a fuller perspective on Cuba should read Cuba: Neither Heaven Nor Hell by Marie Lopez Vigil. I hope this copy of the Assumption College Magazine finds you and your friends and family enjoying the summer of 2000.

Thomas R. Plough President