Celebrating and supporting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has never been more important for our community, given the recent increase in acts of ignorance, hatred, and violence that they have endured.

In an April 20, 2021, online discussion with the St. Francis College popular music class taught by Brian Gregory, Ed.D., assistant professor of communication arts, Augusta Palmer, Ph.D., associate professor of communication arts, moderated a discussion with writer Preston Lauterbach and 95-year-old Annye C. Anderson in which she reflected on her youth with blues legend Robert Johnson prior to his death in 1938 at the age of 27 and her lifelong connection with his musical legacy.

For years, St. Francis College's Education Department has been training new generations of educators, offering undergraduate degrees in childhood and adolescent education and physical education that prepare students for graduate school, professional certification and fulfilling jobs in primary and secondary school settings. Since spring 2019, the College has graduated 47 education majors.

A new Fellows program launching this year will bring professionals who have expertise in human rights and diversity issues into the St. Francis College community, helping enrich the College's academic curriculum and learning opportunities for students.

Debuting in spring 2021, the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (the CAFE) is a new locus for faculty development within the College's Office of Academic Affairs. Under the leadership of Molly Mann, Ph.D., its new director, the CAFE hosts workshops, administers programs and offers individualized coaching that will enrich student instruction, ultimately enabling students – particularly from populations historically under-represented in higher education – to meet intended learning outcomes.

Shaka King, director and co-screenwriter of the 2021 Academy Award-nominated film "Judas and the Black Messiah," will discuss his work and career with screenwriter and playwright Ben Snyder, the dramatic writing coordinator for St. Francis College's MFA program, on May 6 at 7 p.m., as the latest guest in the College's Write in Brooklyn discussion series.

As our nation processes the outcome of the Chauvin trial, a moment in our history that is certain to raise mixed emotions in all of us, and as we work to heal and to consider the many ways the world needs us to be beacons of hope, I have made a decision to close the campus on Friday, April 23rd, to give us all an opportunity to pause, pray, reflect, meditate and/or talk to those we care about regarding the state of the world today.