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Greetings! I read your note just now.
I send to you ALL blessings and good wishes from my family to yours. I served on the faculty prior to your arrival from 1993 until 2007 with considerable pride, joy, enthusiasm and gratefulness! I achieved full professor at the university in 1999 and basically developed into the professional that I became until retirement from Lipscomb University. The legacy that SU carries is alive and well with the gifts that you brought to it.
Thank you for your service and for the reminder to live life to its fullest EVERY day and be thankful for every moment that we have. Live with the spirit that is given to you as well. Your letter was a reminder to always keep that in mind, Best to you and to your family. Dr Norma J. Bond Burgess
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Dear Kent,
We met last year and I remember being so impressed with you, not just for your accomplishments at Syracuse, but for who are as a person. I've been getting to know some of your people who are leading AI efforts and they love you for who you are as their leader.
It sounds like you are getting amazing care and have endless support. You certainly have a heck of a lot of people rooting for you. Count me among them.
This journey can't be easy and I hope the discomforts are as few as possible. When you have this behind you, I hope our paths can cross again.
Warmly,
Paul
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Dear Kent: I'm deeply appreciative of the time you spent mentoring me while I was at Syracuse and giving me the opportunity to work in such a great community. I could fill up the 3,000 character limit simply on my recollection of times with you at Syracuse and how it continues to set me up in my own career.
Because you gave me an opportunity at Syracuse, I now have a job as Provost at my alma mater, which I could never have gotten without my years at SU. My daughter has a Syracuse University degree in Aerospace Engineering and is well on her way to getting a doctorate. More than that, your family welcomed her with open arms when it was just she and I in Syracuse, which made a big difference to her. My wife's career really took off in terms of the instruction and hands-on initiatives she has launched. And now we all know how to clear a foot of snow off a car before frostbite sets in. Maybe this is just another "Syracuse took a chance on me" story -- I heard so many during my years there. I hope those are stories you take pride in; actually, I know they are.
You have a lot of people cheering for you, praying for you, and thinking of you at Clemson. The thoughtful interactions you've had with our leaders here still resonates. We're behind you now and will continue to be in your corner.