Wishing You Well at the End of Our Academic Year

May 10, 2024

Dear Scarlet Knights:

On behalf of the Division of Student Affairs, I would like to congratulate all of you on reaching the end of the academic year! Whether you are graduating or returning to continue your studies, I encourage you to reflect on your experiences in the past year. While this was a tumultuous year, I hope the enlightening conversations you had with peers in the classroom, dining halls, roommates, and a faculty or staff mentor are the moments you will remember fondly.

This year was characterized by student engagement, leadership, advocacy, and dialogue. Student-led events like Nightmarket, Unity Day, Rutgers University Dance Marathon, the Mark Conference, and many more drew hundreds of attendees who learned from and were inspired by their peers. Many students also stood up for their beliefs while exercising their free speech rights. While our community may not always agree on every political, global, or social issue, this is what a beloved community is all about: working through our differences via a collective dialogue.

As you look ahead to the summer months, consider reflecting on the challenges and lessons learned from this academic year. The only way we can grow and improve as a campus community is through personal and collective empathy, introspection, and growth. I also encourage you to stay connected over the summer, whether that be catching up with a fellow Scarlet Knight at the mall, emailing a favorite professor, or stopping by to say hello to a trusted staff member; you are an integral member of the Rutgers community. Also, note that resources in the Division of Student Affairs—from CAPS to the Dean of Students to the Student Food Pantry—will remain open and available for those who need them over the summer; we welcome you to contact us.

I wish you a restful and productive summer and look forward to seeing many of you again as the academic year begins in the fall! For those of you who are returning, I look forward to continuing to build our Beloved Community with our newest Scarlet Knights, who will join us from countries abroad, different states, and communities throughout New Jersey.

In Rutgers Pride,

Salvador B. Mena, Ph.D. (he, him, el)
Senior Vice Chancellor for the Student Experience
Rutgers University–New Brunswick