Letter from the Editor

Inviting a stranger into your home is one of the most intimate and selfless acts you can take as a human being. Maybe you volunteered to host a surprise social for a friend or shared Thanksgiving dinner with someone who would have otherwise been alone on the holiday. You know how the experience made you feel. And for that stranger, little compares with the feeling of embrace that an unexpected welcome or an act of kindness evokes. This is one reason I take my new position as editor of Northern Vision so seriously—being invited into the Bear family is not an invitation given hastily, or lightly.

Personally, I’ve always felt most at home working in a nonprofit setting. For the better part of 14 years, I was lucky enough to work alongside colleagues who helped support vital, life-changing missions. Most recently, I was one of a handful of alumni department staff at The Potomac School, whose mission was to instill in its students a lifetime love of learning. Both my mother and grandmother were schoolteachers. My mother, a speech therapist for almost 30 years, worked with the most developmentally challenged students. I share that passion for education. I believe our mission at UNC is not just to educate, but to truly transform lives.

With Northern Vision’s recent editorial success (see Page 4), I know expectations are high, but I’m excited about the challenges ahead. This is an important time in the UNC Foundation’s history, and I feel honored to have the chance, through Northern Vision, to share UNC’s amazing student, faculty and alumni success stories. As evidenced by UNC’s “Points of Pride” on Page 14, the University of Northern Colorado not only has the state’s finest students and studentathletes, but some of the nation’s brightest new leaders as well.

Speaking of new leaders, I also want to introduce Jerry DeWitt ’77, UNC Alumni Association vice president of alumni and donor relations (see opposite page). If you have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Jerry, he brings a wealth of new ideas and extraordinary energy to the UNC Alumni Association and Northern Vision magazine. Although our main focus remains the same—to inform, enrich and inspire—I hope all of us here at Northern Vision can offer you a fresh perspective. Like UNC’s own alumni and students, with each new issue, Northern Vision strives to stand out, not just fit in.

Please keep your comments and letters coming. It is through our collective vision that we continue to make Northern Vision better. I hope every time you receive the latest issue you feel even more connected to UNC and your UNC Foundation. We all know UNC provides a solid foundation for learning, but we also hope you agree that today’s UNC Foundation provides a solid foundation for life.

Thanks again, UNC, for inviting me into your “home.” I cherish the invitation. I wholeheartedly accept!

Once a Bear, Always a Bear,

Michael “Sully” Soloway, Editor