All Pericleans,
As most of you know I am spending spring semester with my family in Costa Rica. My role as the faculty leader for the Elon semester program here will allow me the time and distance to take a broad look at our program and come back refreshed and eager to move forward on many levels.
The interim Director while I am in Costa Rica is Steve Braye, Mentor for the Class of 2009 and for the to-be-recruited Class of 2018, and he will work to coordinate the Classes by dropping in (by invitation) to your Class to introduce himself, holding regular Steering Committee meetings, consulting with the Mentors regularly, and generally making sure that the program runs smoothly.
I look forward to seeing regular blog updates by each Class every week as per the pattern we established last fall. These regular posts by each Class –in addition to the Steering Committee meetings- allow for constant communication between the Classes so that the “younger” Classes can learn from the “older” ones (and, equally as likely, vice versa). Another main function of these bog posts is to keep all of our Periclean alumni and friends up to date with our ever-changing and active program. A third and very important function of these regular weekly posts is that they serve to chronicle the actions and achievements of the Class thus making the writing (and posting on the blog) of an end of semester Class resume very easy. Remember to include some photos to these posts to spice them up a bit.
Though I am many miles away from campus I am never far away via email and other communication vehicles, so stay in touch.
Finally, please keep in mind the Periclean ideal, namely that through working as a Class to authentically partner with people and organizations in your focus nation/region you are making an enormous, positive and two-way impact on each other and an impact that makes this world a better place both in the short and in the long term. And that, my friends, is our calling as Pericleans
All the best for a great semester.
Tom Arcaro
Director
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