Greetings, Brenau community.
I often start my videos and blog posts with those words, and it’s because I believe “community” more accurately describes the environment at Brenau than just simply the word “school” or “university.”
In recent weeks, we have celebrated various aspects of our Brenau community, which continues to grow based upon the strong heritage of leadership. I was pleased to be a part of the celebration of one of these leaders recently; the Taste of History event at the Northeast Georgia History Center on Aug. 18 recognized Brenau President Emeritus John Burd. The entire Brenau community is appreciative of the work by Dr. Burd to build Brenau’s world-class art collection. Brenau’s Permanent Collection began in one gallery and now encompasses thousands of works of art across multiple galleries. What a treasure for Brenau, our students and the community!
The event also recognized the contributions of two long-standing businesses in the community that include several of our trustees: Betty Norton, trustee emerita and alumna, Frank Norton Jr. and alumna Carole Ann Daniel, all of whom have been great supporters of our Brenau community even before beginning their board tenures.
We celebrated our internal community on Aug. 23 with the annual Faculty and Staff Meeting, and my colleagues and I enjoyed welcoming Brenau’s employees before the start of another academic year. In addition to celebrating our accomplishments and recognizing new employees, I enjoyed the after-lunch activities to bring us together over hobbies – I learned two new crochet stitches – and hope everyone relished the opportunity to connect with colleagues.
Before I close, I want to remind everyone of another opportunity to bring together our Brenau community coming up in mid-September as we celebrate the establishment of our Downtown Campus. I personally invite you all to the Sept. 15-16 events that feature science and the arts, programs showcased in the Gainesville Renaissance and the Brenau Downtown Center.
This is a great step forward for Brenau, and also another representation of how we continue to serve the Gainesville-Hall County community.
Until the next post, please follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for more of what’s happening at Brenau.
Happy traditional new year!
