On "Relentless Welcome"

Earlier this fall, NAU declared this year the year of academic momentum.?

In the past several weeks, I've had a chance to meet with leaders across all divisions at NAU, reviewing best practices and data from colleagues and peers from across the country and drawing on myriad personal and professional experiences on how we can best deliver on our promise of equitable postsecondary value.

Through this process, at a panel on first-year retention at an All-Faculty meeting convened by NAU's Faculty Senate, I was introduced to and captivated by the phrase "relentless welcome," which I've since learned was perhaps first used in the context of student success by Felten and Lambert in "Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College ."

This phrase resonated so much with me because — as my wife, Rima Brusi , often says — there is something beautiful, ethereal, in finding the precise words to describe a feeling, a concept, a state of mind. And "relentless welcome" does just that — it captures what all of us committed to student success know — that demonstrating an authentic commitment to meeting every student with care, humility, empathy, and a prioritization of their success requires us to sustain (relentlessly) a teaching and learning environment that nurtures students' sense of belonging (welcome).

And the powerful thing about this phrase is its applicability transcends institutional boundaries. Regardless of where we sit on a university's organizational chart, we have a role to play in our students' success – the students who, when faced with whom to partner with as they sought to meet their full potential, chose us. To illustrate the importance of viewing the impact of our work through a "relentless welcome" lens, I share the following two stories.

• First—As an undergrad, an insurmountable financial challenge led me to the registrar's office to pick up a total withdrawal form. I had concluded that my only path forward as a student-parent was to drop out and get a job. My GPA was high, and my interest was strong, but life was getting in the way. To implement my plan, I had to get six signatures—one from each of my faculty members that semester. After several attempts at finding faculty during their posted office hours, I obtained four signatures. I was well on my way out. But then, unlike the previous four, the fifth faculty member asked why I was dropping out, given I was doing so well in his class. I explained. I believe he called and referred me to someone in financial aid. And before I knew it, I had an emergency grant that allowed me to persist. His attitude of "relentless welcome" not only kept me in school but changed the trajectory of my life and that of my extended family.
• Second—Early in my career as a faculty member at another institution, I was tangentially involved in a program co-founded by my wife, Rima Brusi . The project was called "Centro Universitario para el Acceso." The program aimed to expand access to more students from the public housing projects near the university. The project, which initially included research, outreach, and enrichment components, still exists and has transformed hundreds of lives. But it also highlighted how the?lack?of a "relentless welcome" attitude could perpetuate inequality. Case in point: an early participant in the program managed to gain admission into the university even against the backdrop of tragic and traumatic events in her life. It seemed she was invincible, and nothing could stand in her way. Except something did. A visit to a campus office in which the fact that she lived in a public housing project somehow became the subject of conversation made her feel extremely unwelcome and disrespected. Soon after that, she dropped out. Hard to understand, but the culture of indifference she came upon that day was the one tragic event that—at the time—she could not overcome.

And this is why, in advancing the year of academic momentum at NAU, in preparing our students for careers of consequence and lives of purpose, I've called for an all-hands-on-deck approach with a "relentless welcome" attitude.

Because, regardless of whether we are at the forefront in developing a new program or initiative or simply smiling while giving a student directions on the pedway, our students' success depends in no small part on their ability to genuinely and confidently affirm that they are welcomed, that they belong.