Greetings Everyone, Congratulations on completing the semester, and best wishes on finishing all your grading.... Just a reminder that our COEHD graduation is next Saturday, December 21st in the Alamodome at 10 a.m.,(the procession starts at 9:30, so you'll need to get there an hour or so earlier) and I am encouraging you to attend. I realize that commencement is late this year, and that it's inconvenient for those who plan on traveling over the holidays, but this is an important part of being a faculty member and supporting our students' success. It's easy to forget how excited our students are about this most important milestone....an excerpt from an email I received earlier this week from one of our students is a reminder of this: My name is ..... . I am a December 2013 graduate of the College of Education at UTSA. My friends and I have been talking about graduation since we started our semester of Approaches classes, and have been planning this day together since then! Please attend, if at all possible-the Alamodome is a large venue, and it's important to the students and their families that there is a demonstrable show of support from their professors. We have long held the record for faculty participation in commencement, and I'm proud of that record. It certainly catches President Romo's and Provost Frederick's attention each semester, and holds us in good stead when we need their support for our other activities. As was the case last spring, I will try my best to set aside any discretionary funds that I may have available, to allocate to faculty members who attend commencement, as a "thank you" for your service and as an additional support toward any travel you may still like to do in either the spring or summer semester. In any event, I send you all my sincerest wishes for a joy-filled and peaceful holiday. Take care, and safe travels, Betty