Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

One of the most American of all American traditions is upon us this week and what a week it has been! I am talking about our Homecoming event when we celebrate the return to campus of many of our alumni who graduated last year or decades ago. As we meet and greet returning Miners, I sense the appreciation that they feel for their alma mater. It’s all pure gratitude. They are, as we are, truly thankful, for mutually understandable reasons. In words and in actions, they express their true feelings of how this wonderful institution helped shape their careers and lives.

Many are returning “the favor” by participating and serving as advisory board members of their respective departments. Others serve as members of our eight academies, who provide unceasing support for our students, their projects and their scholarship. Their support has fueled the successful education of generations of Miners who, in turn, have become supporters, advocates and guardian angels of the next generation of students. As our trusted advisors, true believers and advocates, our academies serve their departments and affinity groups in navigating programs, research, and student co-op and internship opportunities.

Many members of our Order of the Golden Shillelagh are also returning to Rolla for this weekend’s MinerFest Homecoming celebrations. We are also welcoming our Kummer Institute Foundation Board members and our Miner Alumni Association Board members. To welcome all our prospective students and their families, many academic departments have established open house hours. We will honor alumni and faculty at our annual Legends Luncheon, and our eighth annual James O. Stoffer Lecture in Chemistry promises to be a great attraction for those interested in innovation and discovery in science.

Oh, yes, football! Tomorrow’s Homecoming football game promises to be a fun match against William Jewell College. You might find it interesting to know that the first game in Miner football history was played in 1893, and the first touchdown was scored by G.W. Smith in 1894. Two decades later in 1914, the Miner football team compiled a perfect 8-0 regular-season record and outscored its opponents 540 to 0!

Interestingly, Homecoming, this beautiful national tradition, actually started in Missouri and has become perhaps the most cherished of our academic and athletic reunions. Homecoming at S&T is filled with activities and events for ourgraduates, current students, faculty and staff who connect with one another. Of course, the spotlight during Homecoming is on our student-athletes, who, in addition to their stellar academic achievements, have established great athletic records of their own.

This weekend we look forward to reconnecting with our returning alumni and friends to remember and celebrate what has endured for over a century and a half. We are all here to appreciate old friends, make new friends, and look for the opportunity to make an impact in the lives of a new generation of students and soon-to-be Miner alumni themselves. It’s the kind of impact that recipients truly feel, not just through our words, but through their connections with other Miners across generations. And what people sense and feel is what they will remember. And what they remember they will become – the next generation of impactful Miners.

Welcome home, Miners! Thank you for reconnecting with our past and for ensuring the future success of this wonderful institution. We hope you will have fun and build fond new memories.

Warmly,

-Mo.

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Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu