Reflections. And Grace to be Thankful.

Friday, November 27, 2024

Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday … on a Wednesday!

Although we are mindful of our good fortunes throughout the year, Thanksgiving offers the opportunity to reflect and appreciate the contribution of every member of our diverse S&T community. I am thankful for our students, faculty and staff who bring their talents, skills and wonderful work ethic to advance our mission. We give thanks for the strength that we gain from our diversity of thoughts and for the wisdom that we gain from our differences.

We are grateful and thankful for all our blessings, given the struggles of so many. Thanksgiving always reminds me of the poem “Bani Adam” (children of Adam) by 13th century Iranian poet and philosopher Saadi, that I had to memorize in grade school. The poem that likened members of humanity to members of the same body:

“Human beings are members of a whole
In creation of one essence and soul,

If one member is afflicted with pain
Other members uneasy will remain,

One with no sympathy for human pain
The name of human, one cannot retain.”

A heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to our dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends. I am grateful for all of you and for sharing our time, our success and our humanity. Inspired by the book of poems, A Coracle for Dreams, by our own Professor of Physics Dr. Agnes Vojta, I decided to come up with one of my own on being thankful:

Thankful for all of you here
Thankful for keeping me real
Thankful for all who served and departed
Not forgotten, always remembered

Thankful for all that we’ve shared
Thankful for friendships we endeared
Thankful for directions you pointed
Not Forgotten, always remembered

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