CLASS Notes, August 8, 2018

Welcome from Interim Dean Sean Quinlan

Dear alumni, colleagues and friends,

Summer often brings us images of leisure and entertainment — all the hit songs, films and books — but sometimes it can bring more serious moments of cultural encounter.

One year, while getting a head start on my high school reading list, I read two books that changed how I looked at the world: Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables” and Richard Wright’s “Native Son.” The stories about poverty in revolutionary France and race relations in modern America forced me to think beyond my adolescent trials and tribulations and made me grapple with larger issues in the world. Ideas truly have the power to change lives.

And that’s the work we do in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. It’s a point we need to keep emphasizing. The liberal arts impart not just skills but also habits and qualities of mind that last a lifetime: critical thinking and reflection, understanding of evidence, communication skills, cultural awareness, and adaptability to change. These habits and qualities nurture the whole individual and set her or him for greater understanding and fulfillment on the road of life. These are the things that potential employers tell over and over again that they need and want.

As I see students returning to campus, I wonder what will inspire them this new year — will it be a book, a class research paper or a new faculty mentor? How will our college — and all the diverse programs housed within it — transform our students — not just in the coming year, but throughout the rest of their lives?

Thank you for supporting the mission of this college and the meaningful events happening with our students, faculty and staff.

Sean M. Quinlan
Interim Dean

CLASS alumna and advertising executive Michelle Aragon ’97 returns to Moscow on August 16 to serve as speaker at this year’s University Convocation. Aragon currently works as senior vice president of business solutions for MAGNA Global, a business unit of the advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group.

After growing up in Jerome, Idaho, Aragon became the first person in her family to attend college. While at U of I, she was a GEM of the Mountains yearbook editor and a member of JAMM’s National Student Advertising Competition team. Following college, Aragon worked in Boise as an advertising account executive and later as a field marketing manager with MillerCoors.