Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with colleagues across Carlisle and University Park, as well as alumni and partners in Chicago.

In Carlisle, I enjoyed thoughtful conversations with Penn State Dickinson Law colleagues Gary S. Gildin and Bill Butler. At University Park, I connected with Rachel Arnold, Matt Gardner, Justis Reed, Jonathan D’Silva, my Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences colleagues Guido Cervone, Wolf Hey, and Chad Bahrmann, as well as Ligia I. Reyes, PhD, MPH (Penn State College of Health and Human Development) and Zhen Lei (Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences).

I also had the opportunity to reconnect with my former University of Illinois Chicago School of Law colleagues, Sandy Olken, Cross, Karen Halverson, and Michael Schlesinger, and John Marshall Law School alum Adam Kelly in Chicago.

These conversations remind me that institutions are ultimately defined by people and our relationships with them. It is through these relationships, sustained across locations, disciplines, and cities, that we expand what is possible for our students, our scholarship, and our shared mission.