¾«¶«AV

President’s speeches, letters, and articles

Subject: What is a ¾«¶«AVie, Anyway?

October 14, 2021

Dear ¾«¶«AV Community,

What sets ¾«¶«AVies apart? I get asked this question all the time, particularly because of my experiences at other liberal arts colleges. My short answer has always been this: ¾«¶«AVies are multidimensional. ¾«¶«AVies feel deeply, think with complexity, imagine greatly, create energetically, and throw themselves into whatever they do with gusto. ¾«¶«AVies care.

¾«¶«AV Magazine dedicates the September issue each year to the question, what is a ¾«¶«AVie? The issue is a favorite of mine. Every year, twelve ¾«¶«AVies from the graduating class share their discoveries and adventures at ¾«¶«AV. I know that you will be impressed by what they have to say about their thesis projects, their inspirations and discoveries, and what they took with them from their lives at ¾«¶«AV. Having met most of these talented individuals in their final years at the college, I am enormously proud of them and all they accomplished in the unbelievably hard circumstances of the pandemic year.

Their stories remind us of the breadth and depth of a liberal arts education. Our hope for ¾«¶«AV's students is that they explore and make connections—across disciplines, among their peers, with their communities, and around the globe. No two students graduate from ¾«¶«AV with an identical set of classes or experiences. They create their own constellations, made up of classes, coursework, relationships, and service, with countless points of possible intersection within and outside their individual patterns.

What is a ¾«¶«AVie? ¾«¶«AVies are mathematicians who play musical instruments, dancers who theorize, writers who reflect on social justice, political scientists intrigued by biology, scientists influenced by poetry and the ancient world, and on and on. Because ¾«¶«AV is a multicultural, multiracial, gender-expansive, and queer-inclusive community, students learn from one another and take up areas of study that interrogate the dynamics of identity and power. More importantly, they learn from other generations of students. This is why we say that the world needs more ¾«¶«AVies—they are multidimensional sources of inspiration.

With admiration,

Audrey

_____

Audrey Bilger
President