From Center Hall

In Gratitude

Afew years ago, I gave a Chapel Talk to our students midway through my tenure as Dean of the College. I said then—and it’s even more true today—that I’m not too old to adopt a growth mindset, which is the belief that our abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. One way I am trying to grow and adapt to my new role as president is to more fully express my gratitude for the innumerable gifts I have been given here at Wabash and throughout my life.

Every day I try to reflect and express gratitude for the people around me, and to be thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given.

My optimistic outlook arises from my knowledge that I have been extremely fortunate in life. Yet, over the past two years—as more and more of our interactions with others take place virtually—it has become much easier to fail to acknowledge the efforts of others. We need to do the small things—the things that remind us of what it means to be a member of a community where people care and appreciate each other.

I’m grateful for my colleagues on the faculty whose work in our best years sets the bar for engaged teaching and learning, and who in the past 18 months have bent over backward to meet our students where they are. It is rare in higher education to be surrounded by so many faculty who are genuinely passionate about teaching. All of us who love Wabash thank you for your commitment to our young men.

I’m grateful for my colleagues in the Student Life Office, who every day work directly with students, one on one, to turn their mistakes into opportunities to learn; who lift up, prop up, and sometimes drag students across the finish line here; who care for their healthy minds and bodies; and who have the most difficult jobs on campus in times of tragedy.

I’m grateful for this College’s incredible tradition of philanthropy. In my years as a faculty member and as dean, rarely did I want for resources. Indeed, because of the generosity of our alumni and friends, my students and I were able to explore the world of atoms and molecules in ways that faculty at other institutions could not imagine. And my experience was not unique, nor as innovative as my Wabash faculty colleagues who have made the world their classrooms.

While immersive learning experiences are not restricted to Wabash, the fact that all of ours are free of charge—whether a student travels to Johannesburg, Taiwan, or Rome—truly sets us apart. It is because of the generosity of our alumni and friends that it is possible for a young man from Wabash to leave our country for the first time. Indeed, for many, these immersion trips mark the first time they have been on an airplane.

I’m equally grateful that during the first, tumultuous years of my presidency, we have set annual giving records and our Giant Steps Campaign is thriving.

I’m grateful to the Wabash Board of Trustees, who placed their trust in me at the exact moment the pandemic descended on our nation. As I have said, I am honored to serve as the 17th President of Wabash College. And I am humbled to become the first member of the Wabash faculty to ascend directly to the presidency since the great Byron Trippet. Thank you, Trustees, for your unwavering faith in Wabash and in my ability to lead our college.

I’m grateful for a loving and supporting family, especially Wendy, who is all-in for Wabash College. Wendy is unflappable and so grounded, and those things help keep me calm when everything else is chaos. Thank you, Wendy, for putting up with my long hours and endless commitments at night and on weekends.

I’m grateful for our students. Many people have heard me say that none of us wanted COVID to write our history. But I would not have wanted to go through this pandemic anywhere but here and with our young men.

When we returned to residential education in early August of 2020 and again a few months ago, I asked our students to live up to the highest ideals of our Gentleman’s Rule—and a whole lot of COVID mitigation tactics—in the most difficult circumstances. I asked them to be patient with themselves and one another; to show compassion to those around them who were also suffering; to be their authentic, best selves even when that was very difficult to do; and to be vulnerable, because it is through our vulnerability that we grow the most.

We did these things with one goal in mind—to continue Wabash’s timehonored tradition of face-to-face, elbowdeep teaching and learning that has been our hallmark for nearly two centuries. I am so proud of what Wabash has accomplished in a constantly changing pandemic that has brought so much uncertainty and loss. And so it is with great admiration that I express my heartfelt gratitude to the young men of Wabash and all who have taught, coached, and supported them. You are all Some Little Giants.

Scott Feller | President fellers@wabash.edu

“In Gratitude” was excerpted from President Scott

Feller’s inaugural address given on October 8, 2021. To read more of his address see page 50. To view the entire inauguration ceremony visit https://wabash.edu/go/inauguration.

President Scott Feller, First Lady Wendy Feller, and their children, Jake Feller and Amanda Murphy