Friends,

A new academic year always reminds me that Guilford students are moving forward in their educational careers. They are exploring new interests in the classroom, interacting with friends, and making early steps in planning the careers that they will launch after graduation. They have the tremendous support of a Guilford community that never ceases to amaze me with its perpetual interest in supporting all Guilfordians.

Our students — and most students in the United States — are fortunate to continue their educational journeys. They are part of a broad U.S. network of over 3,900 higher education institutions across the country, with thousands of faculty and staff who are committed to the success of students across the nation.

Unfortunately there are thousands of students in countries around the world where this isn’t a reality. Instability in many regions has brought scores of challenges to the daily realities of students worldwide. Globally, the number of students at all levels of their education whose learning opportunities have been impacted by conflict have increased dramatically in recent years. Pick the warzone — Gaza, Darfur, Myanmar, across Ukraine — and the impact on students has been heart-wrenching.

A United Nations report earlier this year estimates more than 220 million students have experienced a disruption in their learning because of war or conflict over the past year.

Like many college presidents, I have spent a lot of time the past several months reflecting on the daily insecurity that many students around the world and their families are facing.

As the President of Guilford, an institution where members of its community have never shied away from finding ways to make important contributions, I’ve reflected on many of the perspectives members of the Guilford community have shared as we’ve looked for ways to make a positive impact in the world. The notion of Guilfordians making a difference has been a part of our DNA since the days of the New Garden Boarding School, when free Black abolitionist Lavina Curry, a school employee, and local Quakers helped enslaved Africans seek freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Our more recent efforts include the founding of Every Campus A Refuge at Guilford. Our Bonner Program participants, our Ethical Leadership Fellows, and so many of our other student groups make significant impacts in the wider community. These examples and others speak to who we are as individuals and as an institution.

In April, we launched an initiative known as Conceptualizing Peace. Through it we aim to find ways to refocus energy and discourse on matters of peace. A college founded on Quaker principles should lead a discourse on matters of peace. Indeed, given much of our history as an institution, we have a moral obligation to find ways to engage people on strategies for promoting and building peace.

Over the next several months, we will involve our students, faculty, staff and alumni in this critical dialogue around working with friends from across the globe on this effort.

This fall, as part of our Conceptualizing Peace efforts, we are launching “Education Interrupted,” a six-part webinar series that will focus on matters related to the disruption of educational experiences as a result of war and conflict. We have an impressive list of presenters who will be part of the series, including people who have been providing educational opportunities to children and youth impacted by conflict in different parts of the world.

Higher education institutions, including Guilford, have a number of responsibilities in today’s world. Of course, a central role is providing educational opportunities for our students and doing our best to support our faculty, staff and alumni. Another critical role is finding ways we can help make an impact on local and global needs in a world that greatly needs to experience a better sense of tranquility and a lessening of the burdens of conflict.

As part of the learning experience at Guilford, we will work with international partners to prepare students to be responsible global citizens. We want to impact our own students as well as students in other parts of the world in regard to the realities of global issues.

I look forward to working with members of the broader Guilford community to reflect on our roles as educators, students and global citizens to find ways that impact the lives of others and further conceptualizing peace to ensure a more tranquil reality for others.

As Guilfordians, we have critical work ahead of us to enhance our small but important role with our students in promoting peace in the world.