Dear College of Science Faculty and Staff, I hope everyone had a peaceful, pleasant Thanksgiving break. Just before Thanksgiving, we moved back home. For the past six months, as I may have mentioned, our home has been under renovation, and my husband and I have lived elsewhere. But knowing the goal of a family holiday at home, our excellent contractor pulled out the stops: two days before move-in there were eleven trucks parked outside the house, and double that number of experts inside, finishing up. Next day the scores of boxes and furniture that had packed the garage, floor to ceiling, were brought upstairs, and we moved in! Family members visiting for Thanksgiving did not get a restful visit, but were voluntold to unpack, sort, discard or give away, activities that were simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. Somehow by Wednesday, the kitchen was clear and early Thursday morning, the dining room table revealed itself. As we gathered around the table, with its traditional red cloth and napkins happily unearthed from one of the boxes, we marveled at our home – no longer a tumbledown 1938 house, but now something solid. A smart rebuild including new main beams that the structural engineer says will last 200 years! Along with an overwhelming gratitude for being together, in this nice place, Thanksgiving conversation turned to the talent of those who had worked on our house. The skills that each brought in carpentry, painting, electrical wiring and plumbing are amazing. Various family members observed that they were not trained in such important, useful, hands-in skills. I countered that we were all trained to do something interesting and useful, even if not with such immediate benefit as home renovation. The term that connects to our renovation is ‘competence’, which means the ability to do something well. Competence does not carry the pressure of ‘brilliance’ meaning exceptional talent but implies that your ability can be counted upon, that you are expertly able to carry out the work, to a high standard. Every person in the College of Science is expected to display competence, which is indeed a condition of employment. I love the term, for the reliability and expertise it emphasizes across our collaborative, supportive COS community. Thank you, for your competence every day, that is truly deserving of an ongoing award, and that is pivotal to reading out the Good Power of Science. Thank you! Special competence, over and above expectations, can carry a special award. We celebrate the next CONNECTS Awards winners today, and shortly will call for COS nominees who have made exceptional contributions relevant to our many annual awards.
Competence – 12.01.2023