With Gratitude for the Community We Create Together

November 26, 2025

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

I've been thinking about gratitude lately. Not as a feeling we're supposed to have this time of year, but as something we do.

There's a real difference between the two. Feeling grateful is private, something that happens inside us. But expressing it changes something between people. When we tell someone what they've meant to us, and really mean it, we see them differently, and they feel seen. That exchange, small as it seems, is how communities actually get built.

I think about the student who stays after class to thank a professor for a conversation that shifted how they see their future. Or the staff member who gets a note from a colleague saying, “I notice how hard you work.” Or the parent or family member who hears from their student, unprompted, that they’re grateful for the sacrifices that made college possible. These moments don’t just feel good. They create ripples, reminding us that we’re part of something and that what we do registers with someone else.

This semester, I’ve watched it happen all across campus. Students checking in on each other during tough stretches. Faculty holding space for hard conversations. Staff showing up every day to keep this place running, often without recognition. First-generation students mentoring the ones coming up behind them. Researchers, advisors, coaches, and counselors doing work that won’t make headlines but absolutely shapes lives. And beyond our campus, community partners, government leaders, alumni, and donors standing with us—extending resources, advocacy, and steadfast support that strengthen our mission and help our students thrive.

None of these are grand gestures, but they are the moments that make Rutgers feel like much more than a place where people simply happen to be at the same time.

So, here's my invitation for Thanksgiving: don't just reflect on what you're grateful for. Say it out loud to someone who needs to hear it, whether that's a quick message, a phone call, or a few honest words over dinner. You might be surprised what it unlocks, both for them and for you.

I'll go first: Thank you for choosing this community, for what you bring to it every day, for making it what it is. I don't take that for granted.

Have a restful few days. Take care of yourselves and each other, and I'll see you on the other side.

Warmly,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick