We did set the five-year timeline in part to allow for ups and downs, and we know there will be both. A propos of the campaign, those of you who were here at Council last year know that I've been fussing about the fact that so much of the lexicon of fund raising draws on a language of war. We have our front-line battalions and our headquarters staff. The problem is that the metaphor of war, so pervasive in our culture, is far more than a linguistic trope. It organizes our thoughts, structures our actions, defines our reality.
Metaphors do that.
And therein lies my dilemma. As I've grown in this role as Wellesley's 12th president, I've become increasingly clear that what I want to be offering is a leadership of peace. They came up with various lovely alternatives and, I believe, a very different approach to the campaign than one commonly sees. Our campaign is a celebration-of Wellesley's past and Wellesley's future. It's a journey of discovery that we will be taking together.