Fall is still a time of beginnings. It is a time we prepare our children for school, when we wind down from summer activities, and when we prepare for changing weather. This year, of course, it is all happening in the midst of COVID-19 and the wide variety of challenges that have been presented to each of us.

Humboldt State University is not any different. For HSU, fall is a time to engage students, faculty, staff, and the broader community in the Lumberjack spirit. It is also a time to reflect on what is central to being a vibrant university and to look ahead to a promising future.

HSU is in the dream business, and that’s something I never forget. This time every fall, this community and HSU walk together as we help others pursue a dream of earning a college degree. Seeing the families and hearing the students share the stories of their aspirations is emotional and inspiring. Many in this community have walked this same path and experienced the milestone of earning a degree.

That is the soul of the university — helping others see a dream come true. We are motivated by the genuine belief graduates will do their part to help create a better world, better science, stronger engagement in families and in schools, and critical thought in shaping policy. The next energy source, the replacement of the battery, will come from a college graduate, and they may be attending HSU right now. Clean water and different strategies to sustain our environment — students are pursuing goals like this every day at HSU. Future nurses, teachers, business leaders, investors, physicians, and government officials are at HSU right now. A critical role of our faculty is inspiring critical thought and challenging these students in an environment that is safe for learning and expression.

HSU asks the campus community, and indirectly our community on the North Coast, to help provide a “positive, meaningful, educational experience” for students. This doesn’t mean simply doing everything students want. It means guiding them to becoming positive and contributing citizens within this community, assuming responsibility as individuals, and volunteering or helping this area become better. It is learning the expectations of being a “college graduate” while enjoying the learning process.

Today, fewer than 750 students reside on campus, a number far from the 2,000 beds that are available. There are also fewer students living in the surrounding community. The pandemic has forced us to move more than 75 percent to a virtual mode — one of the most difficult ways to teach and to learn. Yet the faculty have risen to this occasion, as have the students. In these critical times, it is imperative as a campus and as a community to wear masks, physically distance, and adhere to the social responsibility expectations we have for each other. We all want to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

This year is challenging, but we are resilient. In the bright and promising tomorrow that we are all working toward, the energy of students will return and we will be stronger than ever. Our efforts today will be critical for achieving and sustaining that goal.

HSU is embarking on a journey to become a world-class university of innovation and entrepreneurship. As we do, we will continually work to model the essence of being a true global community. We will remain true to our mission and to our values, and will build on our longstanding strengths in hands-on learning. This year will see the completion of both a new Academic Master Plan and a new Strategic Plan to guide our efforts. We will also follow through with the work required as part of our accreditation process as well as various audits.

Several themes remain at the forefront for us.

These themes include strengthening the student experience; continually deepening our community relationships; developing the campus culture; addressing our spending; supporting faculty teaching and research; and strengthening both global and online education. These are all complex. However, at the core remains enrolling and retaining students who are connected to their faculty and the local community. This involves addressing housing and food insecurities, improving services for students, and never forgetting our fundamental commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The entire Lumberjack family is needed, and I can’t say enough about the importance of community support. This community is deeply intertwined in our history, as more than 100 years ago, generous local donors came together to help create the Humboldt State Normal School. They made a strong case to representatives in Sacramento, they found temporary start-up space, and they identified local residences to house students. This was the beginning of HSU, and over time we have grown into the comprehensive university we are today.

So in this season of beginnings, let’s also remember our old and lasting connections. In concert with this community, students and the Lumberjack family thrive as one — each relying on the other for support, sustainability, culture, employment, and inspiration. There are only 23 communities in this very large state with a CSU campus, even fewer that can say they have both a public university and a community college.

Let’s also remember that there are only a few universities that can be known by one word, a word that also identifies our broader community. Humboldt.

I invite you to be inspired by a short video of HSU students sharing their dreams.

Be well.

Dr. Tom Jackson, Jr. is the president of Humboldt State University.