Looking Back, Moving Forward: A Year with WCET

When I was younger, and sleeping on the ground didn’t hurt quite so much, I liked to usher in the new year by camping. It offered a great opportunity to get away and find solitude to reflect on the previous year and contemplate the new year.

I remember one New Year’s Eve when a huge storm rolled in after midnight. It was the sort of storm that sent me to my truck to ride it out amidst lightning and gale-force winds so strong that I thought my tent would blow away. But the next morning brought a spectacular dawn. Not only had I made it through the night unscathed, but I realized that I had much to look forward to in the new year.

It seems like we’ve all been buffeted about by the winds of enormous uncertainty over the last eleven months:

• the landscape of higher education keeps shifting,
• our economy is unsettled,
• AI is changing the very nature of teaching and learning, and,
• for some of us, our institutions are facing significant demographic challenges.

When folks ask me how my first year as WCET’s Executive Director has gone, I often joke that it’s been an interesting year to take the helm of a higher education organization. I know at moments it certainly has felt like I’ve been in the midst of a storm.

But as I think about that first year, I also have a lot to be grateful for. WCET has an amazing staff, and it’s my honor to work with them every day. It’s a privilege to serve this extraordinary digital learning community. I’m grateful for our collective commitment to learner access and accessibility and for this community’s steadiness in the face of so much uncertainty. Each of you make this community what it is, and I’m inspired by you every day.

Thank you for all that you do for your faculty, staff, and institutions. Most of all, though, thank you for what you do for students. Thank you for maintaining a commitment to high-quality digital learning as a means of expanding access for all learners.

• Your work matters to the working learner trying to finish a degree.
• It matters to the rural student who needs a path forward.
• It matters to the single parent working to create a new future for their family.

You’re making an impact. I’m grateful for all that you do and grateful to be a part of this digital learning community with you. Remember, the WCET team and I are here to help and support you in whatever way we can.

It may feel like we’re still in the midst of a storm, waiting for the winds and sometimes even lightning to abate. But, eventually, the winds will die down, and the lightning will cease. I hope each of you finds time to rest as the year comes to an end. I’m looking forward to working with you in the coming year as we continue strengthening digital learning as a pathway to high-quality, accessible education for all learners.

Van Davis, WCET