Students! Welcome back to another semester at the University of Michigan. As many of you may be aware, I am regrettably no longer the Dean of Engineering. Before I move on, however, I want to share with you my crowning achievement, the North Campus diag. Together, we’ve spent the last year carefully—and tastefully—redesigning the diag to feel more alive and welcoming. What you may not know, however, is that tricky old Dean Munson hid a little secret for you to find before he left. Indeed—somewhere beneath the wholesome, fertile earth of the North Campus diag lies my legacy, a chest full of my personal favorite Knick-Knacks.
That’s right! I’ve worked tirelessly over many months to bring you the ultimate campus experience. The new diag features winding paths, luscious foliage, and even a tennis court. For the more adventurous among you, however—those yearning for the rewarding feeling that only shoveling soft dirt into the late hours of the night can bring—it also conceals a far greater treasure. A treasure from the heart, composed of trinkets and ornaments I gathered throughout the years, and placed lovingly in the warm soil of North Campus.
My architects and designers have spared no luxuries in crafting this botanical masterpiece. Not a single tree, flower, no, not a single piece of grass has been placed without exhaustive care and precision. Every inch of the new diag has been painstakingly thought-out. Soon, you too will be exploring my garden of wonders with that same passion, searching for my lost delights. This chest is very important to me—for years its contents stoked the fires of my heart. I hope that it will have the same effect on you, long after I am gone.
I have a feeling that this year is going to be a big year for all of you. Under the pressure of school, jobs, and more, it often comes down to the little things to cheer us up, and I hope that I have left behind something that will do just that. For students who are brave enough to seek out my hidden treasure, I say good luck, and Go Blue!
