At 2:25 p.m. today, the College of Law community gathered in the hallway to applaud for our colleague, Vince Cardi, as he departed his last class before retiring.

At the end of the day, we gathered to congratulate him and Marjorie McDiarmid, who also retires this year. Many of my former colleagues who’ve retired in the fifteen years since I came to WVU also turned out to celebrate.

I’ve always loved this tradition, gathering in the hallways to celebrate our colleagues’ careers. Today, these gatherings were bittersweet, to say the least. In addition to Vince and Marjorie, we’re also losing seven other faculty members who voluntarily chose to leave in connection with the “Academic Transformation” process.

What Still Matters

These endings are painful.

But, even on days like these, I notice the beauty beneath the loss.

If we hadn’t always loved this community, it wouldn’t hurt to see it struggling.

I saw that again today as we applauded Vince’s fifty-seven years (that’s right, fifty-seven years) of teaching.

As a hundred or more students lined the hallway to say goodbye and thank you.

As former colleagues gathered, bringing back memories of more optimistic times.

But nothing is forever. Not even loss.