December 12th, 2012

Dear Students:

For many of you, finals week is coming to a close and festivities for Christmas and many faith traditions represented by the Creighton community surround us. As you complete this semester and begin to prepare for your faith and family celebrations and our winter break, please know that you are in my prayers.

Congratulations to Volleyball, Men’s Soccer
Congratulations to our volleyball and men’s soccer teams and coaches on tremendous seasons! In volleyball, the Jays achieved a No. 21 national ranking, ending their best season ever with a second-round loss to Minnesota in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Men’s soccer repeated as champions of the Missouri Valley Conference and advanced to the NCAA College Cup. The 8th ranked Jays made a second consecutive College Cup appearance, losing 1-0 to Indiana in the semifinal match. Congratulations also to senior Jose Gomez  who has been named a finalist for the 2012 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in college soccer.

Creighton Award Recipient
Congratulations also to Arts and Sciences senior Shayla Covington on being named a recipient of the Mary Lucretia and Sarah Emily Creighton Award for 2013! The award luncheon is February 7.

Phi Beta Kappa Installation
Thank you to everyone who helped make the installation of Creighton University’s Nebraska Beta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society November 29 such a success. We especially congratulate the students who were initiated as Creighton’s first members of Phi Beta Kappa.

Community Service Report
The Office of Academic Excellence and Assessment reports that Creighton students, faculty and staff were involved in more than 800 local, regional, national and international service programs last year. Students alone contributed more than 398,000 volunteer hours! I am very grateful that you take Creighton’s mission to be of service to others to heart!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday break and an end to the semester with no surprises! For those traveling to be with loved ones, I wish you a safe journey and look forward to seeing you again in 2013!

God’s peace,

Timothy R. Lannon, S.J.