Greetings all,

I would like to publicly congratulate Dr. Richard Rice on becoming
President-elect of the Faculty Senate this afternoon.  Richard is a good
man and I am sure he will do a good job representing all of us.  I wish
him the best during his two-year term in office and beyond.

Sincere thanks to all of you who supported me at the meeting this
afternoon and/or sent encouraging e-mail messages after my RAVEN post
yesterday.  The sincere good will of my colleagues is second only to the
success of my students in contributing to my satisfaction with my career
at UTC.  My experience as a candidate was nothing but positive and, as I
remarked to some folks before the meeting, "whether I win or lose, I
win."  I feel like a winner every day here and hope each of you do, too.

Most of all, thanks to all of you who turned out for the meeting,
regardless of which of us you supported.  When we care enough to get
involved, everyone at the University benefits.

Have a great day!

Joe Dumas