The Common Factors in Success

message

The Common Factors in Success

PHOTO: ROGER MASTROIANNI CWRU President Eric W. Kaler

Among the many books, TED talks and articles written about how to succeed across any number of pursuits, one thing is clear: there is no one, sure-fire way to achieve it.

There are, however, two common factors that weigh heavily in a person’s or organization’s ability to do so: finding the right people, and making sure those people have the support and tools they need.

Remove either of those from the equation and the possibility of achievement becomes a decidedly more challenging endeavor.

This issue of Think magazine profiles the university’s biggest athletic success story ever—our historic 2022-23 sports season. Last year, a record 10 of our varsity Spartan teams placed at the NCAA Division III championships. We’re especially proud of our men’s tennis team, which won the university’s first NCAA Division III national championship, and our women’s soccer team, which was the NCAA Division III runner-up.

It’s been great fun to watch so many of our athletes and coaches succeed. I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to do livestream color commentary for a few of our sports. While I would like to think that my time at the mic played just the tiniest part in our women’s softball team’s second consecutive conference championship, I know better.

As you’ll read in the “The Wins of Change,” there are many factors that contribute to the success of our teams. But the two common denominators are our dedicated coaches, athletes and administrators, and the ability to identify the proper support and tools they need, both on the field and, importantly, in the classroom.

We’re also applying these same elements to advance other aspects of the university. In order to expand our research enterprise, we’re focused on retaining the top-notch faculty and staff we have, and we’re working to attract more. At the same time, we’re progressing on our plans to build the state-of-the-art Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building, which, when completed, will equip many of our researchers with the tools and space they need to enhance their work. You’ll find the latest renderings for this building in this issue, as well.

I hope you enjoy the fall and winter seasons. In the meantime, I wish you well, and I wish you success in the things that matter to you most.