The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of the usual holiday activities at both of our campuses. While our students have been busy studying and taking final exams, the faculty and staff have been celebrating in many ways.

The holiday season kickoff was last Monday in Downers Grove, where Dr. G hosted the annual Faculty/Staff Holiday Luncheon. After a full seasonal meal of turkey, roast beef, chicken, and all the trimmings, the Administrative Team elves (the various VPs and deans) delivered raffle prizes to several lucky winners. The big gifts included a GPS system, a Nano iPod, several MP3 players, and a DVD/TV, along with a wide assortment of kitchen appliances, gift baskets, chocolate towers, and holiday decorations. Dr. G circulated throughout the lunchroom asking people to pull winning tickets for over 150 raffle gifts. After all items were given away, Dr. G sincerely thanked all of the faculty and staff for their service over the year and their commitment to making MWU a special place for our students and colleagues.

The next day brought the annual holiday luncheon for the Downers Grove students. The lunchroom was packed, as most students were able to take a study break and enjoy a delicious holiday meal with their classmates. Santa made an appearance and another raffle was held.

On Tuesday evening, the MWU Board of Trustees were on campus and attended the annual Holiday Reception. The entertainment highlight was a concert by the MWU Choir, which is composed of nearly 30 students from all colleges, faculty, and staff members. The choir sounded great and shared their versions of several holiday classics for the audience. The other highlight of the reception was the honoring of Dr. Quentin Kling, a long-time member of the CCOM OMM faculty. Dr. G shared an overview of Dr. Kling's distinguished career and commitment to teaching the art and science of osteopathic manipulation to many generations of CCOM students. She also shared that Mrs Kling makes the best chocolate chip cookies on campus, as she often accompanied her husband for Wednesday afternoon OMM lunches on campus.

The festivities continued this week at the Glendale Campus. The faculty/staff lunch was held yesterday in the StageCoach Dining Hall. In addition to the wonderful lunch and gift raffle, the highlight was the competition between various departments and colleges to the best holiday song. First up was the AZCOM Dean's Office, who sang and drummed to "Little Drummer Boy," with a full complement of percussion instruments. Next came the College of Pharmacy-Glendale, who had over 30 singers belting our carols, followed by an original "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem by Dr. Craig Johnston, Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences. A group of CHS faculty then sang and danced their selection. The AZPod team sang a harmonious rendition of their carol. Finally, the AZCOM Clinical Education Department harmonized on "The Twelve Days After Christmas," a funny take on the holiday classic. The entire lunchroom then clapped for their favorites, and the AZCOM Clinical Ed team won!

All of these events provide a wonderful way for Dr. G, the Board, and the Administration to thank everyone at MWU for all they do to make our University such a special place. Our best wishes to all of you for a wonderful holiday season and very happy new year.