Let them eat cake! . . . after the Dean finishes decorating it.

In graduate school, you meet an array of intriguing, talented people. People with fascinating personal histories, unparalleled commitment and passion, and mind-blowing intellect.

And then there are those other people.

The academic super heroes and heroines who have been busily working since the age of 12, and who don't plan on stopping until the day they drop dead clutching a Blackberry, a policy brief, and the hand of a graduate student, all while running their 16th marathon to raise money for cancer or for the local schools. These are the folks who accomplish five times as much as you do in a given day and sleep about 5 fewer hours at night. The ones who you hold up as role models, while quietly telling yourself, "I NEVER want to be that person," foregoing the need to consider whether or not you ever could be.

Our Dean at the University of Michigan's School of Education is one of these people. And while there is a wealth of evidence to support this claim, along with an army of acquaintances and colleagues who would shout the same from the rooftops, I offer the following email as an exemplar of what I'm referring to.

Dear School of Education community:

This week we will be thanking all the many people who have generously contributed to the SOE as we celebrate a terrifically successful Michigan Difference Campaign. We will be highlighting the ways that our work has been supported and the impact that these gifts have had for our students and programs. It has been amazing to see the outpouring of generosity and support. And it has truly made a difference to us.

To launch the several events that will mark the campaign finale, and to add a little party to the thank yous, we are going to DECORATE and EAT CAKE. On Wednesday, November 12, I will teach anyone who wants to learn how to decorate cake. We will decorate two large cakes in Prechter Lab (second floor) from 4:30 - 6:00. You can roll up your sleeves and learn to decorate a small section of the cake, or you can just watch! But you will learn some cake decorating skills. Then on Thursday, from 3:45 - 5:00, we will eat the cake, also in Prechter.

I hope you can join us! We want to make it a very festive atmosphere. We will be joined at the cake eating on Thursday by the members of the Dean's Advisory Council who will be meeting all day that day.

The beautiful poster, designed by our art team, can help remind you of these events. Please spread the word to classmates, students, and team members. All are welcome -- the more the merrier!

Sincerely,
Deborah


I must say, I don't know what disappoints me more: The fact that it hadn't occurred to me before that she is no doubt as skilled at decorating cakes as she is at teaching mathematics, or that I am 2300 miles away from Ann Arbor right now and have no hope of getting my hands on a piece of that cake.