Its hard not to think that Thanksgiving might need a better lobbyist. Every year the warm anticipation of the holiday seems to get overrun by Christmas decoration sales that start the day after Halloween, and then drowned out by the deafening onslaught of Black Friday advertising during the week of the actual holiday.

I’m not looking to start a movement, but over the weekend I decided to take back my own Thanksgiving. So from my little corner of the world, I want thank all of you, my friends and family at Augustana College. Thanks for inviting the Office of Institutional Research into your conversations, valuing our observations, and utilizing our insights. Thanks for trusting us with all of your data and for making us feel like genuine contributors to the life of the college.

I hope each of you get the chance to find a moment of peace on Thanksgiving.

Make it a good day,

Mark