Gratitude for What Was and What Will Be - Maureen's Farewell Message

As this academic year comes to a close, so too does my time as President of Palo Alto University. Serving this community has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for your trust, your partnership, and your deep commitment to PAU’s mission and one another.

At this year’s commencement, I had the privilege of offering a few reflections on leadership, shaped by my time at PAU. I shared how sustainable change is relational and incremental, built through trust and collaboration. I spoke about leadership as a form of mentorship and teaching, grounded in recognizing the full humanity of others. I emphasized the need to expand our definitions of success to truly honor diverse paths and perspectives. And I affirmed that leadership, at its best, is values-driven: a daily opportunity to align decisions with conviction and justice.

It is difficult to step away from something so meaningful, but I do so with deep confidence in PAU’s future. This is a community filled with compassion, brilliance, and purpose, and I am excited to see what lies ahead for all of you under Dr. Farouk Dey’s leadership.

As a parting gift, I leave you with the poem I shared at commencement, one that speaks beautifully to the courage and grace of new beginnings, which our graduating students are about to embark upon, just like myself. May it accompany you as you continue to grow, lead, and dream.

“For a New Beginning” by John O’Donohue
 from To Bless the Space Between Us

In out of the way places of the heart
Where your thoughts never think to wander
This beginning has been quietly forming
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire
Feeling the emptiness grow inside you
Noticing how you willed yourself on
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not clear
You can trust the promise of this opening
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

With gratitude and care, 

President Maureen O’Connor