"Of all things, communication is most wonderful"1

Returning to my academic home in this kind of circumstance has offered me an opportunity to reflect on my journey since I left here years ago. Whenever any of us returns to that place we call home, whether it be our family or academic home, the opportunity for reflection forces itself upon us to consider

how we have changed over the years. We share stories with those who grew up with us-think about the lessons that have remained with us and the ones we discovered in the most unlikely places. We return home very different yet the same often questioning just what that means to our life now. I left here a scared novice wondering whether success in the academy was within my reach or more importantly what success would look like for me. I have dwelt on this moment for months and during all this time, one lesson keeps coming back to me: ironically taught to me, in this place, by someone I still deeply miss, Aubrey Fisher: "Of all things, communication is the most wonderful." I am truly in love with the study of human communication. It is to the significance of this I wish to focus my remarks. I hope that as I share with you my deep love and passion for communication you will be moved to reflect on the erotic nature of your pursuit of that which is most wonderful: communication.