It's hard not to feel positive about Lincoln University's future after hearing the featured speaker Monday at the school's Fall Faculty-Staff Institute.
The speaker was new Lincoln University President Jerald Jones Woolfolk.
Her energy and excitement for LU are infectious, and she received two standing ovations from faculty and staff attending Monday morning's opening session.
She said the "excitement that I have for the future of Lincoln University is overwhelming, and I know that together, we can move mountains, build bridges, make crooked roads straight, make narrow roads wider and, through perseverance, ensure that Lincoln University will prosper and continue to change lives for the better, for the next 152 years."
She said people at LU and in Jefferson City are "some of the kindest and warmest people I have ever met," and have been supportive of the university.
Woolfolk has hit the ground running after starting June 1, meeting with various officials and leaders in the community, including Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.
She said the school must honor its past and look to the future.
"To be successful working in this business, it has to be your passion," she said. "It has to be your calling.
"It has to, truly, be a labor of love."
Woolfolk's energy and excitement for LU will help the university with it's ongoing challenges, which include both recruiting and funding.
State funding for higher education has been tight in recent years, and LU's enrollment has been sliding over the past few years. Those are just two of LU's challenges, but they're two of the biggest.
Hopefully, Woolfolk's overall leadership of Lincoln is on par with her ability to motivate. If so, the university should be in good hands for the foreseeable future.