Dear alumni and friends of AOS,

The last few weeks have brought great tumult to our atmospheric and oceanic science community, as it has for many corners of our country. In my personal opinion, but shared by many in our department, I am gravely concerned that some of the actions we are witnessing prevent nourishing the future of our field, building an inclusive community, and sustaining funding that supports the operations and research society demands. I believe those harms will likely reverberate in our community for a long time and eventually come to hurt the most vulnerable.

Regardless of your personal beliefs about the appropriateness of actions and its impact on our field, we must reject those actions that violate the rule of law. We should stand united to reinforce the positive values of our weather, climate, water enterprise, in the public, private, and academic sectors, which mutually depend on each other. We need to reach out and support fellow Badgers who have been directly impacted.

If you were caught up in the mass firings, we extend our sympathies. These actions do not reflect upon the excellence you provided and the skills all AOS graduates bring to the table, whether you were just at the start of your career, perhaps a recent graduate, or a seasoned pro. Our alumni community is resilient and I encourage everyone affected to reach out for support. Our students are anxious too, as upcoming internships, research experiences, job offers vanish and as they question whether they made the right decision about their career and research paths. They need your reassurance and offers to mentor, guide, fund, and hire. We in AOS want to hear your story, as it helps us advocate for our discipline within the university too. We need your voice, as alumni, more than ever. Thank you for reading. -ankur desai, professor, AOS