![Photo: David Schmitz A Peer Connections mentor works with students during the beginning of the semester.](https://blogs.sjsu.edu/academicaffairs/files/2016/12/wow-peer-connections-open-house-dschmitz-090716-0290_web-2laaap3-300x200.jpg)
Photo: David Schmitz
A Peer Connections mentor works with students during the beginning of the semester.
As 2016 comes to a close, I am grateful for the multitude of ways I see Spartans regularly supporting other Spartans. Our students, staff and faculty are engaged directly and collaboratively in efforts that benefit other campus community members.
At the Academic Affairs Staff Appreciation Breakfast this fall, we continued our practice of “Full Circle Giving.” In the past two years, staff and administrators have donated to SJSU’s Student Hunger Fund, contributing more than $11,000 to help students who struggle with food insecurity. These gifts enable students to focus on their studies without worrying about where they will get their next meal.
During this holiday season, I am especially thankful for how students, faculty and staff generously contribute their time and talent to fostering the success of other Spartans. I am pleased to share in this newsletter stories of students mentoring other students and helping them find their footing at San Jose State University; emeritus and retired faculty who are providing grants to further the research of current professors; and the many ways donations from faculty and staff to our Spartans Supporting Spartans campaign help fuel student success.
I appreciate your support of Spartan causes above and beyond your job duties, and I look forward to seeing more of this generous Spartan spirit in the new year.
Happy holidays!
Andy Feinstein
Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs