Welcome to the start of UB's 2024-2025 academic year! It's wonderful to have our campuses brimming with activity as we embark on our fall semester, and I'm delighted you're here!
The energy on campus leading up to the new academic year has been incredible. It was palpable during move-in days, when I met students and their parents as they said their goodbyes and prepared for their next chapter. At UB's international student welcome event, I assured students from all over the globe that they would soon come to see UB as their home away from home. I also had the opportunity to wish our athletics staff well as they prepare for the fall season. And as I greeted the more-than 160 new faculty attending our orientation programs, I was filled with immense pride to see such dedicated educators and accomplished scholars joining our ranks.
I always feel fortunate to be a part of UB's vibrant scholarly community, but especially so at this time of year. To see our classrooms, labs and studios enlivened, to hear spirited intellectual exchanges taking place at every turn, to know that creative collaborations and new lines of inquiry are germinating reaffirms my deep conviction in the transformative power of higher education.
Whether you're new to UB or a longtime member of our community, I hope you find UB an equally invigorating environment. Ours is an intellectual home rich in disciplinary expertise and diverse worldviews. It's a community where we embrace constructive criticism and lively debate because they expose us to fresh ideas, deepen our understanding and enhance our capacity to solve problems. It's a place where, as you pursue your individual ambitions, you're also contributing to UB's collective excellence.
If I haven't already had a chance to say it to you in person, please accept my best wishes for a fulfilling fall semester, and a season of great progress toward all of your goals and dreams.