Dear University of Miami Family,

Today we begin a new academic year. This is a time filled with promise and expectation, guided by the goals that inspire us, the motivation from those already achieved, and the lessons learned along the way.

New years are often marked by resolutions and a commitment to new practices. Yet the word resolution also carries other meanings—being determined, solving a problem, or bringing something into clearer focus.

This broader understanding of resolution is at the heart of who we are as ’Canes. We are problem solvers, turning ideas and discoveries into solutions to complex challenges. At every level—from cutting edge research to unique student experiences, from top patient care to pride in athletics—our success is driven by people who are, above all else, determined.

Last week, we welcomed more than 2,800 new students to the University of Miami. Since I arrived at the U four years ago, we have become more selective in our admissions—we want students who are determined to succeed. Our reputation is attracting more students from across the country and around the world, and we continue to offer better support to students once they are here.

As we prepared to welcome a new incoming class, the U continued to make strides on the Roadmap to Our New Century, the set of strategies that will guide us to our centennial in 2025 as a leading institution. Among the highlights of our progress this summer:

• Our program for first-generation students in the Office of Academic Enhancement earned national recognition from Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and The Suder Foundation.


• The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at UHealth—the University of Miami Health System—earned National Cancer Institute designation, one of only 71 such centers. This achievement not only delivers on the promise of top patient care but helps set the stage for the University to continue to draw renowned researchers and clinicians who will keep our academic health system moving forward toward preeminence.


• We continued to attract top talent across disciplines, welcoming two new deans with national reputations as scholars—Dean Anthony Varona at the School of Law and Dean Karin Gwinn Wilkins at the School of Communication.


• We launched a regional office in Mexico City to facilitate engagement with scholars, innovators, and students in Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico—the first of what we expect to be five hubs aimed at cementing our aspiration of being the hemispheric university.


• Construction crews remained hard at work on Lakeside Village, creating an integrated environment for learning, living, design, and sustainability that will launch next year.


• Our student-athletes prepared for the fall season, where like all of you, I am ready to cheer for the Hurricanes as they continue to embody the resilience and resolve that are emblematic of the U.
 

On Sept. 12, I invite you to learn more about these and other aspects of the University’s bold strategic direction at the second annual State of the University town hall meeting, where we will gather to celebrate our progress so far and to outline the steps ahead.

As we look to a new year, we enter into our resolutions together. We resolve to move forward as a community. And we do so with clarity of focus.

The U has many resources, but it is our spirit of determination that makes this place a beacon for our local and global communities. We have the privilege of using our resources—the most important of which are our talented and committed faculty, students, and staff members—to help illuminate the path for human progress through knowledge, understanding, and integrity.

As we continue this journey together, let us resolve to bring our very best to the year ahead individually and collectively. At a time when all too often violence, ignorance, and divisiveness can threaten to darken the world around us, let us be a source of exemplary enlightenment.

We Are One U,