My fellow ’Canes,
This morning, in consultation with the deans and the Faculty Senate, the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami invited me to become the seventh president of the U. Simply put, with a full range of emotions, I accepted.
The opportunity to continue to serve this institution—my school—and the people who make us what we are, is more than an honor and a privilege, it is a full circle moment. In my first community-wide message to you this summer, I shared with you that I first arrived on this campus as a 17-year-old from the South Bronx in 1974, 50 years ago. This place means the world to me because it changed the trajectory of my life.
Yesterday morning, I met with Board leadership, the General Welfare Committee of the Faculty Senate, the Deans, as well as the Speaker from the Faculty Council of the Miller School of Medicine and the Student Trustee. That conversation, with colleagues I have gotten to know quite well over the years, amounted to the second job interview of my life.
My first, as some of you have heard me say, also took place here. That one led to a rewarding 36-year career at Deloitte LLP. I never would have made it from the South Bronx to Deloitte to the boardrooms of global Fortune 500 companies without the University of Miami. This is home.
Nothing about the U is new to me. The University of Miami is a crucial part of who I am. I know this place. And this place knows me. I came out of retirement to join this team because I believe in you.
By now, you know that my focus is on our shared mission: education, research, and taking care of patients. The faculty members who carry out that mission turned the unlikely into the achievable for me, as they have done for countless of my fellow alumni, and as they continue to do for our students, our patients, and our greater Miami community.
The teams who support that faculty take great pride in doing so here at the U. So, as I take these next steps in service to the place where my career began, the place that prepared me to lead with passion, the place we all call home, I invite you to join me in continuing to turn aspirations into reality.
I have been a part of this place for more than half of its existence. Today, this University and the city whose name we share are on the ascent. We have extraordinary people, living in an extraordinary time, with extraordinary opportunities. Our students are talented and purpose-driven. Our patients need and deserve world-class care. Our community is relying on the discoveries and solutions our research is poised to deliver. Our alumni, supporters, and fans are loyal for a reason.
We are on a path to greatness, and we have the ability to outwork the competition—to do a little more and a little better every day. Excellence, continuous improvement, and impact are more than shorthand for rising to our immense potential. Those words, which have likely by now become familiar to you, remind us that unless we are giving our very best—in academics, in research, in patient care, in athletics—we are not worthy of the U.
The U means something. Here in our community and in cities around the world, it symbolizes the grit that achieves greatness, and the swagger that follows it. For nearly 100 years, we and our community have been at our best when we achieve greatness together. Leadership is a team sport.
What we do matters. I am here to be of service in helping you do it better for as long as the Board of Trustees and the faculty believe I add value. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Joe | 
