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Welcome to the School Year
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September 4, 2009
The new school year is upon us, and I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome back students, faculty, and staff who have returned to us from a summer break. For those of us who have been here through the summer months, the start of the semester is a relief and a reason for celebration. The half empty campus may be easier to navigate, but having been on college campuses for over thirty years, I am always thrilled to see the campus become populated with faculty eager to interact with students, and students prepared to re-engage in the excitement of intellectual stimulation.
A public research university like ours is a special place – where ideas reign supreme and where what you know and the ideas you generate are the most important things you bring to our community. We are blessed to have a wonderful faculty who are committed to the life of the mind, and a staff that understands that service is a true calling. Our diverse, welcoming community understands and embraces the idea that the work of a university is learning, and that this is important work for our state, nation and world.
To the incoming first-year students I extend a special welcome since you are, indeed, an extraordinary group within an exceptional community. As the class of 2013, you will graduate on the sesquicentennial anniversary of this campus. But you are also the best entering class in the history of UMass Amherst. Your high school grade point averages and scholastic aptitude test scores exceed any previous entering class. You are therefore part of the inexorable movement of this institution into the top tier of public research universities in the country. We are proud of your accomplishments in preparing to come here, we are thrilled to welcome you into the UMass Amherst family, and are excited to see your future successes and look forward to our part in helping you reach your goals.
On a more sobering note, you are undoubtedly aware of the financial crisis that the nation and the Commonwealth face. We at UMass Amherst also confront unprecedented challenges as a result of the economic downturn. You can rest assured, however, that the campus leadership is doing everything in its power to continue providing a quality education to its students. As the term progresses I will again provide you with updates on what we are doing so that you can be informed about our activities. I reaffirm my pledge to provide frequent updates, and to not only inform the faculty, students and staff, but to truly engage these members of our community in helping set and achieve the goals we have for this institution.
We are going into our 147th year as an institution of higher education. We have faced and survived many challenging times in the past, and I have no doubt that we will come out of this crisis a stronger and more effective university. Together, we can and we will continue to move forward as one of this nation’s great public research universities. There are many reasons for my confidence in the face of some trying circumstances. First, in terms of academic standing we are already the best public institution in New England, and we were one of only twenty public campuses in the nation to be counted among the top 100 universities in the world last spring. Not only that, but recently two independent national websites listed Amherst as one of America’s best college towns – something many of you have known for years! We are well-positioned as a university and a community to make great strides in the coming years based on these and the many other areas of real strength here at UMass Amherst.
So, once again, welcome back to those who are returning, and welcome to those of you who are joining us for the first time! I am ready for the excitement, stimulation, and fun in the new academic year, and I hope you are too.
Sincerely,
Chancellor Robert C. Holub
