Welcome back to everyone and a special welcome to our freshmen. We plan to ensure your experiences at this university are life changing. Choosing your university is a decision that shapes your life. Your yet-to-come experiences and new friends, while both mysteries at the moment, will be with you and influence your life’s course for decades to come.
Take seriously this opportunity and make the most of it. We pledge to do our part to make your university choice as rewarding to you as possible both in the near term and throughout your life.
Opportunities at the university abound.
Last fall, the university posed some questions to itself: What will define it in the future? What makes it a world-class university? How can it better prepare its students for leadership roles in a global economy? What tools, expertise, thinking skills and problem-solving approaches will every graduate need for leadership?
The self-examination posed questions for our programs to answer. This year begins a program reorientation to this future – a future that will elevate our graduates and also the university to a top-10 ranking among American public research universities. You will hear more about it this year, as we move from strategic planning to implementing action. Look for ways to get engaged.
My advice for new students is simple: Make a four-year plan, and tune it when necessary. But have a plan. Plan to graduate on time. Plan to take advantage of the wonderful teaching and research resources available to you. Plan to take advantage of the myriad experiences that await you like internships, international study, friendships, athletics and intramurals and student organizations. Plan to get to know people who are different from you. Plan to get to know a different faculty member every semester. Plan to get involved and serve the community.
No matter where you are – on the campus, in the community or in the city you should always be conscious about your safety. Emergency phones and cameras are everywhere. We have emergency text messaging, a campus siren, monitoring of vehicle entrances and exits, building locks and lock-down mechanisms and many other safety resources. We do everything we can think for safety.
Despite all of these measures, nothing replaces using good judgment. Walk with friends or use the police escort service at night. Put the Univerity Police department number and 911 on your speed dial. Register your cell phone for the free emergency text messaging service at: alert.umd.edu/ index.php?CCheck+1.
I recently joined more than 100 university presidents in signing the Amethyst Initiative. This national effort is dedicated to encouraging universities to engage in a broad, student-oriented dialogue about issues related to alcohol use and abuse among young people. This year, we will initiate a dialogue on these topics at the university. Your views are important to us, so I hope you will participate.
We continue to move ahead with the redevelopment of our East Campus. With nearly 40 acres, this $900-million project is the largest university town center development in the nation. Once completed, the town center will house graduate students, and it will provide mixed-use office, hotel, entertainment, grocery and retail spaces, plus other public housing.
This fall will be an exciting time for presidential politics. The campaigns promise to alter the course of our nation. I urge you to get involved, register and exercise your right to vote in November.
Finally, our football Terrapins are off to a fine start with a win against Delaware. Support your favorite teams among our 15 women’s and 12 men’s ACC teams. Support your fellow student-athletes and have great fun cheering them on.
C.D. Mote Jr. is university president. He can be reached at dmote@deans.umd.edu.