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President Pinto: Celebrating the UC community as we begin our 205th year
Dear Students, Faculty & Staff,
Welcome to the University of Cincinnati’s 205th academic year. I hope your summer allowed you time to relax and recharge.
We have many new faces on our campuses with 8,700 first-time undergraduate students. As I said to our new students on Thursday during Bearcats Kickoff, thank you for choosing UC. Being in the presence of an arena full of brand-new Bearcats was truly a privilege and inspiring. Our new students are joining a vast community of returning students, and each is a talented future college graduate who will help propel our society and define our NEXT.
Additionally, allow me to share a warm welcome with our new employees and express gratitude to our returning faculty and staff. I’m so appreciative of the work that goes into preparing our campus, our classes and our amazing community for another momentous year. You have demonstrated that you own our culture, and this has such a significant impact on our students. No matter the role you play, thank you for helping us accomplish our mission to educate the next generation.
UC President Neville G. Pinto
We have much to celebrate, including the recent reopening of Siddall Hall, which includes 12 floors of completely renovated and reimagined housing for incoming students. We’re again expecting record enrollment that will eclipse 52,000, and our investments in housing will provide ample rooms to meet the demand.
We are also acknowledging some exciting achievements in research, with the latest figures from the National Science Foundation revealing that UC scholars outpaced our highest-ever research expenditures with nearly $700 million (including affiliates). These investments come to life in ways that are vitally important to our society. As one example, consider the recently highlighted work of Environmental Health Professor Susan Pinney on the impact of forever chemicals on the local water supply. This is just one example of how faculty are expanding the knowledge base through research. The latest annual figures reveal that UC researchers published a record 5,728 scholarly publications.
Our 1819 Innovation Hub continues to excel in leading our innovation agenda by serving as the front door for companies to connect to our campus and as the nexus for industry to meet UC talent and resources. Across the street in our Digital Futures building, 22 applied research labs are working daily on cutting-edge and collaborative discoveries aimed at solving problems that matter to our society. Both facilities are catalyzing the growth of the Cincinnati Innovation District.
Our co-op program also set new all-time highs. Last academic year, more than 8,300 students earned an estimated $88.8 million collectively through paid co-op experiences, an 18% increase over the previous year. For these students, co-op and the hands-on application of their classroom learning is transformative and, in many cases, allows them to cover the cost of their education.
Next month we will officially celebrate the successful culmination of our $2 billion Next, Now fundraising campaign, the university’s historic effort that launched publicly at the close of our bicentennial year in 2019. I’m so grateful to our many dedicated donors who have supported all that we do, including our entry into the Big 12 last year. On a related note, we recently thanked key athletics donors during a beam-raising ceremony to mark the progress of the Bearcats Indoor Practice Facility that will open in 2025.
May we strive to be a community that chooses pluralism over partisanship and one that opts for discernment over division.
President Neville G. Pinto
The start of a new academic year is also an appropriate time to remember who we are as Bearcats, particularly given challenging world events and a contentious national election season. Despite these pressures, I encourage us all to adhere to a shared commitment to civility and respect for one another. May we strive to be a community that chooses pluralism over partisanship and one that opts for discernment over division. May we live up to the tall order to coexist peacefully and constructively despite differing convictions, cultures, ideologies and identities. After all, our strength lies in our diversity.
Finally, let me stress the importance of safety and wellness on and around our campus. UC and the City of Cincinnati are united in our efforts to serve and protect the UC community. My thanks to Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who joined me recently to share an important message on this topic.
I’m confident that our students, faculty and staff have an incredibly productive and fulfilling fall semester in store, and I wish you all the very best.
Warmest regards,
Neville G. Pinto
President
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The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
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