University of Utah

If you are returning to the U this fall, you might be surprised by some of the changes around campus. If you are new to the U, then you have picked an exciting time to join us.

The University has once again received high accolades from US News & World Report and a host of other publications, so the rest of the world is catching on to what we have known for a long time: that the U is one of the best public institutions in the country. But we are not content with the status quo; we are inspired by a healthy restlessness that urges us to reach beyond the here-and-now as we improve facilities, recruit the best and brightest, and foster innovation.

As you come to campus you will notice the new construction at the Marriott Library. We are in the process of renovating the structure, and when the project is completed, the refurbished building--and its improved collections--will be the envy of higher education as one of the most advanced facilities of its kind. We have also just opened the Spence & Cleone Eccles Health Sciences Education Building, and work continues on the new Moran Eye Center, the Warnock Engineering Building, and an addition to the Chemistry Building to house a nuclear magnetic resonance facility enabling scientists of varied disciplines to examine molecules.

This fall, we also welcome Raymond Tymas-Jones as our new dean of the College of Fine Arts and associate vice-president of the arts, Kirk Jowers as the new director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, new library Director Joyce Ogden, and a host of others. We have more than 15,000 faculty and staff, some of the most insightful and talented individuals in their professions, bringing their expertise to create fertile ground for bold new ideas.

We encourage our students to become innovators as well, best accomplished through deep and thoughtful engagement in the learning process. Engagement means becoming the steward of one?s learning, an active participant working closely and cooperatively with professors and classmates, searching out new experiences and ways to stretch the intellectual canvas. It means, in short, no passive learning. Opportunities for engagement abound at the U, from undergraduate research with world-renowned professors to service learning projects?and civic engagement is by far the best way to fire the imagination and stoke innovation.

That said, the fall semester marks a good time to volunteer with the Bennion Community Center, or through University Neighborhood Partners. The U is consistently ranked in the top ten for service learning opportunities because we value the application of intellect (and a little sweat) to solve problems in the community.

The University of Utah may be undergoing a period of intense growth and change, but as you stroll across campus and note the evolving state of the U, you'll see that the University of Utah possesses a serious respect for its history and tradition, paired with an eye toward the future. I am pleased that you have elected to join us as we reach beyond the possible, and embrace the probable. We are in for quite a ride.