Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to a new academic year. Though we are living in a time of great uncertainty, the beginning of the school year always brings a welcome energy back to our campuses and launches our familiar routines. As I write this from my office, the UPC campus feels full of hope with the sounds of students getting acquainted (or reacquainted) with the campus and friends and colleagues reuniting after summer’s brief hiatus.
Last week, we celebrated the arrival of more than 13,000 new undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at New Student Convocation and welcomed over 40 new faculty at New Faculty Orientation.
Earlier this week, President Kim provided an important update on the financial resilience efforts and many of the important initiatives being led by leaders around the university. I am grateful for his leadership and for the opportunity to partner with him as we navigate the path toward progress for our university. We will continue to share updates about these efforts as well as other matters of importance with our community throughout the coming year.
Before you leave for the Labor Day weekend – whether it be to travel or if you are staying local to watch the Missouri State pre-season game – I want to take a moment to highlight a few additional updates as the academic year begins anew:
- A new digital course materials program launched this fall through a partnership with eFollet and the USC Bookstore for all undergraduate courses. Faculty who have not already done so should submit their course materials list to the bookstore.
- We welcomed the inaugural freshman cohort at the USC Capital Campus in Washington D.C., where they will participate in internships and take classes while building professional skills and networking with the D.C.-based Trojan Family.
- Our new Dean of the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Dr. James Bullock, has joined us from UCI. He has already hit the ground running in establishing a strong vision for the college and I am thrilled to collaborate with him as he undertakes this endeavor.
- And, Josh Kun, Vice Provost of the Arts, is doing double-duty as Interim Dean of the Iovine Young Academy (IYA) this year. I am grateful for his willingness to serve in this role as we begin the search for IYA’s next dean.
I want to express my gratitude for your resilience and your dedication to the students you teach, the research you conduct, and the patients you see. You represent the heart of our mission of academic and research excellence. I hope you are invigorated by the arrival of our students and colleagues and that you are reminded of the joy of the profession we are fortunate to share.
Fight On!
Andrew T. Guzman
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs