January 25, 2019
Dear UAlbany Community:
Whether you are a new or returning student or a member of our faculty or staff, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the UAlbany 2019 spring semester.
We are embarking on a very special year marking the 175th anniversary of the University at Albany’s founding. Consequently, we will be celebrating this momentous occasion throughout the year; please join us for these events as you are a critical part of the UAlbany community.
It was an honor to begin celebrating this exciting milestone with many of you this past Tuesday at the Campus Center—an event that launched not only our 175th year, but also the University’s new brand: Unleash Greatness.
This anniversary presents an extraordinary moment to take stock of our past. It is also a time to learn about our past traditions while creating new ones—like rubbing the nose of our new bronze Great Dane for good luck when passing through the Campus Center lobby!
Throughout our 175 years, there has been one constant: a commitment to excellence.It is this excellence, and our proud history, that we will be celebrating time and time again during this year. We should certainly be very proud of our University’s achievements over the past 175 years, and be even more enthusiastic about our future. We have so many exciting opportunities before us as we reach toward our vision to be the nation’s leading diverse public research university.
Our 175th anniversary is also a perfect opportunity to reflect on the greatness that we each hold within, and to bring that greatness to the table every day. Whether through excellence in teaching, scholarship, service, athletics, student clubs, maintaining our beautiful campuses, or through community engagement—every member of the Great Dane family can help make our 175th year our greatest.
Best wishes to each of you for a healthy, productive, and happy 2019. I look forward to working collaboratively with you to build on our past and on our strengths to create an exciting and even brighter future for UAlbany.
Go Great Danes!
Sincerely,
Havidán Rodríguez
President