Dear Members of the University Community:
I am excited about the start of the 2025–26 academic year at the University of Rochester and I hope all of you are too. For all of us, the beginning of an academic year promises new friends and colleagues, new research projects and learning opportunities, new accomplishments and new challenges.
Over the past week, we welcomed our newest class of undergraduate students and their families as they arrived from all over the world. Together, we helped students move into residence halls and took part in activities, receptions, ceremonies, and other events that kick off the school year. Similarly, we introduced some of our newest graduate students, faculty members, leaders, and staff as they joined our departments, research programs, and clinical teams.
The excitement of these first days is infectious, and I am grateful that we take time to celebrate the people of our University. I hope that such energy sets the stage for a productive and meaningful year as you pursue your academic, professional, and personal goals.
We are in a transitional period for higher education and academic medicine. As we move forward with our ambitious plans to become the institution that we want to be, our University, like our peers across the country, faces challenges. For example, in response to new federal directives issued during the first half of 2025, my senior leadership team has worked hard to monitor and plan for disruptions to our research funding, international admissions, and campus climate, as well as worked to ensure that our business and financial operations are as efficient as possible.
We expect similar challenges in the months ahead, but we are prepared to meet them in ways that focus on protecting our people and our missions and in ways that demonstrate our positive impact on our communities. Thanks to the work that we began more than three years ago to create our Boundless Possibility strategic plan, we have positioned ourselves to navigate potential difficulties while also investing in our commitments to advance knowledge in ways that contribute to the greater good.
Over the summer, we selected four innovative, research-based initiatives that bring together some of our institutional strengths across multiple disciplines to create new transdisciplinary centers. The centers are part of our institutional DNA as a collegial research community in which faculty members engage with colleagues from across the institution to follow ideas, explore avenues of study, and create new research and teaching pathways for future students, scholars, and scientists.
Similarly, we are investing in a comprehensive marketing and branding initiative to better tell the story of our institution. We need to proudly share our groundbreaking research, exceptional educational experiences, boundless curiosity and creativity, world-class clinical care, and breathtaking artistry. As part of this evolution, our brand strategy will introduce core elements — both visually and verbally — that bring to life our identity as a community that inspires wonder and celebrates our human connections.
And, at next month’s Meliora Weekend, we will launch the largest comprehensive campaign in the University’s history. For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester represents our most impactful strategic investment, one that promises to elevate our research and clinical enterprises; provide a new level of support for our students, faculty, and staff; transform many campus facilities; and extend the reach of our Meliora spirit in ways that engage our campus, alumni, local, and global communities.
Our University community has demonstrated their belief in our work by supporting us with three straight years of record fundraising — a further display of investment in our potential to change the lives of everyone with whom we engage. That extraordinary support is emblematic of the excitement for the future of our institution that greets me when I talk with alumni, volunteers, and campus and institutional leaders.
That optimistic outlook has been a hallmark of our 175-year history. Since 1850, we have established a remarkable legacy of excellence, achievement, and innovation, and we have demonstrated an incredible history of commitment to our missions, our people, and our values. I want to thank each of you for contributing to our success and for supporting each other.
I wish everyone the best as we set out on what I am confident will be a very important year in the life of our University.
Meliora,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor