Chancellor Julio Frenk: Welcome back and a look forward

Chancellor Julio Frenk today shared the following message with the UCLA community.

Dear Bruin Community:

I want to check in with you as we begin a new academic year together and welcome our newest Bruins to UCLA.

This is one of my favorite times of the year - a moment when the campus reawakens and pulses with energy. Faculty and staff are invigorated and ready, and new and returning students have arrived. I enjoyed meeting many first-year Bruins during move-in and at our New Student Welcome and Block Party. For all those who start classes this week, I wish you the best as you embark on your journeys.

Today, more than ever, it is important that we reach out to each other, stand together and stay connected. We all must look to our mission - to educate, discover and serve - as our steady North Star that will get us through times of uncertainty.

UCLA's greatness comes from the passion you devote to this mission. Our researchers and health professionals save and improve lives. Our scholars and artists help us understand our world and our place in it. Our educators prepare students for life. And Bruins everywhere serve their communities, drawing on their knowledge and expertise to advance the common good.

Earlier this month, I shared our collective vision for our university's future: One UCLA. Through One UCLA, we are doubling down on four flagship initiatives that translate this passion into results. UCLA Connects is strengthening our ties with Los Angeles and the wider world through meaningful partnerships. Our research and innovation compact is making UCLA a more integrated hub for discovery - from our UCLA Research Park to interdisciplinary centers that advance breakthroughs. UCLA for Life is expanding educational access and innovation so learners of all backgrounds and stages can thrive. And our focus on institutional effectiveness will maximize our value for society.

UCLA has achieved a lot in its relatively young life as a university. By realizing our guiding aspirations to be connective, impactful and exemplary, we will continue to define what it means to be a great institution of higher education.

As you travel through the busy campus to your classroom, lab, workplace or residence hall this week, I hope you take in the sights and sounds that surround you. They will remind you of what makes UCLA special and why we remain steadfastly committed to this extraordinary university.

Before I close, I have a request. One of the things that makes UCLA an exemplary institution is an unwavering commitment to the public good, so I hope to see you at UCLA Volunteer Day on Saturday, Sept. 27.

It is a chance to bring to life our service mission while connecting with our wider community. Bruins will gather at more than 45 sites to uplift, inspire and share kindness - leaving a lasting mark on the world, together.

We are One UCLA.

Julio Frenk
Chancellor