Greetings from Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D.

Let me add my voice to the chorus of those who have extended a sincere appreciation that your student has chosen the University of California, Irvine. And in turn, your family has become part of the anteater family. Your student has arrived at this space in time when UCI has risen in its short 46 years to be among the most elite public universities in the nation. Excellence in teaching, research, leadership development and character building are among the institutional pillars that frame our educational endeavors, and your student will experience each of these as they navigate their undergraduate years.

Students have many interesting opportunities, challenges and responsibilities to undertake at UCI. They will explore the breadth of our academic curriculum to allow them the acquisition of knowledge in pursuit of a specific major focus. A host of co-curricular experiences designed to enhance learning in ways that ignite passions, stimulate interests, and bolster the power of self-discovery and personal awareness will supplement each student's intellectual pursuits in the classroom. For our part, the Student Affairs division will provide a broad range of support services that will help meet your student's needs, provide ready access to the educational resources at this institution, and contribute to their co-curricular learning.

Students arrive at UCI already impacted by a set of developmental and life experiences that have shaped attitudes and opinions. Yet, even as those personal attributes characterize individual uniqueness, we ask that students come prepared to share in and embrace our UCI values - respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation, and fun.

UC Irvine is among the most diverse campuses in the nation. That diversity is a real strength that enhances a student's learning experiences. The challenge however, is to move beyond the spaces of mere tolerance to ones where critical thinking is applied to how an appreciation of the diversity of attitude, opinion, background, and worldview serves students in becoming a well-rounded global leaders. In other words, students will be asked to dislodge their thinking and behavior from those comfortable silos of intellectual, emotional, and behavioral apathy. For it is there where true growth and enlightened discovery takes place, as our students grow in academic and leadership abilities.

Now is when students come to understand their responsibility to embrace the full measure of humanity, celebrating differences of course, while also recognizing the commonality that, like an interlocking thread, ties us all to a single garment of destiny. Emerging from this environment as a citizen of a global world, they will hopefully accept the responsibility to contribute to an intellectual and social network that not only recognizes our common humanity, but also honors our differences and celebrates our rich cultural legacies.

We are proud that UCI students have become alumni who are global leaders building bridges of steel for infrastructure, bridges of information for knowledge acquisition and bridges of compassion for humanity. Your student has begun this same path by learning how to share viewpoints in a climate of free speech tempered with massive doses of civility, and refraining from any behavior that does not support or affirm the dignity and humanity of all members of our university community.

Enjoy the journey as you watch your student take the leap into their future endeavors with a confident reassurance that they are well prepared to meet the challenges of our times.