Welcome, Class of 2017, to the University of Florida, to Gainesville and to the start of your college experience.
The beginning of the school year is always a time of optimism and promise for the future. But that is especially true this year — and with your entering class.
As always, our campus is replete with possibilities for different classes and majors. We have students and faculty from all over the world, quality teaching, exciting research and a huge choice of extracurricular activities.
But this year, for the first time in our 160-year history, Florida’s political leaders have financially supported our ambitions of becoming one of the top-10 public universities in the country.
Coming after several years of state budget cuts, this support – $15 million annually for five years – has brought a new sense of optimism and energy to campus — one that I feel will enhance your experience as students.
Although rising to the top ten will take many years (we are currently ranked at 17th among public universities by U.S. News and World Report), I believe you’ll begin to see progress before you graduate, as we hire prominent new faculty and make other key improvements.
Some of you may wonder why UF needs to make this climb now. The truth is, it’s because of you and the students who will follow in your footsteps.
With a population of 19.3 million and counting, Florida will soon displace New York as the third-largest state in the country. You and the state’s other best and brightest students deserve a university that is also ranked among the very best in the country. This is true not only when considering the quality of your educational experience while you are here on campus, but also the value of your degrees to employers down the road.
What’s more, if you decide to pursue graduate studies at UF, you deserve to work closely with scientists and scholars who are recognized as at the top of their fields. We have many of these scientists and scholars now, and adding to their ranks is the main goal of our five-year initiative.
As you begin your freshman year, you also begin a transformation from high school graduate to educated professional.
This year, the University of Florida is setting out on its own transformation, and I couldn’t be more pleased to be joined in that effort by you, the members of the Class of 2017.
Again, welcome to the University of Florida, and Go Gators!
Bernie Machen is the president of UF. This guest column originally ran on page 8 on 8/14/2013 under the headline "UF is on its way to the top"
