Dear UAlbany Community,
As another semester comes to a close, I am reflecting on the power and impact of the community we have built here at the University at Albany. First and foremost, however, I want to express my most profound appreciation to our Great Dane family – our faculty, staff, and students – for helping ensure the safety and well-being of our campus community, while also providing a world-class education.
We are living in difficult and challenging times. The Great Dane family, like many families, experiences disagreements – sometimes passionate differences of opinion or beliefs – about issues, large and small. Yet I am confident that at UAlbany we will also continue to treat each other with dignity, respect, and empathy. Every single member of our community plays a critical role in making this happen.
While the past year has brought serious challenges locally and globally, I am proud of the way our community has responded. For example, the UAlbany community raised nearly $40,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at our annual Out of the Darkness walk and, collectively, we have volunteered nearly 60,000 hours to support our community this year.
Our second annual UAlbany Showcase earlier this week brought to life the incredible academic achievements of our students and faculty. More than 2,150 UAlbany undergraduate and graduate students participated in this outstanding event. I was, once again, inspired by the range and caliber of the day’s exhibits. Thank you to all the faculty and staff who are mentoring these outstanding students, and to all who made this very successful event happen. View details on our Showcase honorees.
On Reading Day this past Wednesday, we again hosted Food for Finals: Late Night BBQ, where our leadership team, faculty, and staff came together to provide a late-night meal to several thousand students. This has become a wonderful community building event for our students, faculty, and staff in which we celebrate and thank our students for being part of the Great Dane Family. We appreciate everyone’s engagement and participation in this annual event.
We also have accomplishments in athletics to cheer. Our men’s and women’s lacrosse teams ended their regular seasons in first place and our women’s golf team won the MAAC tournament and will soon compete in the NCAA tournament for just the 4th time in UAlbany history. There are so many reasons to be proud to be a Great Dane.
UAlbany is setting the standard for how a public university can, and must, respond to the needs of its community. From our scholarship to our service to our student clubs and organizations, UAlbany has a far-reaching positive impact.
Whether you will be working, interning, participating in research, traveling, or volunteering, I hope your summer will provide opportunities to rest, recharge, and build upon your achievements of the past year.
Finally, to the Class of 2024, congratulations! I am so proud of your accomplishments, and I look forward to celebrating you at Commencement next week. For many of you, this will be the first in-person commencement ceremony you will experience due to pandemic disruptions, and we have many exciting events planned to celebrate you. As our next generation of leaders, I hope you will use all you have experienced at UAlbany to create a better world.
Thank you for being a part of our Great Dane community. Go Great Danes!
Sincerely,
Havidán Rodríguez
President