Dear Colleagues,

The last month of the year is often a time of reflection and prediction. It’s both a time to look back at the year’s happenings while also looking forward and considering what may be different in the new year. 

While there is plenty we cannot know about what the next 12 months will bring, we can be certain that 2025 will be a time of transition. In June, I will leave my post as chancellor. Sometime after that, you will begin working with a new leader. 

Recognizing this is the last time I will send you a year-end message, I’m feeling extra sentimental, especially after a recent meeting with local community leaders in which we celebrated campus accomplishments. 

There is so much we have built together that no matter where I am on campus, I see how you, this remarkable community, is elevating research discovery, education, and community service. Another easy-to-make prediction is that the UCR culture of inclusive excellence will continue to drive the university’s evolution next year and long into the future powered by your Bold Hearts and Brilliant Minds.

This brings me to my final thoughts on the year. Many of you know I am a fan of Broadway musicals. One production, Wicked, is having its moment as a movie adaptation. But the song that comes to mind as I look back and look forward is from the Broadway version. In the song, “For Good,” friends Elphaba and Galinda sing of the ways they have changed one another with the lyrics:

“Because I knew you I have been changed…For good.”

My holiday wish for you is that in 2025, you will encounter people who have the kind of positive impact on you that you have had on me. I hope you enjoy a restful and joyful start to the new year.