Pines: A New Call to Action for a New Semester

University President Darryll J. Pines sent the following email to the campus community this morning:

Happy New Year, my fellow Terrapins,

It is with great pride that I welcome new members of our community and returning members back to our beloved campus. Since the last time most of you were here, we have ushered in a new year and watched our campus become blanketed with snow.

My fellow university leaders and I used the end-of-year break and winter session to look ahead. We put the finishing touches on the university's strategic plan, a forward-thinking, mission-driven plan that has been shaped and refined by thousands of us. This plan will further chart our path as an institution that serves the public good, and the provost and I cannot wait to share it with you.

We also successfully advocated for cost-of-living and merit increases for our faculty and staff, and I am grateful to Governor Hogan and the General Assembly for these investments in our employees who serve our academic mission with excellence.

I am taking this opportunity to wish you all well on the first day of this spring semester. But also to issue a call for action. As we continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic and other grand challenges, acting together in a spirit of purpose and optimism has never been more important. So, members of the Maryland community, we must all challenge ourselves to discover what we can do to improve the lives of others. With that in mind, I ask: What will you do in '22 to serve humanity and your fellow Terp?

My optimism for what we will achieve together is unyielding, and my gratitude for this community grows with each day.

Welcome back, Terps,